Colours, the Guns
The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery carries no colours, in the unsual sense of the word. The guns are its colours. On ceremonial occaisons the guns are accorded the same marks of respect as the standards, guidons and colours of other units. The reason behind this long-held tradition is related to the gunner's motto "ubique", meaning everywhere, this that the artillery hs been present in just about every campaign.
The custom of the guns being colours dates back from the eighteenth century and the Royal Artillery's practice of that time of designating the largest gun of an artillery train as the flag gun, that is, the piece accorded the honour of bearing the equivalant of the soverign's colour. This evolved into the guns being regarded as the colours of the artillery.
E.C. Russell - Customs and Traditions of the Canadian Forces (Deneau Publishers and Co. Ltd in cooperation with the Department of National Defence second printing May 1981)
Mike Timoshyk in Windsor
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17-02-08, 19:23
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