The Royal Canadian Artillery 50th Anniversary Medallion - 1921
The Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) observed the 50th anniversary of the formation of A and B Battery in 1921. At the time, the RCA was the artillery component of the Permanent Active Militia also called the Permanent Force and comprised the RCA staff, Royal School of Artillery (RSA), Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (RCHA) and Royal Canadian Garrison Artillery (RCGA). The rest of Canada’s artillery belonged to the Non-Permanent Active Militia and did not share the anniversary even though it provided a large proportion of the A and B Battery personnel in 1871.
The RCGA stationed in Quebec City produced a commemorative medallion in 1921 for its local 50th Anniversary celebrations. The medallions were presented to all serving and ex-members of the RCA in the Quebec City area. The medallions were so popular that they offered them to other RCA units. The archival records located so far reflect only the offer made to the RCGA in Halifax, but presumably similar ones were made to the RCA staff, RSA and RCHA and RCGA units in Kingston, Winnipeg, and Esquimalt.
It is unknown where the idea for a commemorative medallion or its design originated other than it was designed in Montreal. It was struck by the Dominion Arsenal in Quebec City at a cost of 30 cents each ($4.45 in 2021 dollars) which was paid by the units concerned. The quantity produced is also unknown but was possibly less than the Permanent Force artillery authorized establishment of 1,091 all ranks. The RCGA in Halifax, for instance, had an established strength of 39 officers and 623 other ranks but ordered only 250.
The medallion bears the Royal and Imperial Cyphers of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, and George V placed around the field gun badge, all within the inscription “The Royal Canadian Artillery 1871-1921”. These were significant symbols because the RCA wore the cypher of the reigning monarch as the central motif of its cap badge from 1893 when it received the Royal title until 1918 when it adopted the field gun badge with the Canada scroll.
Illustration 1 – The Royal Canadian Artillery 50th Anniversary Medallion, 1921
Illustration 1 shows three medallion varieties which are three centimetres in diameter. The left-hand one is yellow due to a greater zinc content than the other two and has a brooch pin so that it could be worn on a man’s lapel or as a woman’s broach. The center and right-hand medallions contain more copper than zinc, giving them a darker colour and are without pins. The difference in metal content might indicate they were produced at a different time from the left-hand one, possibly for the Quebec City celebrations or for units who accepted the medallion offer made by the RCGA in Quebec. The reason for the hole in the right-hand medallion is not obvious other than it was done to use remaining stocks for another purpose after the anniversary.
Illustration 2 – The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery Lapel Pins, 1921-2021
The 1921 medallion was followed by three other pins marking the Regiment’s 100th, 125th and 150th anniversaries, as shown in Illustration 2. Notwithstanding the 1 RCHA lapel pin, these later events included all regular and reserve force units of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery.
By LCol (Ret’d) JB Dick