Standing Orders - Chapter 7
Artillery Customs

701. General

There are several customs and procedures that are unique to the artillery. These are described in this chapter.

702. Artillery Day

1. Artillery Day is celebrated annually on the 26th of May. In 1952, the then Colonel Commandant, Major-General H.O.N. Brownfield, sought and received permission to adopt the Royal Artillery birthdate (26 May 1716) as Artillery Day for The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.

2. Artillery Day may be celebrated with special parades, sports days, guest nights, parties, open houses and the like.

703. The Artillery Birthday

A and B batteries Garrison Artillery, which were the first regular components of the Canadian Forces, were formed on 20 October 1871. While a number of Militia artillery units pre-date this, The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery has adopted the 20th of October as its birthday. It is also celebrated as 1 RCHA’s unit birthday. As with Artillery Day, the Artillery Birthday may be celebrated with special parades, sports days, guest nights, parties, open houses and the like.

704. Saint Barbara

1. St. Barbara is the Patron Saint of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. According to legend, St. Barbara was the extremely beautiful daughter of a wealthy heathen named Dioscorus, who lived near Nicomedia in Asia Minor. Because of her singular beauty and fearful that she be demanded in marriage and taken away from him, he jealously shut her up in a tower to protect her from the outside world.

2. Shortly before embarking on a journey, he commissioned a sumptuous bathhouse to be built for her in the tower, approving the design before he departed. Barbara had heard of the teachings of Christ, and while her father was gone, she spent much time in contemplation. From the windows of her tower she looked out upon the surrounding countryside and marveled at the growing things; the trees, the animals and the people. She decided that all these must be part of God’s master plan, and that the idols of wood and stone worshipped by her parents must be condemned as false.

3. Gradually she came to accept the Christian faith. As her belief became firm, she directed that the builders redesign the bathhouse her father had planned, adding another window so that the three windows might symbolize the Holy Trinity. She also traced a cross in the marble of the bath. Upon his return, her father was wild with rage that she had disobeyed his instructions regarding the bathhouse windows, and when he learned their religious significance, he drew his sword to kill her. St. Barbara fell on her knees in prayer and was miraculously transported to a mountain. Here she was found by a shepherd who betrayed her to Dioscorus. She was dragged before Marcian, the prefect of the province, who decreed that she be tortured and put to death by beheading. Dioscorus himself carried out the death sentence. On his way home he was struck by lightning and his body consumed.

4. Saint Barbara lived and died about the year 300 AD. She was venerated as early as the seventh century. The place of her martyrdom is variously given as Heliopolis, a town in Egypt, and as Nicomedia, Asia Minor. The year varies from 235 AD to 303 AD. The legend of the lightning bolt, which struck down her persecutor, caused her to be regarded as the patron saint in time of danger from thunderstorms, lightning, fires and sudden death.

5. When gunpowder made its appearance in the Western world, Saint Barbara was invoked for aid against accident resulting from explosions. Since some of the earlier artillery pieces often blew up instead of firing their projectile, Saint Barbara became the patroness of the artillerymen. She is also traditionally the patron of armourers, gunsmiths, miners and anyone else who worked with cannon and explosives. She is invoked against thunder and lightning and all accidents arising from explosions of gunpowder.

6. Saint Barbara is represented in art as standing by a tower with three windows, often holding a chalice, or carrying the palm of a martyr in her hand. She may also be portrayed with the Host or Bible above. Sometimes there are cannons nearby.

7. St. Barbara’s Day, 4 December, may be celebrated by artillery formations, units and sub-units with church parades, sports days, guest nights, cocktail parties, open house, and other activities.

705. Artillery Neck Tie

It is customary to wear the artillery tie (red lightning bolt over blue) when civilian clothes are worn on Fridays.

706. Unit Birthdays

The unit birthdays for Regular Force and Reserve Force units are at Annex A. These dates are based on information provided from DHH, based on official RCA lineage charts. The dates normally represent the first date that each Regiment was authorized, not necessarily when its component batteries were authorized.

707. Artillery Memorials

1. A listing of artillery memorials in Canada and on foreign soil is at Annex B.

2. It is customary for a designated gunner officer serving in England, normally the Canadian Exchange Officer at the Royal School of Artillery, Larkhill, to lay a wreath at the Royal Artillery Memorial, Hyde Park, at the Armistice Day Service each year. The Royal Canadian Artillery Association provides the wreath on behalf of all Canadian gunners, serving and retired.

