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113-653: The mission of the Canadian Military Engineers is to contribute to the survival, mobility, and combat effectiveness of the Canadian Armed Forces. Their roles are to conduct combat operations, support the Canadian Forces in war and peace, support national development, provide assistance to civil authorities, and support international aid programs. Military engineers’ responsibilities encompass the use of demolitions and land mines,

226-522: A beret . For service caps , a gilt eagle device is worn. This is the Great Seal of the United States . In the late nineteenth century, this device on a blue circle was listed as the equivalent of the roundel that appeared on headgear of many European armies. For officers, a large eagle device is worn. For enlisted men, a small version of the officer's insignia centered on a disk is worn on

339-711: A diamond rush and a massive influx of foreigners to the borders of the Orange Free State. Then, in June 1884, gold was discovered in the Witwatersrand area of the South African Republic by Jan Gerrit Bantjes . Gold made the Transvaal the richest nation in southern Africa; however, the country had neither the manpower nor the industrial base to develop the resource on its own. As a result,

452-645: A shanty town . Uitlanders (foreigners, white outsiders) poured in and settled around the mines. The influx was so rapid that uitlanders quickly outnumbered the Boers in Johannesburg and along the Rand, although they remained a minority in the Transvaal. The Boers, nervous and resentful of the uitlanders' growing presence, sought to contain their influence through requiring lengthy residential qualifying periods before voting rights could be obtained; by imposing taxes on

565-554: A Boer and British ultimatum and subsequent Boer irregulars and militia attacks on British colonial settlements in Natal Colony . The Boers placed Ladysmith , Kimberley , and Mafeking under siege, and won victories at Colenso , Magersfontein and Stormberg . Increased numbers of British Army soldiers were brought to Southern Africa and mounted unsuccessful attacks against the Boers. However, British fortunes changed when their commanding officer, General Redvers Buller ,

678-745: A combination cap badge featuring a gold disc in front of two silver crossed anchors, while junior enlisted sailors of both genders wear a sailor cap without any insignia. Midshipmen at the US Naval Academy and the US Merchant Marine Academy and in the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC), and wear a single, upright fouled anchor on combination and garrison caps, while cadets at the US Coast Guard Academy wear

791-467: A complete set. The CME/RCE greeting or toast is "chimo" ( / ˈ tʃ iː m oʊ / CHEE -moh ). This expression is also often used as a closing on correspondence between engineers. The word chimo is derived from the Inuktitut greeting: [ saimo ( saimu )] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup ( help ) that means "hello," "goodbye," "peace be with you," and similar sentiments. This salutation

904-643: A frenzy of jingoism, lionised him and treated him as a hero. Although sentenced to 15 months imprisonment (which he served in Holloway ), Jameson was later rewarded by being named Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (1904–1908) and was ultimately anointed as one of the founders of the Union of South Africa. For conspiring with Jameson, the uitlander members of the Reform Committee (Transvaal) were tried in

1017-506: A further two years, the Boers conducted a hard-fought guerrilla war, attacking British troop columns, telegraph sites, railways, and storage depots. To deny supplies to the Boer guerrillas, the British, now under the leadership of Lord Kitchener , adopted a scorched earth policy. They cleared vast areas, destroying Boer farms and moving the civilians into concentration camps. Some parts of

1130-453: A guerrilla campaign, becoming known as bittereinders . Led by generals such as Louis Botha , Jan Smuts , Christiaan de Wet , and Koos de la Rey , Boer guerrillas used hit-and-run attacks and ambushes against the British for two years. The guerrilla campaign proved difficult for the British to defeat, due to unfamiliarity with guerrilla tactics and extensive support for the guerrillas among civilians. In response to failures to defeat

1243-431: A large ridge some 69 km (43 mi) south of the Boer capital at Pretoria. The ridge was known locally as the "Witwatersrand" (white water ridge, a watershed). A gold rush to the Transvaal brought thousands of British and other prospectors and settlers from around the globe and over the border from the Cape Colony, which had been under British control since 1806. The city of Johannesburg sprang up nearly overnight as

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1356-586: A more elaborate version compared to that of soldiers, made using gold thread and has a more three-dimensional design. The only exception to this is recruits in training who have to wear the brass (or more often "stay-brite") leek, often referred to as the " NAAFI fork", until they have passed out of training and reached their battalion will they receive their cloth leek . All ranks of the Special Air Service wear an embroidered cap badge and all ranks of The Rifles and Royal Regiment of Fusiliers wear

1469-773: A plan to take Johannesburg and end the control of the Transvaal government was hatched with the connivance of the Cape Prime Minister Rhodes and Johannesburg gold magnate Alfred Beit . A column of 600 armed men was led over the border from Bechuanaland towards Johannesburg by Jameson, the Administrator in Rhodesia of the British South Africa Company , of which Cecil Rhodes was the chairman. The column, mainly made up of Rhodesian and Bechuanaland British South Africa Policemen ,

1582-495: A pretext for war and a justification for a big military build-up in Cape Colony. The case for war was developed and espoused as far away as the Australian colonies. Cape Colony Governor Sir Alfred Milner ; Rhodes; Chamberlain; and mining syndicate owners such as Beit, Barney Barnato , and Lionel Phillips , favoured annexation of the Boer republics. Confident that the Boers would be quickly defeated, they planned and organised

