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| CEF Formation Patches
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I realize that most people will come to this page to view the formation patches charts that were superbly rendered by my friend Roger Roy of Montreal Quebec. Roger made these charts using Appendix G of The Official History of The Canadian Army in The First World War 1914-1919 by Nicholson (See References).
For convenience, I have placed these charts immediately below for quick access. The text and photos of original examples of formation patches are placed under the charts for further reading and interest. |
| Click on the picture to enlarge. |
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Background
At some point in 1917 (sources differ on the exact date) cloth formation patches began to be sewn onto both upper sleeves of CEF uniforms, although some cavalry units wore their formation patches sewn to the base of the shoulder straps. Formation patches were often referred to by the veterans as "battle patches" and worn as a sign of honour. They evolved from 1917 right up until hostilities were over, in fact, well in 1919. Briefly, they were:
- 1st Canadian Division Red;
- 2nd Canadian Division Blue;
- 3rd Canadian Division French Grey;
- 4th Canadian Division Green;
- 5th Canadian Division Maroon (The 5th Div never left the UK); and
- a large number of Corps units.
The Brigade was shown by a second color above the Divisional patch: blue for the 1st Brigade, red for the 2nd Brigade, and green for the 3rd Brigade. The colors were generally shown in one of five symbols above the Divisional patch, a bar for the Brigade HQ, and the four Battalions in the Brigade were indicated by a shape above the Divisional patch in the following order: circle, half-circle, triangle, and square. Looking at the charts above will help visualize this.
In most cases, Other Ranks and officers wore the same patches except (usually) for a difference in the quality. The 2nd and 4th and Canadian Division, however, wore distinctive patches for officers with gold hand embroidery. Officers of the 2nd wore a gold hand embroidered "CII" (Canadian 2nd) on the blue rectangle of the formation patches and officers of the 4th wore a gold hand embroidered maple leaf on the green rectangle of the formation patches. The only instance of a unique NCO's patch, was for NCO's of the 4th Canadian Division who wore a silver bullion hand embroidered maple leaf.
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| 1st Canadian Division formation patch of Sapper R.W. Pearson Canadian Engineers 1st Division. |  | |
| Officers in the 2nd Canadian Division wore a gold hand embroidered "CII" (Canadian 2nd) on the blue rectangle of the formation patches on both shoulders. This officer's 2nd Canadian Division formation patch is on the officer's Service Dress tunic of Captain William Campbell McQuad, 26th Battalion Saint John New Brunswick. |  | |
| 2nd Canadian Division Engineer. |  | |
| 2nd Canadian Division MG. |  | |
| 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles from Sherbrooke Quebec 3rd Canadian Division. |  | |
| Grey rectangle and arrow formation patch for the 3rd Canadian Division MG. |  | |
| 85th Battalion 4th Canadian Division formation patch. |  | |
| Very rare NCOs 4th Canadian Division silver bullion hand embroidered maple leaf on formation patch for 50th Battalion from Calgary Alberta. NCOs of the 4th Canadian Division used silver bullion maple leaves. The Officers of the Division utilized gold bullion maples leaves. |  | |
| Officers in the 4th Canadian Division wore a gold hand embroidered maple leaf on the green rectangle of the formation patches on both shoulders. This very rare example of an officer's 4th Canadian Division bullion hand embroidered formation patch was worn by Lt. Harold K. Beairsto 78th Battalion from Winnipeg Manitoba. |  | |
| Green rectangle and arrow formation patch for the 10th Company 4th Canadian Division MG. |  | |
| Burgundy formation patch of the 5th Canadian Division as well as the Siberian Expeditionary Force (SEF) . |  | |
| Burgundy arrow and triangle of the Transport company of the 1st MMGB. |  | |
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