Branch Info

Branch Hours of Operation

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AED CERTIFIED

The following people are AED Certified: Jeff Paulin, Mike Turner, James LeRoy, Linda Green, Fred Green, Nancy McKnight, Chris Scott, Travis Durham, George Small, Amber Haden, Fitsum Tedla, Jayden Hosker and Jean Whynot.

LEGION DRESS

Legion dress commonly called “Blues and Greys” is an important part of being a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. It is not a uniform per say, but fills that roll within the organization at formal or ceremonial events.

There is no requirement for a Legion member to own a setoff Blues and Greys unless they wish to run for and hold a position on the Branch or higher Executive (and in some branches even this is not required), and many members choose not to. However owning and wearing it allows one to more fully participate as a member of the Legion, at parades, memorial services for fallen comrades and other events, and is therefore encouraged.

Acquiring and maintaining Legion Dress is not as daunting a task as many may think. What follows is mainly drawn from the Ritual and Insignia Manual with some local suggestions, to fit most budgets. All RCL insignia items are available from the Legion store either online or ordered through the branch.

BERET

Starting from the top down the first item of Legion dress is the beret. The official RCL beret is Navy Blue with either a cloth or metal RCL cap badge. Both berets and cap badges may be purchased through the Legion store or alternatively one may obtain a good quality military Navy Blue beret from any local army surplus store or online and then add the cap badge. Some branches authorize a small brass branch number (10, 1, 22, etc.) to be worn beside the cap badge and this is approved for wear.

Former service members are also entitled to wear their military berets in place of the Legion one with appropriate Regimental, Corps or Arm of Service cap badge. Other military headdress authorized for wear with Legion dress includes wedge caps, Glengarries, Balmorals and other “Scottish” head dress. Forage or Peaked Caps and, ceremonial headdress, and old style RCN Head dress are not authorized, however members of the RCN may wear an appropriate coloured beret with the RCN cap badge.

Those Legion members holding Parade appointments such Parade Commander, a member of the Colour Party and/or the Sgt at Arms must wear the official RCL beret rather than their service one when performing such duties or appointments. At present adherents of the Sikh Religion may wear the turban as proscribed by their religion and custom either in RCL Navy Blue or Regimental or service pattern in lieu of the beret.

In all cases the beret should be worn properly. It should be clean and in good repair. It is worn straight on the top of the head, not at an angle or perched on the back of the head, approximately two finger (widths (1″) above the eye brows. The cap badge should be centered over the left eye and the beret pulled down to the right. A common trick among service personal to obtain and maintain the correct shape of the beret is to remove the liner and then shape the beret while wet. Soaking the beret either while wearing it in the rain or in even in the shower is an effective way to do so.

Berets are not normally worn indoors such as at Funerals except by the Sgt. at Arms and the Colour Party if present.

BLAZER

Perhaps the most important part of Legion dress and often the most expensive is the blazer. There are no hard and fast rules for the blazer aside from the colour, it should be dark or Navy Blue. Aside from that members are free to choose single or double breasted, two or three button design, depending on their preference. Again the Legion Shop has blazers available complete with buttons and appropriate crests available or members are free to choose their own, and then add the buttons and crests. Most men’s stores and/or major department stores have a wide selection available to suit most tastes and price ranges. One alternate to those not able or willing to make a major cash outlay is to check second had clothing stores. An appropriate blazer may be found here for minimal costs.

The Blazer should have Legion buttons on the cuffs and front and these are available from the Legion shop and a dry cleaner will be able to add these for those not skilled with needle and thread. The appropriate Legion Crest (Ordinary, Associate, Affiliate, Life, etc.) is attached to the left breast pocket. There are several types of these crests available, cloth or gold wire, all of which are appropriate again depending on one’s preference and circumstances. Again a local dry cleaner can add this for a nominal cost.

Former service personal are entitled to add a crest denoting their former Regiment, Corps, or branch of service on the right lower pocket should they wish to. Other badges denoting certain appointments such as Zone or District commanders and/or their deputies are worn by those holding these positions. Sgt at Arms, Parade Marshalls and/or Colour Party Commanders will wear a red sash with the RCL crest and/or an arm band to denote their position when performing their duties at a parade or meeting. An appropriate Legion membership lapel pin should be worn on the left lapel. Those so entitled to one, may also wear a discharge pin or a Regiment, Corp or Branch of Service pin to the left of their Legion lapel pin. From time to time Dominion Command may authorize another lapel pin to be worn on the right lapel such as the present support the troops ribbon one. Aside from this no other lapel pins are authorized for wear with Legion dress and should not be worn on the blazer. The Poppy when appropriate and authorized should also be worn on the left lapel above the lapel pins.

