Saturday November 4, 2023
Parade forms at the St. Thomas Armoury at 1:00 pm and proceeds to the St. Thomas Cemetery on West Ave

We are proud and honoured to be part of this incredible event being held by the 31 Combat Engineer Regiment – The Elgins.

On Saturday, November 4, 2023, the 91st Canadian Expeditionary Force and the 25th Elgin Battalion colours will be interred in the St. Thomas Cemetery. The colours are gifted to units as signifiers of loyalty and historically, a flying flag illustrates a unit’s location on the battlefield. As well, the regimental colours have battle honours emblazoned from previous battles in which the unit participated.

The 91st King’s Colour was issued for the 91st Canadian Expeditionary Force Regiment during WWI. When the Regiment returned from France, it was renamed the 25th Elgin Battalion and the 91st colours had to be retired when the new colours were issued.

When the colours are issued to a unit, they are blessed by clergy, providing them holy status. When the colours are replaced, they become holy relics. Traditionally, colours never die, they are left to hang until they are completely disintegrated. When pieces of them fall down, they are collected and burned by the caretaker of the church. These colours were placed in a local church which has since been sold, resulting in the colours coming down.