1695-446: A prong-type slider to attach to both the beret and forage cap. The collar dogs (worn only on army uniforms after introduction of distinctive environmental uniforms ) were miniatures of the cap badge. By 1998, the metal cap badge had been replaced by an embroidered cloth version which was sewn directly to the beret. Collar dogs were replaced by a crouching beaver over the motto Ubique . Left- and right-facing beavers are required for

1808-539: A short war, citing the uitlanders' grievances as the motivation for the conflict. In contrast, the influence of the war party within the British government was limited. UK Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury , despised jingoism and jingoists. He was also uncertain of the abilities of the British Army. Despite both his moral and practical reservations, Salisbury led the United Kingdom to war in order to preserve

1921-564: A silver fouled anchor within a gold circle, with St Edward's Crown above the ring as their cap badge. That of Chief Petty Officers is the same, but with a small laurel wreath around the gold ring. That of warrant officers (both Class I and Class II) has a larger wreath around the anchor, but omits the ring. The laurel wreath around that of commissioned officers is larger still. In the Royal Marines , cap badges are worn on peaked caps and berets. Those of commissioned officers below

2034-554: A single fouled anchor surmounted by a silver five-pointed star, with one point facing down. United States marines wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor as their cap device: gilt and silver for officers and gold for enlisted on blue dress uniforms, and subdued for all ranks on service and utility uniforms. Marine-option midshipmen at the US Naval Academy wear the same cap device as other midshipmen, while NROTC midshipmen wear

2147-716: A substitution for the battle honours the corps would have obtained if they were a line regiment. Quo fas et gloria ducunt (Latin, "Whither right and glory lead") From shortly after their creation until 1967, the Royal Canadian Engineers had a nearly identical cap badge to the Royal Engineers. This consisted of the Cipher of the Reigning monarch, surrounded by the Garter, surmounted by the crown with

2260-574: Is officially called the South African War . In fact, according to a 2011 BBC report, "most scholars prefer to call the war of 1899–1902 the South African War, thereby acknowledging that all South Africans, white and black, were affected by the war and that many were participants". The origins of the war were complex and stemmed from more than a century of conflict between the Boers and Britain. Of immediate importance, however,

2373-644: Is positioned differently depending on the form of headdress: Soldiers of the Gloucestershire Regiment and subsequently the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment wore a cap badge on both the front and the rear of their headdress, a tradition maintained by soldiers in The Rifles when in service dress. The back badge is unique in the British Army and was awarded to the 28th Regiment of Foot for their actions at

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2486-477: The Adjutant General's Corps and Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers serving on attachment to other units often wear that regiment's beret or headdress but with their own Corps cap badge. For a period leading up to Remembrance Day artificial poppies are worn by many people in the United Kingdom and Canada to commemorate those killed in war. On forage caps the paper petals are fitted under

2599-472: The Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Additional items that reflect a regiment's historical accomplishments, such as backing cloth and hackles , may be worn behind the cap badge. In Scottish regiments, for instance, it is a tradition for soldiers to wear their cap badges on a small square piece of their regimental tartans . Officer cadets may wear a small white backing behind their badges. Members of arms such as

2712-625: The Battle of Vimy Ridge , and particularly at the Battle of Messines , several such mines were used to win the battle. The Canadian Military Engineers contributed three tunnelling companies to the British Expeditionary Force : 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company , 2nd Canadian Tunnelling Company and 3rd Canadian Tunnelling Company . One was formed from men on the battlefield, while two other companies first trained in Canada and were then shipped to France. The only Victoria Cross

2825-714: The Boer War , Transvaal War , Anglo–Boer War , or South African War , was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and Orange Free State ) over the Empire's influence in Southern Africa . The Witwatersrand Gold Rush caused a large influx of " foreigners " ( Uitlanders ) to the South African Republic (SAR), mostly British from

2938-715: The British Army (as well as other Commonwealth armies) each regiment and corps has its own cap badge. The cap badge of the Queen's Royal Lancers is called a motto by those within the regiment, that of the Royal Horse Artillery is known as a cypher and that of the Coldstream Guards , Scots Guards and Irish Guards is known as a cap star. That of the Grenadier Guards is known as

3051-675: The Cape Colony . As they, for fear of a hostile takeover of the SAR, were permitted to vote only after fourteen years of residence, they protested to the British authorities in the Cape. Negotiations failed at the botched Bloemfontein Conference in June 1899. The conflict broke out in October after the British government decided to send 10,000 troops to South Africa. With a delay, this provoked

3164-654: The Enfield . Indeed, when the ammunition for the Mausers ran out, the Boers relied primarily on the captured Lee-Metfords. Regardless of the rifle, few of the Boers used bayonets. The Boers also purchased the best modern European German Krupp artillery. By October 1899, the Transvaal State Artillery had 73 heavy guns, including four 155 mm Creusot fortress guns and 25 of the 37 mm Maxim Nordenfeldt guns . The Boers' Maxim, larger than

