Recent content by exspy

The two photos below are from after the 1970 move of the Canadians from Northern to Southern Germany. By 1970, Canadian Centurions in Germany had been upgraded to Mk. 11 standard by having the front glacis up-armoured, the main armament upgunned with the installation of the L7A1 105mm gun with...

While the new CF ranks for officer and other ranks were used officially, Navy personnel were allowed to retain their traditional rank names right from the beginning. The reasoning being that when Canadian ships visited foreign ports, it would be embarrassing to identify the ship's Captain to...

Only the second photograph I've ever seen of a Black Watch wearing the cap badge with CF Greens. No Tam with red hackle in the new CF.

Collar badges were not authorized because everyone was supposed to look unified. One uniform, one CAF. No element distinctions. Hence the new rank flashes. Not Army, Navy or Air Force. A new unified look. Like a large extended single family.

On January 1, 1972, the CF Green uniform became compulsory wear for all regular male members of the CF. Berets were not authorized for wear with CF Greens which would have been disconcerting to Armoured and Airborne soldiers. Below is a newspaper photograph of a 3 Mech Cdo Guard at Lahr for the...

It was a small article in the May 1969 edition of Sentinel. I'll dig it out to see if there was anything further. This might take a while because my wife made me put all my stuff in storage after we moved, and I lost the den.

Part of the new rank system introduced in 1969.

Welcome, Gilbert, I concur with Blackadder1916 that the official history is a good place to start. Used copies aren't hard to find and it is available for free online. The 2nd Armoured Regiment was created from Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) and was part of the 5th Armoured Brigade...

I can't recall if Michael O'Leary, aka The Regimental Rogue, is a member here or not. He may be interested. The Regimental Rogue

I tried to download the pdf, but after an hour it still hadn't completed. How large a file is it?

51-81355 and 51-81358 were two of the first 26 Centurion tanks acquired by Canada from the British Army. All 26 were used in Germany. A good online database on the Canadian Centurions, created by the late Clive Law, can be found here. Unfortunately, I cannot readily recall what happened to the...

Welcome GINgel, During 1966, the LdSH(RC) was the armoured regiment assigned to 4 CIBG having arrived at the beginning of the year relieving the Fort Garry Horse. The brigade was located in the British Zone of Germany and was scheduled to be under the operational control of the British 2nd...

I saw him speak at the RCMI about the death of Michael Wittmann, not by the Northamptonshire Yeomanry, but by a tank commanded by Radley-Walters, for which Brian took a lot of stick from British historians. I was also privileged that he took the time to answer my questions about his time in the...

Welcome to the forum. First off, great photograph. Would it be possible for you to provide more details of your Grandfather's record of service? Possibly a copy of the actual document? The more information you provide will result in a more detailed response, particularly the details from prior...

As I recall, the Canadian Army's air defence capability was stood down to use the manpower and budget to bring the Army into the nuclear club. Without disbanding the Reg F air defence, a unit which only existed in Canada and not in Germany, there would not have been the resources required for...