1st Hussars (RCAC) 2nd Edition

Recently I had to re-visit some of my Canadian insignia for one of the commissioned projects. Of course I could have simply re-used my earlier versions of the badges, but I wouldn't be me unless I have re-created them from scratch. And this is how the second editions of some of my Canadian badges came to life. I always enjoyed working with Canadian regimental insignia, due to their sheer beauty and challenges they present. Long story short, here is one of my second editions for you to enjoy – the 1st Hussars (RCAC)…

The 1st Hussars is a Primary Reserve Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment of the Canadian Army. As part of 31 Canadian Brigade Group, the Regiment is based in London and Sarnia and provides the Brigade with highly motivated and trained armoured crewmen. The 1st Hussars has a long and storied history that includes the D-Day landings as well as more recent peacekeeping operations and support to the Afghan mission.

The 1st Hussars traces its roots to the formation of the St. Thomas Troop of Volunteer Militia Cavalry in March 1856 and the First Troop of Volunteer Militia Cavalry of London in July of the same year. In 1880, regimental headquarters moved to London, where it has remained to this day. Despite "1st" in the title, the regiment is not the most senior armoured unit. With the militia reorganization of 1872, the senior or only cavalry regiment within a Militia District adopted the numerical designation of that district. Southwestern Ontario comprised Military District No. 1, hence the original designation as the 1st Regiment of Cavalry. The unit was renamed 1st Hussars in 1892 and because a British mounted unit numbered "1" never existed, it was unnecessary to add a 'Canada' or 'Canadian' modifier. Following the Second World War, because of wartime and earlier conversion to armour of some more senior infantry regiments, the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps decided that seniority would be determined by date of birth, regardless of the Corps in which the unit was raised. Regular Force regiments take precedence, and seniority among themselves by date of birth. 1st Hussars is placed seventh in the order of seniority of militia armoured regiments.

The above information provided in part by Wikipedia, and the official websites of the corresponding units and formations.

Navy Construction Battalion (CB): USN Seabees

This one was tons of fun to work with. I really invested my heart and soul into utter fuzziness of the bee. Enjoy.

A Seabee is a member of the Navy Construction Battalion(CB). The word "Seabee" comes from initials "CB". The Seabees have a history of building bases, bulldozing and paving thousands of miles of roadway and airstrips, and accomplishing a myriad of other construction projects in a wide variety of military theaters dating back to World War II.

Frank J. Iafrate, a civilian plan file clerk at Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island, was the artist who designed the original Seabee logo ("Fighting 'Bee") in early 1942. The logo has remained in use, unchanged. In late 1942, after designing the logo, he enlisted in the Seabees.

As always, the above insignia are available on a limited number of selected quality products via my “Military Insignia” galleries at Zazzle. You may simply follow the direct links in the article to navigate to the corresponding galleries

I will also make my insignia designs available free of charge to any military units and personnel, for any non-profit/non-commercial and charitable causes, benefiting troops and their families. In addition, I would make my designs available free of charge to any military branches, formations and units for any non-commercial internal duty-specific purposes, such as unit-related web design, training materials or presentations, as I did on many occasions in the past.

The above information provided in part by Wikipedia, The Institute of Heraldry, Global Security, and the official websites of the corresponding units and formations.