A name tag with the members name and branch and their appointment(s) within the Branch or higher formation may also be worn on the right side of the blazer above the Legion medals.

Medals both Service and Legion ones may be worn as appropriate at certain function or events such as parades, memorial or funeral services, and meetings.

Legion medals are worn in order of precedence on the right breast. They may either be court or swing mounted. Only Legion approved medals should be worn, those of other veteran organizations or associations such as ANAVETS or Korean and/or Peacekeeping Veterans Associations should not wear their medals from those organizations intermixed with Legion ones. They and authorized commemorative medals are to be worn after Legion medals as per the Ritual and Insignia Manual.

Service medals, including those awarded for military, police, fire, correctional and EMS service and others including authorized foreign decorations may be worn on the left breast. They can be either swing or court mounted and should again be worn in the order of precedence. Those entitled to may wear neck orders when the occasion calls for the wearing of full sized medals and decorations.

Those so entitled to may also choose to wear cloth or metal hazard or qualification badges such as pilot or aircrew wings, parachutist qualification badges, EOD badges, submariners badges etc. Regulations for the wearing of these should correspond to where they would be worn on a dress uniform.

The wearing of purchased” commemorative” medals is not authorized with Legion dress and should be discouraged. In any case such medals should never be mounted with official service medals. The British and Australian custom of wearing a deceased relative’s medals on Remembrance Day and similar events is not practiced in Canada and doing so is actually contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada.

Members may choose to wear the undress ribbons of their medals when wearing of full medals is not appropriate. Miniature medals are appropriate for evening events such as banquets or formal dinners. They should never be worn on Parade.

SHIRT, TIE & GLOVES

There are no set rules for what type of shirt should be worn. Any plain white collared dress shirt, short or long sleeve is acceptable. Should one choose a military style with patch pockets and epaulettes then, the black slip on’s that are worn over the epaulettes are no longer authorized and should not be worn. An RCL Shirt badge should be worn on the left breast pocket especially when in summer dress.

The Legion blue and gold striped tie either clip-on or full version is available from the regalia shop. The tie should be tied with a neat double Windsor knot, if not a clip on type. A single tie clip or pin, either RCL or military may be worn to secure the tie.

White gloves are normally worn when on parade or at other formal occasions such as Legion funerals. Again these can be purchased through the legion shop or elsewhere.

PANTS AND SHOES

Grey dress pants of any conservative style are to be worn with Legion dress. Again these may found at any men’s’ store or department store. A black belt either leather or military web style (with or without RCL or military crest) or braces or suspenders are appropriate. Female members may of course substitute a grey dress skirt of appropriate length for dress pants.

Black dress shoes, oxfords, brogues or similar are the norm for Legion dress. In recent years any black shoes including casual loafers and orthotic shoes have become acceptable and appropriate.

SUMMER DRESS

During summer months, May to September, the Branch or higher authority may dictate summer dress is in effect for a parade or other event. Summer dress involves the removal of the blazer and the wearing of a short sleeve shirt. As noted the shirt should have a Legion crest over the left breast pocket and no slip on’s should be worn over epaulettes.

Medals either Legion or Service should never be worn with summer dress, although undress ribbons for the later may be worn as well as authorized and earned hazard and qualification badges. The shirt may be worn with or without the tie depending on Branch regulations. At present Branch 11 has opted for with tie.

FORMAL DRESS

At formal evening occasions where black tie or white formal wear is appropriate, one would wear a modified Legion dress and substitute the legion tie for a black or white bow tie and cummerbund ( depending on nature of event). Miniature medals would be worn instead of full sized ones in the evening, aside from neck orders. Name tags and pins aside from a discharge pin or equivalent should not be worn on the blazer.

REFERENCES

Canadian Honours

Royal Canadian Legion Ritual, Awards and Protocol Manual July 2017

Royal Canadian Legion Online Store