Merry Season through the Ranks

BY Georgiana Stanciu, PhD

‘Tis the Season to search for Christmas cards and greetings in our collection. Sent or received by the RCR, the greeting cards selected for this Story span from 1898 to 1923. They are unique composite images, making reference to the history of the unit. They are in provenance of The RCR Collection, with one exception which is the card donated by.... 

The Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry unit in the British Army, largely raised in Ireland. It was active between 1881 and 1922. The 1^st Battalion of this regiment was on garrison duty in 1898, to one of the Empire’s outposts: Halifax, NS.
This greeting card is made of several group photos summarizing the year activities while depicting people of the unit and other elements such as the insignia merged to the Canadian beaver and the wishes interlaced to various images. The card was created in the Notman Studios of Halifax, NS, in 1898.

DATE: 1898
DONATED BY: The RCR Collection
OBJECT ID: RCRM2007

At the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, The Royal Regiment of Canadian Infantry was not only serving in South Africa, but also raised 1,004 all ranks, known as the 3^rd Special Service Battalion. The unit took over garrison duties in Halifax, NS, from the 1^st Battalion, Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment, called to arms in the Boer War. The 3^rd Special Service Battalion was disbanded in 1902, but the General Officer Commanding Canadian Militia reported that “the service to the state [British Empire] was as important as if the battalion had proceeded to South Africa.”
Their 1900 Christmas card seems to follow the model from the Prince of Wales’s Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians), with a composite image featuring several groups within the unit, such as the the officers surmounting an image of the entire battalion in front of Wellington Barracks, the snowy gates of Garrison Halifax or the ceremonial pose of the bandsmen. The elaborate insignia at the top is very unique and shows a simplified designation, Royal Canadian Regiment which will be formally acknowledged one year later, in 1901.
Although the photographer markings cannot be found on this card, it is likely that it was produced by Notman Studios of Halifax.

DATE: 1900
DONATED BY: The RCR Collection
OBJECT ID: RCRM2016.020.0005

The Royal Candian Regiment took over Halifax Garrison in 1905, where six companies and Headquarters (HQ) were established. In 1908, a Christmas card was produced, another composite image reuniting various aspects of day-to-day life with group photos including officers, non-commissioned officers, and bandsmen. All images assembled by Notman Studios in this card exist as separate photographs, produced between 1906 and 1908, some shown below. Holidays motifs were added, and most importantly, the regimental insignia showing VRI (Queen Victoria's royal cypher) on the eight-pointed star as cap badge and a set of collar badges in the shape of a Canadian beaver with the scroll reading Pro Patria underneath.

DATE: 1908
DONATED BY: The RCR Collection
OBJECT ID: RCRM2007

The 1923 Christmas card is not only a composite image, but also a composite message: season greetings and the regimental 40^th anniversary. The formal regimental birthday is just days before Christmas, 21 December. There is a combination of elements that refer to the unit's history between 1883 and 1923 and group photos related to the daily routine of that year.
The card was commissioned to the London, ON, photographer Geo. A. Henry, who requires further research. What makes this card unique for our Story, is the personalized greeting at the bottom: "With the best of luck,/your affectionate brother,/Septimus." This is Septimus Rowden, who served for a brief period in The RCR at the begining of 1920s. His brother, Horace Rowden, also served in The RCR, in London; Horace received attestation papers on 12 May 1921, discharged one year later, after completing a "course of instruction" for non-commissioned officers.

DATE: 1923
DONATED BY: 
OBJECT ID: RCRM2003.002.0037