3277-794: The First Boer War (December 1880 to March 1881) was a much smaller conflict. Boer (meaning "farmer") is the common name for Afrikaans -speaking white South Africans descended from the Dutch East India Company 's original settlers at the Cape of Good Hope . Among some South Africans, it is known as the (Second) Anglo–Boer War. In Afrikaans , it may be called (in order of frequency) the ' Tweede Vryheidsoorlog ("Second Freedom War"), ' Tweede Boereoorlog ("Second Boer War"), Anglo–Boereoorlog ("Anglo–Boer War") or Engelse oorlog ("English War"). In South Africa , it

3390-544: The Great Trek . Around 15,000 trekking Boers departed the Cape Colony and followed the eastern coast towards Natal . After Britain annexed Natal in 1843, they journeyed farther northwards into South Africa's vast eastern interior. There, they established two independent Boer republics: the South African Republic (1852; also known as the Transvaal Republic) and the Orange Free State (1854). Britain recognised

3503-533: The Martini-Henry Mark III, because thousands of these had been purchased. Unfortunately, the large puff of white smoke after firing gave away the shooter's position. Roughly 7,000 Guedes 1885 rifles had also been purchased a few years earlier, and these were also used during the hostilities. As the war went on, some commandos relied on captured British rifles, such as the Lee-Metford and

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3616-735: The Matabele and Mashona peoples' rising against the British South Africa Company. The rebellion, known as the Second Matabele War , was suppressed only at a great cost. A few days after the raid, the German Kaiser sent a telegram—known to history as "the Kruger telegram "—congratulating President Kruger and the government of the South African Republic on their success. When the text of this telegram

3729-505: The St. John Ambulance Brigade), customs services, fire services etc. Cap badges are a modern form of heraldry and their design generally incorporates highly symbolic devices. Some badges that contain images of lions or other cats are sometimes informally referred to as cat badges. The British Armed Forces utilise a variety of metal and cloth cap badges on their headdress, generally on caps and berets. They are also worn on Sikh turbans . In

3842-627: The United States Coast Guard , which once followed this pattern, but changed after the American Civil War to their current designs. The Navy has crossed anchors behind the eagle and shield for commissioned officers, while the Coast Guard uses a single large anchor held in the eagle's claws on its commissioned officers' caps; officers in both branches wear a miniature version of the commissioned officer insignia on

3955-534: The grenade fired proper . The concept of regimental badges appears to have originated with the British Army. The Encyclopædia Britannica ' s 1911 Edition notes that although branch badges for infantry, cavalry and so on were common to other armies of the time, only the British Army wore distinctive regimental devices. Plastic cap badges were introduced during the Second World War , when metals became strategic materials . Nowadays many cap badges in

4068-554: The " Missionaries Road " passed through it towards territory farther north. After the Germans annexed Damaraland and Namaqualand (modern Namibia ) in 1884, Britain annexed Bechuanaland in 1885. In the First Boer War of 1880–1881 the Boers of the Transvaal Republic proved skilful fighters in resisting Britain's attempt at annexation, causing a series of British defeats. The British government of William Ewart Gladstone

4181-745: The African continent was dominated in the 19th century by a set of struggles to create within it a single unified state. In 1868, Britain annexed Basutoland in the Drakensberg Mountains, following an appeal from Moshoeshoe I , the king of the Sotho people , who sought British protection against the Boers. While the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885 sought to draw boundaries between the European powers' African possessions, it also set

4294-578: The Boer cause attracted thousands of volunteers from neutral countries , including the German Empire, United States, Russia and even some parts of the British Empire such as Australia and Ireland. Some consider the war the beginning of questioning the British Empire's veneer of impenetrable global dominance, due to the war's surprising duration and the unforeseen losses suffered by the British. A trial for British war crimes committed during

4407-406: The Boers; 20,000 died. British mounted infantry were deployed to track down guerrillas, leading to small-scale skirmishes . Few combatants on either side were killed in action , with most casualties dying from disease. Kitchener offered generous terms of surrender to remaining Boer leaders to end the conflict. Eager to ensure fellow Boers were released from the camps, most Boer commanders accepted

4520-400: The British Army are made of a material called "stay-brite" ( anodised aluminium , anodising is an electro-plating process resulting in lightweight shiny badge), this is used because it is cheap, flexible and does not require as much maintenance as brass badges. Regimental cap badges are usually cast as one single piece but in a number of cases they may be cast in different pieces. For instance,

4633-489: The British Empire's prestige and feeling a sense of obligation to British South Africans. Salisbury also detested the Boers treatment of native Africans, referring to the London Convention of 1884 , (following Britain's defeat in the first war), as an agreement "really in the interest of slavery". Salisbury was not alone in this concern. Roger Casement , already well on the way to becoming an Irish Nationalist,

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4746-477: The British Maxims, was a large calibre, belt-fed, water-cooled "auto cannon" that fired explosive rounds (smokeless ammunition) at 450 rounds per minute. It became known as the "Pom Pom". Aside from weaponry, the tactics used by the Boers were significant. As one modern source states, "Boer soldiers ... were adept at guerrilla warfare—something the British had difficulty countering". The Transvaal army

4859-403: The British press and British government expected the campaign to be over within months, and the protracted war gradually became less popular, especially after revelations about the conditions in the concentration camps (where as many as 26,000 Afrikaner women and children died of disease and malnutrition). The Boer forces finally surrendered on Saturday, 31 May 1902, with 54 of the 60 delegates from