3. Artillery Park, located in the north east corner of the old walled section of Quebec City bears witness to more than two and a half centuries of history. The artillery presence began after the fall of the French when soldiers of the Royal Artillery took up quarters in the barracks. By 1816, the Royal Artillery had become the main occupant of the fortifications and the soldiers began calling the section “Artillery Barracks, Yard and Ordnance Stores”.

4. In 1984, at CFB Petawawa, another Artillery Park was officially opened. The park was constructed by the gunners of 2 RCHA on the site of the Artillery Officers’ Mess known as A-12. Artillery Park, CFB Petawawa, commemorates the service of Petawawa gunners in peace and war.

5. A new Artillery Park, centered on the Canoe River Memorial at CFB Shilo (Article 709), was dedicated on 2 July 2000. It contains cairns dedicated to Proctor Field (Airborne), Flewin Field (Air OP) and the German Army Training Establishment Shilo (GATES) 1974-2000.

708. The National Artillery Memorial

1. The first public, official act of the newly appointed Governor General of Canada, Major-General Georges P. Vanier, was the unveiling of the National Artillery Memorial in Ottawa on 21 September 1959. The money for the construction of this impressive memorial came from donations from all ranks of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery at the end of World War II, from individuals and from units as time for construction drew near, and from a grant from the Royal Canadian Artillery Association. Distinguished guests at the ceremony included the Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet, the Leader of the Opposition, senior military officers and civilian officials, officers from the UK and USA and gunners from across Canada. The Commanding Officers of every artillery unit in Canada paraded together in front of the Memorial immediately prior to its unveiling.

2. On 24 May 1998, distinguished guests and members of the Artillery family assembled in Green Island Park, Ottawa, to rededicate the National Artillery Memorial. The Memorial had stood for 39 years in Major’s Hill Park, and was moved in 1997 as part of the National Capital Commission’s restructuring plan. Green Island Park locates the Memorial with the Commonwealth Airforce Memorial across from City Hall, and provides a distinguished and scenic location for this important Monument.

3. On November 11 of each year, a memorial service is held at this Memorial immediately following the national ceremony at the Cenotaph. A wreath is laid by the Colonel Commandant or the Director of Artillery on behalf of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.

709. Canoe River Memorial

1. On 21 November 1950, 17 soldiers of 2 RCHA were killed in a train wreck while en route to the West Coast and embarkation for Korea. The wreck occurred near Canoe River, a remote settlement in the Rocky Mountains.

2. The Canoe River memorial located at CFB Shilo marks this tragedy. A wreath is laid on Remembrance Day each year in memory of these soldiers.

3. On 9 May 1989, 2 RCHA dedicated a cairn in Valemount, British Columbia, to their fallen soldiers. Canadian National Railway has also placed a cairn near the site of the disaster.

710. Major Short / Staff-Sergeant Wallick Memorial

1. On the morning of 16 May 1889, a conflagration broke out in the suburb of Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, which threatened to destroy most of the city. B Battery, under command of Major J.C. Short, helped to fight the flames. They decided to blow up some buildings in order to isolate the district, which was on fire. Major Short, followed by Staff-Sergeant Wallick G., attempted to position a barrel of gunpowder inside one of the buildings. It is said that a spark spurted out from an opening and the gunpowder exploded while the two soldiers were still inside.

2. In memory of Major Short and Staff-Sergeant Wallick, the citizens of Quebec erected an impressive memorial, which they located centrally in the city on the Grande-Allée, facing the “Manège Militaire”. These valiant soldiers, represented by bronze half-length statues, appear side by side with a flag wrapped around their shoulders. A female figure, symbolizing the grateful population of Quebec City, holds the flagstaff from one hand and supports a shield hoisting the City Arms with the other one.

711. The Silver (Korea) Gun

1. In recognition of service in Korea, HQ RCA 1st Commonwealth Division presented sterling silver 25 pounder guns to 1 RCHA, 2 RCHA and 4 RCHA. It became tradition, at guest nights and other occasions, to lay the gun on a large hill in Korea known by its height in metres as “Hill 355”. The regiments involved fired tons of ammunition from and onto Hill 355 during the war.

