People who visit city hall can now learn more about the history of the Saskatchewan Dragoons armoured reserve unit, as the building is the new home for the regiment’s battle flag.
In a sombre and celebratory event, the unit handed over its 54-year-old flag on May 25 during the Laying Up of the Guidon ceremony. Maj. Paul Park, the Dragoons’ commanding officer, presented the colours to Mayor Clive Tolley, who accepted it on behalf of the city.
The flag is technically called a guidon, French for “guyde homme” or “the guide man.” Historically, military organizations carried flags, colours or guidons as rallying points for troops and to mark their commander’s location. It also represents a unit’s identity and esprit de corps.
“We’re excited (and honoured about this handover). It’s a turning point for our regiment,” said Park, who also teaches at William Grayson School. “We’ve had (the guidon) for more than 50 years and we’re now giving it a place to rest. We couldn’t think of a better place than city hall … .”
The Dragoons’ guidon is composed of crimson silk damask, embroidered and fringed with gold and swallowtail in shape. It bears the regiment’s insignia in the centre, a white ram — connecting the unit’s historical lineage to an infantry regiment — on a green mount in two corners and the unit’s abbreviated title in the other two corners.
Ten battle honours from the First World War are also emblazoned on the old guidon.
A country’s head of state generally awards regimental flags, colours and guidons, which means units treat them with reverence since they represent honour and tradition.
The Dragoons received their original guidon on May 3, 1970, from His Excellency, the Right Honourable Roland Michener, governor general of Canada. However, the flag deteriorated over the next several decades — “it was threadbare and falling apart at the seams,” Park said — and needed replacing.
Moreover, it required updating because many members had participated in Afghanistan, which needed to be recognized.
So, on Nov. 3, 2018, the unit received a new guidon from His Honour, the Honourable W. Thomas Molloy, Saskatchewan’s then-lieutenant governor. The two flags hung in the armoury’s officers’ mess for six years until the regiment could properly dispose of the old one.
Protocol dictates that guidons no longer in service or that are old must never be “capriciously destroyed,” and instead, must be replaced and laid up in a museum, church or other significant place.
Before the ceremony, members formed up at the Lt.-Col. D.V. Currie VC Armoury — the building is over 110 years old — and then paraded down Main Street in military vehicles as part of a “Freedom of the City” privilege affirming the bond between the regiment and citizens.
This was only the third time the regiment had paraded in Moose Jaw, with the last one occurring around 2009, although that one was by foot. This was the first time the unit had paraded while mounted in vehicles, which Park said was “novel, new and exciting.”
The regiment arrived at city hall and dismounted beside the vehicles, with Park accompanying Tolley as he inspected the troopers before addressing the crowd and dignitaries.
“It’s a true honour and we will hold (the guidon) in high regard,” the mayor said.
Tolley recalled serving with the Dragoons as a teenager under Lt.-Col. Ron Calfas, the unit’s commanding officer who accepted the guidon from the governor general. The youth and 120 other young soldiers paraded every Saturday morning, where they learned discipline, marching, weapons use, and vehicle driving.
Meanwhile, Tolley discussed his family’s military service, noting two grandfathers served in the First World War — one was gassed — and his father served in the Royal Air Force in the Second World War as a truck driver at the nearby airbase. Some of his siblings have also served over the years.
Park also spoke, saying the ceremony “marked the solemnity and gravity of the occasion.” He noted that such parades often occurred during the World Wars when men marched down Main Street to the train station and departed for overseas battlefields.
The major pointed out that participating in the parade were two veteran peacekeepers, three Afghanistan vets, three vets from Latvia and three soldiers departing for Latvia to participate in NATO’s Operation Reassurance.
“These soldiers are a testament to the grit and meddle of Moose Jaw and its ability to answer the call in times of need,” Park added.
Afterward, the Dragoons officially handed over the guidon. The unit then re-mounted and drove around the block, rolling past city hall one final time before departing for the armoury.