4972-674: The British terms in the Treaty of Vereeniging , surrendering in May 1902. The former republics were transformed into the British colonies of the Transvaal and Orange River , and in 1910 were merged with the Natal and Cape Colonies to form the Union of South Africa , a self-governing dominion within the British Empire. British expeditionary efforts were aided significantly by colonial forces from

5085-423: The Canadian Engineers have ever received was earned by Captain C. N. Mitchell for actions on 8 October 1918 at Canal de I'Escaut, north-east of Cambrai . In total, more than 40,000 Canadians served as Engineers in the war, with 14,000 on the front on the last day of the war. On 1 June 2022, the perpetuation of No. 2 Construction Battalion , CEF, was assigned to the CME, with 4 Engineer Support Regiment having

5198-727: The Canadian Forces . The Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering ( CFSME ) at CFB Gagetown in Oromocto, New Brunswick is responsible for the conduct of 85 different courses that span all ranks and occupations within the Field, Construction and Airfield Engineer organizations. CFSME is the Canadian Forces Centre of Excellence in Engineer Training and home of the Engineers. Second Boer War British victory [REDACTED]   South African Republic [REDACTED]   Orange Free State 1900 1901 1902 The Second Boer War ( Afrikaans : Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , lit.   ' Second Freedom War ' , 11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902), also known as

5311-405: The Cape Colony, the Natal, Rhodesia , and many volunteers from the British Empire worldwide, particularly Australia , Canada , India and New Zealand . Black African recruits contributed increasingly to the British war effort. International public opinion was sympathetic to the Boers and hostile to the British . Even within the UK, there existed significant opposition to the war . As a result,

5424-784: The Cape during the late 17th and early 18th centuries; however, close to one-fourth of this demographic was of German origin and one-sixth of French Huguenot descent. Cleavages were likelier to occur along socio-economic rather than ethnic lines. Broadly speaking, the colonists included a number of distinct subgroups, including the Boers . The Boers were itinerant farmers who lived on the colony's frontiers, seeking better pastures for their livestock. Many were dissatisfied with aspects of British administration, in particular with Britain's abolition of slavery on 1 December 1834. Boers who used forced labor would have been unable to collect compensation for their slaves. Between 1836 and 1852, many elected to migrate away from British rule in what became known as

5537-411: The Cape inquiry and the London parliamentary inquiry and was forced to resign as Prime Minister of the Cape and as Chairman of the British South Africa Company, for having sponsored the failed coup d'état . The Boer government handed their prisoners over to the British for trial. Jameson was tried in England, where the British press and London society, inflamed by anti-Boer and anti-German feeling and in

5650-480: The Militia adopted the cap badge used by the regulars. The Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers expanded dramatically in size to support Canada's war effort. On August 31, 1939, the Permanent Force engineers included 50 officers (with 14 seconded to other branches of the Canadian Army) and 323 other ranks; the maximum size of the Corps was reached in 1944, when it included 210 officers and 6283 other ranks. In keeping with British Army practice, company -sized units in

5763-404: The Orange Free State to join him and mobilising their forces, Kruger issued an ultimatum giving Britain 48 hours to withdraw all their troops from the border of Transvaal (despite the fact that the only regular British army troops anywhere near the border of either republic were 4 companies of the Loyal North Lancs , who had been deployed to defend Kimberley. ) Otherwise, the Transvaal, allied with

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5876-430: The Orange Free State, would declare war. Cap badge A cap badge , also known as head badge or hat badge , is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy Scouts , civil defence organisations, ambulance services (e.g.

5989-421: The Second Boer War was the longest, the most expensive (£211 million, £19.9 billion at 2022 prices), and the bloodiest conflict between 1815 and 1914, lasting three months longer and resulting in more British combat casualties than the Crimean War (1853–1856). Disease took a greater toll in the Crimean War, claiming 17,580 British. The conflict is commonly referred to simply as "the Boer War" because

6102-410: The South African Republic Paul Kruger , either fled or went into hiding; the British Empire officially annexed the two republics in 1900. In Britain, the Conservative ministry led by Lord Salisbury attempted to capitalise on British military successes by calling an early general election , dubbed by contemporary observers as a " khaki election ". However, Boer fighters took to the hills and launched

6215-489: The Transvaal Boers behind President Kruger and his government. It also had the effect of drawing the Transvaal and the Orange Free State (led by President Martinus Theunis Steyn ) together in opposition to British imperialism. In 1897, the two republics concluded a military pact. In earlier conflicts, the Boers' most common weapon was the British Westley Richards falling-block breech-loader. In his book The First Boer War , Joseph Lehmann offers this comment: "Employing chiefly

6328-443: The Transvaal and Orange Free State voting to accept the terms of the peace treaty. This was known as the Treaty of Vereeniging , and under its provisions, the two republics were absorbed into the British Empire, with the promise of self-government in the future. This promise was fulfilled with the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. The war had a lasting effect on the region and on British domestic politics. For Britain,

6441-427: The Transvaal courts and found guilty of high treason. The four leaders were sentenced to death by hanging, but the next day this sentence was commuted to 15 years' imprisonment. In June 1896, the other members of the committee were released on payment of £2,000 each in fines, all of which were paid by Cecil Rhodes. One Reform Committee member, Frederick Gray, committed suicide while in Pretoria gaol , on 16 May. His death

