Shoulder flash British Columbia Regiment of Canada , 4th Armoured Division

The use of dark ('rifle') green with black lettering presumably is a reference to the Rifle origins of the Regiment. Versions of this title exist in printed cotton. Unit history: Regimental motto: Celer et fortis (Swift and strong.) Nickname: 'The Dukes'. This Vancouver-based Militia Regiment was assigned in peacetime to 14 Infantry Brigade. The Regiment was called out for guard duties on 26 August 1939 in which capacity it remained, even after mobilization on 24 May 1940. It was initially assigned to 10 Brigade in 4 Canadian Infantry Division. However, the assignment was notional as the Division was very slow to form and the infantry battalions did not begin to concentrate into their Brigade groupings until October 1940. Guard duties and individual training remained the norm for the Regiment. The Division itself did not begin to concentrate until September the following year, 1941. In January 1942 it was decided to convert the Division to an armoured formation. This involved converting the six infantry battalions in the 10th and 11th Infantry Brigades to armour, these being re-numbered 3rd and 4th Armoured Brigades. Armoured divisions at that time had two armoured brigades and a Support Group. Armoured units in the Canadian Army in Second World War had two titles, an 'official' numeric title (eg: 6th Armoured Regiment) and a secondary or 'affiliated' name, which properly following the numeric title in brackets (eg: 6th Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars)). Therefore, the Regiment on transfer to the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps was re-designated, becoming 28th Armoured Regiment (The British Columbia Regiment). Note that honour titles, like the British Columbia Regiment's 'Duke of Connaught's Own', were not used in regimental distinctions or titles. The Regiment initially had a few Canadian-built Valentine tanks and around fifteen Ram I (2 pdr.) tanks for training. The Regiment went with the Division to the UK in September 1942, where they continued to train, now with the Ram II (6pdr), up to about half their entitlement. In January 1943 the Division again undertook a major reorganization when armoured divisions changed from two to one armoured brigade and the Support Group was dropped in favour of an infantry brigade. The Regiment was retained as an armoured unit and transferred to 4 Armoured Brigade, 3 Armoured Brigade being disbanded. By spring 1943 they were approaching their full complement of tanks and by the end of that year they were beginning to trade their Rams for Shermans. In the early summer of 1944 the Regiment and its sister units each received twelve 17pdr. Fireflies. These were initially deployed as a single troop in each squadron but on insistence from 21 Army Group they redistributed them at the rate of one per troop, making four troops each of three 75mm and one Firefly per squadron. The Division landed in France on 26 July 1944. The Regiment's first action was in the second phase of Operation Totalize, the thrust towards Falaise. The Regiment was paired with the Algonquin infantry and ordered to take Hill 195, to the west of the Falaise Road. The group set off on the night of 8 August but became lost in the dark. This was not appreciated by anyone at the time and at dawn they took position on a hill and reported themselves on the objective. In fact, they were on Hill 140, nearly four miles north east of their target. Present were two Algonquin companies, all of the Regiment's C Squadron, all but one troop of B, two tanks of A and, although not specified, the numbers reported indicate all of RHQ and the Regimental Recce Troop. Battle Group Wunsch of 12 SS Pz. Div. began to attack the group some time in the morning and continued throughout the day, using both Tigers and Panthers in addition to infantry. The Canadians put up a fierce resistance and crews of destroyed tanks were said the have brought weapons out of their vehicles for use in the ground role. Some wounded were sent out in vehicles during the morning and 8 tanks broke out in the early afternoon. At dusk, those who could, slipped away before the position was finally taken. The total cost was 47 of the Regiment's tanks and around 112 men. The Algonquins lost the equivalent of a company. A week later the Regiment had reconstituted sufficiently to take part in the actions that led to the final closure of the Falaise Gap. It attacked towards Ecorches north of St. Lambert on 17 August and again to Hill 262 north east of Chambois on 21 August, the day the Gap was finally closed. The Regiment took part in the attack across the Leopold Canal, getting tanks into the tight bridgehead near Eede on 14 October. They continued to support the operations against the Scheldte positions, being sidestepped east and north with the Division to above Antwerp at the end of October. The Regiment ended this phase of operations north of Bergen op Zoom where, on the night of 4 –5 November, they with the Lake Superior infantry Battalion, engaged four German naval vessels leaving Zijpe harbour on Schouwen island, sinking three and damaging the other. The Division was engaged in the second phase of the Rhineland battle, Operation Blockbuster, for which it set up a number of battle groups. The Regiment provided two squadrons to Battle Group Gerry and one to Battle Group Cole, two of the five Tiger Groups based on 4 Armoured Brigade. On 26 February 1945 the Regiment's Battle Group Gerry attacked on the left of the Tiger Group and secured objectives on the Calcar ridge north of Udem. The Regiment's final action in the Rhineland battle was on 7 March when it was involved in an abortive attack on the town of Veen. Following the Rhine crossing, the Division advanced north east in the general direction of Oldenburg. In the closing stages of this advance the Regiment was in support on 17 –19 April of the assault crossing of the Kusten Canal. They were thereafter in the exploitation of this bridgehead, at one point somehow getting a number of their 30 ton Shermans tanks over a Bailey Bridge with a 12 ton weight restriction. The Regiment's progress finished at Mollberg, seven miles north east of Bad Zwischenahn, on 4 May. On the 1st February, 1946, under the command of Lt-Col J.W. Toogood, the Regiment returned to Vancouver, and the Dukes marched through drizzling rain and cheering crowds to the Drill Hall. The Regiment had been awarded sixty-six decorations, including 2 DSOs, 1 MBE, 3 DCM's, 5 MC's, and 10 MM's. A 2nd. Battalion served in the Reserve Army.