2. 4 RCHA maintained the tradition until it was disbanded. 2 RCHA continues the tradition in remembrance of those who fought in the engagements on and about Hill 355. The drill format is at Annex C.

712. The Royal Canadian Dragoons Mounted Trooper

1. The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery holds, as a gift from the Royal Canadian Dragoons, a statuette of a mounted trooper dressed and equipped for the South African War. This statuette was presented by Major-General C.C. Mann, CBE, DSO, CD, in 1962 to commemorate the long association between the Royal Canadian Dragoons and the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery.

2. The association began with the formation of the Cavalry School in Quebec City in 1883 to join “A” Battery, Royal School of Gunnery, which had been transferred there from Kingston in 1880. The association was firmly cemented during World War I when the RCHA Brigade supported the Canadian Cavalry Brigade, of which the Royal Canadian Dragoons were the senior regiment. The association continued through Sicily, Northwest Europe and post war garrison duties in Canada and with 4 CMBG in Europe.

3. The presentation had been to the RCHA collectively. Therefore, it was not deemed acceptable that the trophy be held permanently by either “A” or “B” Batteries, which had the earliest association with the Royal Canadian Dragoons. The then Colonel Commandant, Brigadier P.A.S. Todd, decided that the trophy would be held by the RCHA Regiment stationed closest geographically to the Royal Canadian Dragoons.

4. The statuette accordingly went to 1 RCHA stationed in Gagetown with the RCD. When 1 RCHA rotated to Germany in 1967, the statuette remained with 2 RCHA in Gagetown. With the rotation of the RCD to Germany in 1968, the statuette eventually returned to 1 RCHA. In the summer of 1987, with the completion of Operation SPRINGBOK-CORONET and the return of the RCD to Petawawa, the statuette moved again. Today, it is held in trust by 2 RCHA on behalf of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery as a perpetual memorial to the long and continuing association in peace and war between the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and the Royal Canadian Dragoons.

713. Forms of Address

1. The title “Master Gunner” may be used by all graduates of the Master Gunner course. It may be used both as a form of address and when referring to the individual in question. It may not be used in place of rank in formal correspondence. Traditionally, in correspondence, the title is placed in parentheses after the rank, in the form, Chief Warrant Officer (Master Gunner) or CWO (Mr Gnr).

2. The terms “Master Bombardier”, “Bombardier” and “Gunner” shall be used within The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. “Master Bombardier” is the correct designation for a Master Corporal who is a member of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. The term “Master Corporal” shall be used when referring to any Master Corporal who is not a member of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery even though he may be serving with an artillery unit. The same rule applies to the use of the terms “Bombardier”/ “Corporal” and “Gunner”/ “Private”.

3. Chief Warrant Officers shall be addressed as follows:

a. by all ranks by rank and surname, or by appointment;

b. by officers and ranking peers, by “Mister”, “Mrs”, “Ms” or “Miss” as appropriate, followed by their surname; and

c. by their juniors, as “Sir” or “Ma’am” as appropriate. They are never addressed as “Chief”.

714. Calling Cards

1. Until a few years ago, official calling was very important in the lives of regimental officers and their wives. Newly arrived wives made official calls on the wife of the Commanding Officer, and vice versa. Cards were always left on a silver salver (tray) in the front hall. Officers when visiting other units never failed to leave their cards on a silver salver or in the card rack on the wall near the entrance. Many officers continue this custom, although the tradition of formal calling by the spouses is not followed in many units today because of changing lifestyles and a generally more informal attitude. Cards are still carried by many officers and are mandatory in some units. Many spouses still have their own cards which they use to accompany flowers or fruit, drop off when calling and finding no one at home or other circumstances. Officers still require cards at the National Defence Headquarters New Year’s levee in Ottawa, at Government House and on other official occasions.

2. Calling cards for officers are of size three inches by one and one-half inches, and in script as shown at Annex D. Decorations will be included. DND pattern business cards are an acceptable substitute.

3. Spouse’s calling cards are of size three and one-quarter inches by two and one-quarter inches. Engraving, in script, shall be as shown at Annex D.

(715 to 799 inclusive - not allocated)

• Annex A to Chapter 7 Artillery Unit Birthdays
• Annex B to Chapter 7 Artillery Memorials
• Annex C to Chapter 7 The Silver (Korea) Gun
• Annex D to Chapter 7 Calling Cards
• Standing Orders Chapter 8 Dress