6554-527: The Transvaal reluctantly acquiesced to the immigration of uitlanders (foreigners), mainly English-speaking men from Britain, who came to the Boer region in search of fortune and employment. As a result, the number of uitlanders in the Transvaal threatened to exceed the number of Boers, precipitating confrontations between the Boer settlers and the newer, non-Boer arrivals. Britain's expansionist ideas (notably propagated by Cecil Rhodes ) as well as disputes over uitlander political and economic rights led to

6667-450: The badge of the now amalgamated, The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) was cast in two separate pieces: the Queen's Crown and the thistle forming one piece, and the stag's head and scroll with regimental motto forming a second piece (see the first picture above). The Royal Corps of Signals also has a two-part badge. The top being a brass crown and the bottom consisting of a silver flying body of Mercury (the winged messenger of

6780-403: The band was dissolved, with most being sent to the Royal Canadian Navy . On 1 February 1968, the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy , and Royal Canadian Air Force were officially unified as the Canadian Armed Forces. As such the Royal Canadian Engineers, Royal Canadian Navy Civil Engineers and Royal Canadian Air Force Construction Division were amalgamated. However, the new branch went under

6893-423: The border. Four days later, the weary and dispirited column was surrounded near Krugersdorp , within sight of Johannesburg. After a brief skirmish in which the column lost 65 killed and wounded—while the Boers lost but one man—Jameson's men surrendered and were arrested by the Boers. The botched raid had repercussions throughout southern Africa and in Europe. In Rhodesia, the departure of so many policemen enabled

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7006-495: The borders of both the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, failing which the Transvaal, allied to the Orange Free State, would declare war on the British government . (In fact, Kruger had ordered commandos to the Natal border in early September, and Britain had only troops in garrison towns far from the border.) The British government rejected the South African Republic's ultimatum, and the South African Republic and Orange Free State declared war on Britain. The southern part of

7119-403: The case of infantry and armoured soldiers, regimental affiliation. Some units further differentiate non-commissioned members from officers by cap badge material (for example, artillery officers wear gold-wire embroidered cloth instead of brass, Lord Strathcona's Horse officers wear silver rather than brass). In the United States Army , a distinctive unit insignia (DUI) is worn on the flash of

7232-429: The defence of Canada required more than just a single infantry battalion and a few artillery batteries as part of the permanent defence force. In 1903 The Royal Canadian Engineers were founded as the basis of the permanent military engineers, while the militia had the Royal Canadian Engineers created under the leadership of a former Royal Military College of Canada officer cadet, Lieutenant-Colonel Paul Weatherbe. One of

7345-404: The design and development of equipment necessary to carry out these operations. The official role of the combat engineer is to allow friendly troops to live, move and fight on the battlefield and deny that to the enemy. With the passing of the 1855 Militia Act, volunteer militia engineering companies formed within local militia units: Following the Boer War the Canadian Government realized that

7458-476: The design, construction and maintenance of defensive works and fortifications, urban operations (hostile room entry), breaching obstacles, establishing/maintaining lines of communication, and bridging. They also provide water, power and other utilities, provide fire, aircraft crash and rescue services, hazardous material operations, and develop maps and other engineering intelligence. In addition, military engineers are experts in deception and concealment, as well as in

7571-439: The enlisted-dress Eagle, Globe, and Anchor on all their uniforms instead of an anchor. Badges are worn on berets of international military and peacekeeping forces. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , as well as provincial and municipal police forces, utilize forage caps and metal cap badges. Where the majority of British police forces have silver-coloured cap badges, those of the City of London Police are brass . They are in

7684-428: The failed Jameson Raid of 1895. Dr. Leander Starr Jameson , who led the raid, intended to encourage an uprising of the uitlanders in Johannesburg . However, the uitlanders did not take up arms in support, and Transvaal government forces surrounded the column and captured Jameson's men before they could reach Johannesburg. As tensions escalated, political manoeuvrings and negotiations attempted to reach compromise on

7797-551: The field engineer regiments have been redesignated or amalgamated to become combat engineer regiments, and the field engineer squadrons have either been amalgamated to make new combat engineer regiments or reroled as generic engineer squadrons. 38 CBG previously had 21st Field Engineer Squadron, based in Flin Flon, Manitoba . It was however disbanded in 1995. In 2003, the Fort Garry Horse in Winnipeg, Manitoba , began hosting what became 31 Engineer Squadron in 2012. The brigade formed 46 Engineer Squadron in Saskatoon in 2012, which

7910-425: The first tasks completed by the engineers after the declaration of war upon Germany in 1914 was for the rapid development of the Valcartier training site in Quebec . At its peak size, 30,000 men were stationed here before the 1st Canadian Division was deployed to England. When the 1st Division arrived on the front in Belgium they were accompanied by field companies of the Canadian Engineers (men recruited into

8023-417: The form of each force's crest and include the name of that force. Different badge designs are also worn on the headgear of police community support officers . Cap badges are worn by a variety of other organisations: In the United Kingdom, cadets of the Community Cadet Forces , Combined Cadet Force and Volunteer Cadet Corps generally wear cap badges of the armed forces they are affiliated to. Cadets of

