Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 109 continued ... great pride in wearing the very distinctive ‘large foot’ marsupial cap badge. Shoulder titles for the new regiment were manufactured locally, using orange lettering to represent the Netherlands. "ARMD CARRIER REGT Canada" was embroidered on a black felt backing. The 1st Canadian Armoured Carrier Regiment had come of age. At this time, the Regiment was placed under command of 31 Brigade of the famous British 79th Armoured Division. The whole concept of specialized armour fit perfectly within the infrastructure of this unique assault division. The Division did not operate as a single fighting formation; its different specialised units, under Tactical Command of 21st Army Group (General Montgomery), were used as necessary. The Canadian Kangaroos had a sister regiment in the 79th Armoured Division, the British 49th Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment (also equipped with Ram Kangaroos). The unit stayed in the thick of things until the end of the war. The regiment’s strength was 23 officers, 52 non-commissioned officers and 413 troopers. It was divided into two squadrons of 53 Ram carriers each. The regiment was supported by approximately 50-60 ‘all ranks’ of the 123 Light Aid Detachment (123 LAD) of the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers and a signal troop of 14 ‘all ranks’ from No. 4 Company, First Canadian Army Signals, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. 'A' and 'B' Squadrons functioned independently of each other from the crossing of the Rhine until the official cease fire order on 5 May 1945. The regiment suffered 13 soldiers killed in action and four more died of wounds. Its personnel received three Distinguished Service Orders, two Military Crosses, and four Military Medals. The unit was unique in the history of the Canadian army in that it was the only Canadian regiment to be formed and later disbanded in Holland, the only Canadian regiment to serve in the famous British 79th Armoured Division, and the only Canadian armoured regiment to use Canadian built Ram tanks in combat. The Kangaroos were the first Canadian regiment to cross the Siegfried Line and the first armoured regiment of the Canadian Army to cross the Rhine. The Kangaroos were the men who developed the concept and tactics of the modern armoured personnel carrier. The regiment was disbanded on 20 June 1945 in the Netherlands without ceremony or national notice. It was later granted the following battle honours: Le Havre, Boulogne 1944, The Lower Maas, The Roer, The Rhineland, The Reichswald, Cleve, Moyland, Goch-Calcar Road, The Hochwald, Xanten, The Rhine, Groningen, and Northwest Europe 1944-45. On Saturday 10 September 2011, on the lawns of the St. Thomas Armouries, home station of 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins), the "Kangaroos" were finally presented their "Colours.” Carl Atkinson, of Clark’s Harbour, was the only Nova Scotian veteran of the regiment able to attend the presentation. The Nova Scotia troopers of the Kangaroo Regiment continued ... Kangaroo shoulder badge and cap badge
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