2PPCLI receives new Queen’s Colour
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/05/2017 (3259 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
CFB SHILO — When London’s calling, Shilo’s troops want to look their best.
At a ceremony steeped in pomp and pageantry, the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI) officially received its new Queen’s Colour Saturday morning — a cherished symbol the unit wanted to refresh for this summer’s trip to London.
The battalion’s last Queen’s Colour, a flag representing the unit’s loyalty to the Crown, was received and consecrated in 1991.
“The fabric itself was beginning to tear and we didn’t want to have a bad incident in front of the Queen,” explained Lt.-Col. Wayne Niven, commanding officer of 2PPCLI, after the parade.
Approximately 100 troops from the Shilo-based unit will spend three weeks in the United Kingdom performing public duties, including standing guard at Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, St. James Palace and Windsor Castle.
The Queen invited soldiers from Shilo and the Royal Canadian Artillery Band in Edmonton to the U.K. as a commemoration of Canada’s 150th anniversary.
The Queen’s Colour “represents sacrifice and loyalty,” Niven said, and the aged look of the previous flag, which was marched out of the Korea Parade Square Saturday, necessitated a change.
“The colours will go to London this summer, so we wanted to make sure they were in good shape.”
The new flag is the same as the 1991 version. Comparable to the red and white of Canada’s national flag, the Queen’s Colour, trimmed in gold and red, includes the Royal Cypher for Canada at the centre of the maple leaf.
Adrienne Clarkson, former Canadian governor general and colonel-in-chief of the PPCLI, presided over the ceremony.
In her address to the approximately 200 soldiers in attendance, Clarkson described it as an “honour and a pleasure” to witness the consecration of the Queen’s Colour.
The occasion is also an opportunity to look back at what Clarkson described as a defining moment for the regiment, the Battle of Kapyong, 66 years ago last month.
The unit was called up from reserve to the Kapyong Valley where they held their own against waves of enemy soldiers during the Korean War.
For their heroic efforts, 2PPCLI received the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation, a rare honour for a Canadian unit. Soldiers wear a blue patch on their dress uniform to recognize the citation.
Clarkson told the audience she has visited Kapyong Valley, where trees have flourished but remnants of the heavy fighting remain.
Earlier in the ceremony, Clarkson and Lt.-Col Niven stood atop a military jeep for an inspection of the gathered soldiers, who spent two weeks rehearsing for the parade.
“You are looking pretty sharp,” she said afterwards.
The battalion moved from Kapyong Barracks in Winnipeg to Shilo in 2004.
» ifroese@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @ianfroese