The Lahr RCHA Badge Arrives at the RCA Museum
With the support of the City of Lahr in Germany, two retired gunners, Lieutenant Commander Khristian Kowalski and Master Bombardier Jim Daynard, recovered and shipped to our museum a hand-painted RCHA badge on a metal plate from the former Canadian Forces Base Lahr. From the 1950s to the 1990s, Canada sent Canadian troops to West Germany to support NATO operations in Europe and other parts of the world. The CF permanently stationed 1 RCHA at CFB Lahr from 1967 to 1992.
In late 2022, Kowalski and Daynard started a GoFundMeCampaign to cover the cost to crate and ship the RCHA badge to Canada. The campaign proved successful, raising 1360 Euros for the project. With the support of the CAF and DND, a private shipping company, and many letters for customs clearance, we can happily confirm that the RCHA badge arrived on Tuesday, 13 June 2023.
In 1985, Sergeant Roger Eppert hand-painted an RCHA badge or Garter badge on the wall of building B-67 at CFB Lahr in West Germany. Sergeant Eppert continued the long tradition of marking their location, in this case, Z Battery and Survey Troop, 1 RCHA. In the 1980s and early 1990s, this was not an artifact but a hand-drawn rendering of the RCHA badge used for operational purposes.
1 RCHA badge on medal plate from the CFB Lahr placed in the RCA Museum.
The badge includes the Royal Cypher at the top with a scroll listing the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. The Regiment used a variety of insignia such as helmet plates, cap badges, regimental badges, and Royal Cyphers with updated designs and monarchs over the past 150 years. At the museum, we have RCHA badges on unit flags, plaques, stationery, silverware and now a metal plate from CFB Lahr.
The RCHA badge is in poor condition after 38 years and will require some restoration. It’s showing its age. We plan to display it at the RCA Reunion this summer, then place it in our permanent Cold War museum gallery.