8136-449: The front. Warrant officers used to wear a gold eagle device, known as "Eagle Rising," centered on the cap but now wear the same devices as regular officers. For garrison caps, generally the rank insignia is worn, but recent regulations call for the wear of the DUI. For U.S. Air Force service caps, a large, silver eagle device is worn on the service caps. For enlisted men, a smaller version of

8249-491: The gods – 'Jimmy') above a brass world and the motto certa cito ('swift and sure'). A regiment or battalion may maintain variations of the same cap badge for different ranks. These variations are usually in the badges' material, size and stylization. Variations in cap badges are normally made for: There are exceptions such as the Welsh Guards, where all ranks wear a cloth cap badge. Officers wearing

8362-546: The gold industry; and by introducing controls through licensing, tariffs and administrative requirements. Among the issues giving rise to tension between the Transvaal government on the one hand and the uitlanders and British interests on the other, were: British imperial interests were alarmed when in 1894–1895 Kruger proposed building a railway through Portuguese East Africa to Delagoa Bay , bypassing British-controlled ports in Natal and Cape Town and avoiding British tariffs. At

8475-527: The guerrillas, British high command ordered scorched earth policies as part of a large scale and multi-pronged counterinsurgency campaign; a network of nets , blockhouses , strongpoints and barbed wire fences was constructed, virtually partitioning the occupied republics. Over 100,000 Boer civilians, mostly women and children, were forcibly relocated into concentration camps , where 26,000 died, mostly by starvation and disease. Black Africans were interned in concentration camps to prevent them from supplying

8588-555: The highway was renamed the "Northwest Highway System" and the responsibility for maintenance was given to the Royal Canadian Engineers for the next 20 years. The soldiers of the CME/RCE adopted the greeting of "chimo" and in 1973 it became the cheer of the CME. The present CME flag was created at the time of unification. It measures six "units" long by three "units" high, and is in the colours of brick red and royal blue. The Engineer Prayer

8701-597: The honour of publicly recognizing the perpetuation. On demobilization, the permanent force of Engineers was changed to 38 officers and 249 other ranks. As a matter of honour, King George V , the Canadian monarch bestowed on the organization the right to use the prefix royal before its name in 1932. On 29 April 1936, the Militia and Permanent components were joined to form the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers . On this date

8814-436: The issues of uitlanders' rights within the South African Republic, control of the gold mining industry, and Britain's desire to incorporate the Transvaal and the Orange Free State into a federation under British control. Given the British origins of the majority of uitlanders and the ongoing influx of new uitlanders into Johannesburg, the Boers recognised that granting full voting rights to the uitlanders would eventually result in

8927-462: The leaves may be absent or replaced by a ring of golden cable. Cap badges in the Royal Navy differ between ranks but have some common features: junior rates ( Able Seaman to Leading Seaman ) do not wear cap badges, wearing the peakless sailor's cap in number one dress. When wearing a beret, junior ratings will wear a fouled anchor within a gold ring as a beret badge. Petty Officers wear

9040-558: The left hand chin strap button. Cap badges in the Royal Air Force differ in design between those of commissioned officers and other ranks . In addition to caps and berets, they are also worn on forage caps . The Canadian Armed Forces utilize a variety of metal and cloth cap badges on their headdress, and many follow British traditions for additions such as cloth behind and blackened metal badges for rifle regiments. Distinct cap badges identify members' personnel branch or, in

9153-489: The left side of the garrison cap, with rank insignia worn on the wearer's right. Chief petty officers and above in both the Navy and the Coast Guard have a larger version of their collar insignia as their cap badge for the combination cover and a miniature version worn on the garrison cap ; petty officer first class and below in both services wear a full-sized rank insignia on the garrison cap. Junior enlisted coastguards wear

9266-629: The loss of ethnic Boer control in the South African Republic. The June 1899 negotiations in Bloemfontein failed, and in September 1899 British Colonial Secretary Joseph Chamberlain demanded full voting rights and representation for the uitlanders residing in the Transvaal. Paul Kruger , the President of the South African Republic, issued an ultimatum on 9 October 1899, giving the British government 48 hours to withdraw all their troops from

9379-488: The name Royal Canadian Engineers until 1973 when the branch was officially named as the Canadian Military Engineers. The present day structure of army field units was set on 17 June 1977 with the creation of 1 Combat Engineer Regiment (1 CER), 2 CER, 4 ESR and 5 CER. The new regiments were each created from one of the squadrons of the former 1 Field Engineer Regiment. The role of the Canadian Military Engineers has been expanding. The regular force component has been expanding

9492-465: The officer's insignia is worn, but enclosed in a ring. The use of the same device is because the U.S. Air Force was once part of the U.S. Army. Cap badges used by navies (and merchant mariners) around the world tend to follow the pattern in use by the Royal Navy : an anchor , or occasionally a cockade , surrounded by golden leaf-shaped embroidery, and often topped by a crown or another symbol. They may be worn on peaked caps or berets. For petty officers

9605-538: The patron saint of the artillery. Engineers, along with the artillery and miners, celebrate her feast day on December 4. St. Barbara is the patroness of artillerymen, fireworks manufacturers, firemen, stonemasons, against sudden death, against fires, and against storms (especially lightning storms). The CME/RCE has various equipment for use in supporting the Canadian Forces at home and on deployment overseas. For more refer to Engineering and support vehicles of

