Canada. A Queen’s Own Rifles Of Canada Officer's Visor Cap, C.1939

This dress cap is fabricated from a greenish-khaki twill, with two smooth-finished brown leather straps and two fixed sliders creating the chin strap, resting upon the visor, with a hook added below the cap badge to secure the chin strap in place, slotted at the ends, secured on both sides by original bronze buttons, each button illustrating the Canada General Service insignia. Immediately above the buttons on both sides are two reinforced ventilation holes with olive green painted metal eyelets. The front has a 44 mm (w) x 50 mm (h) white metal cap badge of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada affixed to the cap via two lugs and pin. Flat visor with stiffener, both sides of the visor covered with the same greenish-khaki twill as the exterior of the cap. Inside with a wide light brown leather sweatband, the two ends of the sweatband stitched together at the rear. The dome and sidewall brandish a yellowish moisture shield, with the "WILLIAM SCULLY LIMITED MONTREAL" manufacturer's insignia screen-printed in the dome under the moisture shield, along with a manufacturer's label printed in black ink and inscribed with the size "7" and "SCULLY OF MONTREAL" on the sidewall at the rear. The cap measures 225 mm x 280 mm x 110 mm overall, exhibiting light soiling on the exterior, the leather sweatband experiencing extensive wear along with age soiling and is coming away from the body of the cap on both sides but remains attached at the front and back. As worn.

Footnote: The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada mobilized for the Second World War on May 24, 1940. The Regiment’s first assignment was the defence of the two strategic airfields of Botwood and Gander, Newfoundland then a posting to New Brunswick for additional training and integration into 8th Brigade. Eventually, the Regiment was posted to England, in July 1941, as a part of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 3rd Canadian Division. During the Regiment’s training in the United KIngdom, the Colonel-in-Chief, Queen Mary, visited the battalion in Aldershot. The Queen’s Own’s first action came forming part of the assault wave of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. The Dalton brothers, Majors Charles O. and H. Elliott, were the assault company commanders in the landing. The Regiment hit the beach at the small Normandy seaside resort of Bernieres-sur-Mer, shortly after 0800 hours, on June 6th. They fought through Normandy, Northern France, and into Belgium and Holland, where they liberated the crucial channel ports. In capturing the tiny farming hamlet of Mooshof, Germany, Sergeant Aubrey Cosens was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The last action of the war for The Queen’s Own Rifles came at 1200 hours on May 4th, when C Company attacked a cross roads just east of Ostersander, Germany. It was taken by 1500 hours, and the order came to discontinue fire on the enemy unless fired upon. Unfortunately, two members of The Queen’s Own lost their lives on this, the last day of the war in Europe. The official cease fire came at 0800 hours on May 5, 1945 followed by VE Day on May 8th. The battalion paraded to a church at Mitte Grossefehn and Major H.E. Dalton, now the acting Commanding Officer, addressed the Regiment. During the war, 463 Queen’s Own were killed in action and are buried in graves in Europe and almost 900 were wounded, many two or three times. Sixty more QOR personnel were killed serving with other units in Hong Kong, Italy and Northwest Europe.