Description
Physical description
A disc of black wool on which embroidered in yellow / gold an inner border within which a similar maple leaf.
Label
The badge was produced in both embroidered woollen cloth and printed cotton and with varying degrees of detail regarding the veins of the leaf being picked out in black (see e.g. INS 261). A wire-embroidered version was reserved for Colonels and above.
CMHQ was late in producing a patch for itself. Although the HQ was created in 1939 the first designs for a patch were not put forward until October 1941. These were based on the red and black of the Infantry and Armoured Corps and without any initials. These plans were shelved. Exactly when the final design was chosen and approved is not clear but it is listed in Routine Order 3316 of 22 October 1942. Rather surprisingly, it was adopted for use not only by CMHQ itself but was also designated for wear by a large number of units that had previously had patches of their own. GHQ troops such as Construction Companies, General Pioneer Companies and Reinforcement units had previously had patches based on a gold circle with a variety of insignia superimposed but were instructed to use the CMHQ patch. This change apparently meant writing off 76,450 such patches, a surprising decision given the supply and labour situation.
Being of woollen cloth this particular badge may date from before the end of 1942.
Formation patches and unit shoulder titles were produced in three materials, woollen cloth, felt and printed cotton. Of these, felt was probably the least common. Both Canadian and British firms produced the woollen versions but, particularly in Britain, there were problems with supply and with the colour-fastness of the dyes. From November 1942 a printed cotton material with a strong backing became available in the UK, often now referred to as 'canvas'. After initial production problems with skewed shapes and letters, most patches and titles produced in the UK were in this material. It was supposed not to fray, run or fade but complaints about quality began to emerge around October 1944. A request to return to wool does not appear to have been possible before the end of the war.
Formation History.
Experience in WW1 had demonstrated the need for a military HQ in the UK, separate from both the fighting formations and the national authorities in Canada. Such an organisation would handle administration, liaison with the British government and armed forces and, an important issue for the Canadians, preserve the autonomy of Canadian forces. Canadian Military Headquarters, CMHQ, was authorised on 26 September 1939 and was operational at Canada House by mid November. Its role was to stand as an intermediate HQ between the field army, eventually embodied in the form of 1 Canadian Army, and National Defence HQ in Ottawa. CMHQ was not to have any operational command functions but did take on administrative and many Line of Communication functions outside the active theatres of operations, such as training and procurement.
CMHQ underwent a reorganisation in the summer of 1940 whereby it formed three Branches, General Staff, Adjutant-General and Quarter Master General. This was generally in line with the British staff system and was on a similar basis to the organisation of National Defence HQ in Ottawa. Initially, the HQ was under a Brigadier but by war's end it was under a Lieutenant General. As responsibilities expanded, so did the size and complexity of the HQ. In December 1939 the total staff, including 36 civilians, was 87. One year later the total was 900, a year later still it was 3,215 and by the end of the war it was 4,073. In 1940 there were 2000 files in the Central Registry and by 1944 there were 200,000.
History note
Associated person: John Tiffin Murray Stewart b. 1917, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. d. 6 August 1964, 47 yrs., heart attack. Service record: Gunner M 4044 RCA. 1942: Reg. H2, HQ RCA, 1st Administration Corps. RCA CASF (Canadian Active Service Force) 1st Division. 1943: Reg. H3, 3rd Field Regt. RCA CASF 1st Division. 1944: 1st A Wing. No. 1 CARU (Canadian Artillery Reinforcement Unit).
Family history: 11 December 1942, married Elfreda Joan, nee Knight, at Congregational Church West Wickham, Kent. 15 June 1945, returned Canada. 27 June 1946, joined by family (on board 'Letitia'). August 1948, all family return to UK ('Queen Mary'). Moved to family home, Cavendish Way, West Wickham, Kent. Subsequently bought house, Oak Avenue, Shirley, Croydon.
History note
Bibliographic sources: DISTINGUISHING PATCHES: Formation Patches of the Canadian Army. Clive M. Law. (Private) Service Publications, Nepean, Ontario, 1996. Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War. Volume I: SIX YEARS OF WAR: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific. Lt. Col. C. P. Stacey. Ottawa, 1955.
Central on badge
maple leaf.