9718-448: The rank of colonel are split in two, the crown and lion atop, but separated from, the globe and laurels. They are brass and silver. Those of other ranks are of the same design but not split in two. They are plain brass. Blackened or subdued versions of both variants, those of officers and other ranks, are worn on berets, with combat uniforms . The lion and crown denote a royal regiment, conferred by King George III in 1802. The globe

9831-540: The region it would strike too aggressive a posture and possibly derail a negotiated settlement—or even encourage a Boer attack. Steyn of the Orange Free State invited Milner and Kruger to attend a conference in Bloemfontein . The conference started on 30 May 1899, but negotiations quickly broke down, as Kruger had no intention of granting meaningful concessions, and Milner had no intention of accepting his normal delaying tactics. On 9 October 1899, after convincing

9944-402: The same metal badge. Some regiments maintain a blackened or subdued version of their cap badges as shiny brass cap badges may attract the enemy's attention on the battlefield. However, since the practice of British soldiers operating in theatre with regimental headdress (i.e. peaked cap, beret) has all but died out, the wearing of these has become much less common in recent years. The cap badge

10057-500: The second phase, after the number of British troops greatly increased under the command of Lord Roberts , the British launched another offensive in 1900 to relieve the sieges, this time achieving success. After Natal and the Cape Colony were secure, the British army was able to invade the Transvaal, and the republic's capital, Pretoria , was ultimately captured in June 1900. In the third and final phase, beginning in March 1900 and lasting

10170-647: The service after the start of the war were part of the Militia branch and not the regulars). These troops were responsible for the construction of defences, sanitation systems, water supplies, bridging, and assisting with trench raids. Canadian Engineers also served in the Middle East fighting the Turks. One of the most important functions of the Sappers in the war was to dig tunnels for mines underneath enemy trenches, with which to plant explosives to destroy them. At

10283-639: The size of their units, due to the current missions of the Canadian Armed Forces. In April 1997, Canada's Primary Reserve reorganized into ten brigade groups and in November 1997, the first reserve combat engineer regiment was created by converting an armoured reconnaissance regiment. A number of years later the three field engineer regiments, and seven independent field engineer squadrons were reorganized into combat engineer regiments. Three Canadian brigade groups had more than one engineer unit, and one ( 38 Canadian Brigade Group ) did not have any units at all. Now

10396-402: The stage for further scrambles. Britain attempted to annex first the South African Republic in 1880, and then, in 1899, both the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. In the 1880s, Bechuanaland (modern Botswana ) became the object of a dispute between the Germans to the west, the Boers to the east, and Britain's Cape Colony to the south. Although Bechuanaland had no economic value,

10509-472: The time, the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony was Cecil Rhodes, a man driven by a vision of a British-controlled Africa extending from the Cape to Cairo . Certain self-appointed uitlanders' representatives and British mine owners became increasingly frustrated and angered by their dealings with the Transvaal government. A Reform Committee (Transvaal) was formed to represent the uitlanders. In 1895,

10622-441: The title Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers was brought back for the army element of the branch. Queen Elizabeth II , Queen of Canada, was the colonel-in-chief of the CME until her death in 2022. King George V , Edward VIII , and George VI all served as previous colonels-in-chief of the Royal Canadian Engineers. King George V granted the CME the same mottoes as the Royal Engineers. Ubique (Latin, "Everywhere") serves as

10735-466: The two Boer republics in 1852 and 1854 but attempted British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 led to the First Boer War in 1880–1881. After Britain suffered defeats, particularly at the Battle of Majuba Hill (1881), the independence of the two republics was restored, subject to certain conditions. However, relations remained uneasy. In 1866, diamonds were discovered at Kimberley , prompting

10848-668: The two armoured divisions were called " squadrons " following cavalry terminology. The following units were deployed in Canada and in Europe: The senior officers of the Corps in World War II were as follows: The branch maintained a military band in its ranks from 1953 to 1968. During its 15 years in existence, the band performed for members of the Canadian royal family , Governors General of Canada including Georges Vanier , and American President Lyndon B. Johnson . In 1968,

10961-418: The very fine breech-loading Westley Richards – calibre 45; paper cartridge; percussion-cap replaced on the nipple manually—they made it exceedingly dangerous for the British to expose themselves on the skyline". Kruger re-equipped the Transvaal army, importing 37,000 of the latest 7x57 mm Mauser Model 1895 rifles supplied by Germany, and some 40 to 50 million rounds of ammunition. Some commandos used

11074-479: The war, including the killings of civilians and prisoners, was opened in January 1901. The war had three phases. In the first phase, the Boers mounted preemptive strikes into British-held territory in Natal and the Cape Colony , besieging the British garrisons of Ladysmith , Mafeking , and Kimberley . The Boers then won a series of tactical victories at Stormberg , Magersfontein , Colenso and Spion Kop . In

11187-533: The words Royal Canadian Engineers on the scroll at the bottom, and surrounded by maple leaves instead of laurels. The cap badge came to its current form after unification. Since the Royal Canadian Engineer cap badge was representative only of the army, a new one was developed, which is almost identical to that worn by the (Army's) non-permanent Canadian Engineers prior to the Great War (which

11300-466: Was a factor in softening the Transvaal government's attitude to the surviving prisoners. Jan C. Smuts wrote, in 1906: The Jameson Raid was the real declaration of war ... And that is so in spite of the four years of truce that followed ... [the] aggressors consolidated their alliance ... the defenders on the other hand silently and grimly prepared for the inevitable". The Jameson Raid alienated many Cape Afrikaners from Britain and united

11413-592: Was a subunit of the North Saskatchewan Regiment until it gained full strength. Both squadrons are now subunits of 38 Combat Engineer Regiment . The deployment in Afghanistan required considerable use of engineers for road clearance, explosive ordnance disposal, heavy equipment, and combat support. By the end of the deployment 16 members of the RCE were killed in Afghanistan. In April 2013,

11526-721: Was chosen by King George IV to reflect their successes around the world. The laurels honour their gallantry at the Capture of Belle Île in 1761. In the Royal Marines Band Service , the Portsmouth band and CTCRM band have different cap badges from the rest of the Corps. The SBS also has its own cap badge. The main exceptions to the Royal Navy pattern are the United States Navy and

11639-561: Was created for 2 Field Engineer Regiment by Major Hugh Macdonald, the unit's padre. It goes as follows: Almighty God, we pray thee to bless the Canadian Military Engineers. May our bridges always stand, and our charges never fail, our members be ever loyal, and our officers worthy of their loyalty. May we work diligently in all our purposes and be skilled in our trades; steadfast for King and Country everywhere. Amen. The Canadian Military Engineers have no patron saint but Engineers often take part in artillery celebrations honouring St. Barbara,

11752-419: Was disclosed in the British press, it generated a storm of anti-German feeling. In the baggage of the raiding column, to the great embarrassment of Britain, the Boers found telegrams from Cecil Rhodes and the other plotters in Johannesburg. Chamberlain had approved Rhodes' plans to send armed assistance in the case of a Johannesburg uprising, but he quickly moved to condemn the raid. Rhodes was severely censured at

11865-598: Was equipped with Maxim machine guns and some artillery pieces. The plan was to make a three-day dash to Johannesburg and trigger an uprising by the primarily British expatriate uitlanders, organised by the Johannesburg Reform Committee , before the Boer commandos could mobilise. However, the Transvaal authorities had advance warning of the Jameson Raid and tracked it from the moment it crossed

11978-436: Was nevertheless happy to gather intelligence for the British against the Boers because of their cruelty to Africans. The British government went against the advice of its generals (including Wolseley) and declined to send substantial reinforcements to South Africa before war broke out. Secretary of State for War Lansdowne did not believe the Boers were preparing for war and that if Britain were to send large numbers of troops to

12091-466: Was not bilingual and did not use enamel). In bilingual format, the words Engineers and Génie appear on the cap badge indicating the bilingual nature of the CME. The word Ubique also appears, a motto inherited by engineers and artillery in the Canadian military from their British forebears. From the 1960s to the late 1980s or early 1990s, the branch badge was enamel-highlighted cast metal with

12204-432: Was replaced by Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener , who relieved the besieged cities and invaded the Boer republics in early 1900 at the head of a 180,000-strong expeditionary force. The Boers, aware they were unable to resist such a large force, refrained from fighting pitched battles , allowing the British to occupy both republics and their capitals, Pretoria and Bloemfontein . Boer politicians, including President of

12317-624: Was the question of who would control and benefit most from the very lucrative Witwatersrand gold mines discovered by Jan Gerrit Bantjes in June 1884. The first European settlement in South Africa was founded at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, and thereafter administered as part of the Dutch Cape Colony . The Cape was governed by the Dutch East India Company, until its bankruptcy in the late 18th century, and

12430-679: Was thereafter governed directly by the Netherlands . As a result of political turmoil in the Netherlands, the British occupied the Cape three times during the Napoleonic Wars , and the occupation became permanent after British forces defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Blaauwberg in 1806. At the time, the colony was home to about 26,000 colonists settled under Dutch rule. A relative majority represented old Dutch families brought to

12543-433: Was transformed: Approximately 25,000 men equipped with modern rifles and artillery could mobilise within two weeks. However, President Kruger's victory in the Jameson Raid incident did nothing to resolve the fundamental problem of finding a formula to conciliate the uitlanders, without surrendering the independence of the Transvaal. The failure to gain improved rights for uitlanders (notably the goldfields dynamite tax) became

12656-547: Was unwilling to become mired in a distant war, requiring substantial troop reinforcement and expense, for what was perceived at the time to be a minimal return. An armistice ended the war, and subsequently a peace treaty was signed with the Transvaal President Paul Kruger. In June 1884, British imperial interests were ignited in the discovery by Jan Gerrit Bantjes of what would prove to be the world's largest deposit of gold-bearing ore at an outcrop on

12769-660: Was used in the Ungava region of northern Quebec and shares the same derivation as Fort Chimo (today Kuujjuaq ) on Ungava Bay in northern Quebec. The current spelling and pronunciation result from the English and French languages importing the loanword from Inuktitut. On April 1, 1946, the Canadian Army assumed responsibility for the portions of the Alaska Highway that lay within Canadian boundaries. This section of

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