The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada is a Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Forces , based in Toronto , Ontario . The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division ' s 32 Canadian Brigade Group . It is the only reserve regiment in Canada to have a parachute role . The regiment consists of the reserve battalion , the regimental association , and the regimental band . The official abbreviation is QOR of C , but the name is often abbreviated to QOR . The QOR of C parade out of Moss Park Armoury in downtown Toronto and Dalton Armoury in Scarborough . The unit motto is " In Pace Paratus " — In Peace Prepared . Regimental structure . The Reserve Battalion is made up of the following companies : Role . The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada are the only Primary Reserve unit in Canada with a parachute tasking . The unit has qualified parachute instructors and jumpmasters . Members also take courses in helicopter operations , aerial delivery , and as landing zone / drop zone controllers . Members of the QOR have also been sent on the Patrol Pathfinder Course . Qualified personnel in jump positions are allowed the honour of wearing the maroon beret . Trained soldiers are addressed as Riflemen . The Queen ' s Own Rifles have a long standing support role with the Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre , where QOR parachute instructors and other personnel on staff instruct on and support parachuting courses . The unit currently supplies a platoon of paratroopers to the 3 RCR Parachute Company when required . Several reserve units have soldiers who have completed the Canadian Army ' s Basic Parachutist Course , but none can bring Parachute Instructors , jumpmasters , parachute rigger s , LZ / DZ controllers , and aerial delivery specialists together like the QOR . Most members of Parachute Company jump several times a year , as opposed to parachutists in other reserve units , who do not have the option to jump with their units . The Canadian Forces SkyHawks Parachute Demonstration Team has also had support from The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada , with several members joining the elite demonstration team . Many current and former members of the QOR are also members of the Canadian Airborne Forces Association . History . The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada ( originally named 2nd Battalion , Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada ) was formed on April 26 , 1860 , predating the Confederation of Canada . It is Canada ' s oldest continuously - serving infantry regiment . Its first commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel William Smith Durie . During the Trent Affair of 1862 , William Mulock asked John McCaul , the head of University College ( part of the University of Toronto ) , to call a student meeting that led to the formation of the University Rifle Company of volunteers , 9 Company of The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Toronto , later K Company of The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada . The Queen ' s Own Rifles first saw combat and sustained nine killed in action during the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866 , where they and the 13th Volunteer Infantry Battalion ( The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry ) fell back when charged by a massive force of better armed and highly experienced Fenian insurgents composed of recent Irish American Civil War veterans . The Second Boer War was the first time that soldiers from The Queen ' s Own Rifles fought on foreign soil . They were recognized for their service and earned a battle honour for the regiment , even though they were not allowed to wear the QOR cap badge in South Africa . In the First World War , none of the existing militia infantry regiments in Canada were formally mobilized . In 1914 The Queen ' s Own formed the 3rd Canadian Battalion ( Toronto Regiment ) , CEF , which was part of the 1st Canadian Division in France and Flanders , which was latter augmented by soldiers from other Toronto Regiments in order to produce mixed CEF units . Later in the war , the Queen ' s Own Rifles recruited for additional Canadian Expeditionary Force battalions , which did not enter combat as units , but supplied reinforcements to the Canadian Corps : After these battalions disbanded , The Queen ' s Own Rifles have perpetuated their traditions and battle honours . The QOR and The Royal Regiment of Canada both perpetuate the 3rd Battalion . The regiment was mobilized for the Second World War on 24 May 1940 , and assigned to the defence of two strategic airfields at Botwood and Gander in Newfoundland . After a build - up and training period , the unit was posted to England in July 1941 . The first major combat operations were during the Invasion of Normandy . The Queen ' s Own Rifles landed on NAN sector of Juno Beach during D - day and captured the strategic seaside resort town of Bernières - sur - Mer . The battalion fought its way to its D - Day objective - the village of ANISY 13 . 5 km inland , the only Regiment to reach its assigned objective that day . The QOR had the highest casualties amongst the Canadian regiments , with 143 killed , wounded or captured . Canadian casualties totaled 340 killed , 574 wounded , and 47 taken prisoner . During the war , 463 riflemen were killed in action and almost 900 were wounded as they fought through Normandy , Northern France , and into Belgium and Holland , where they liberated the crucial channel ports . Sixty more members of the regiment were killed while serving with other units in Hong Kong , Italy and northwest Europe . In October 1953 , the status of the regiment was upgraded , and it was made a part of the Regular Force . The regiment consisted of two Regular Force battalions and the Reserve ( Third ) battalion in Toronto until 1968 . There was also a regimental depot in Calgary . As part of the Regular Force , the unit was involved in the Korean War . The Regular Force battalions were posted to NATO bases in Korea , Cyprus and Germany . In 1970 , with the downsizing of the Canadian Forces , the 1st Battalion of The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada was rebadged as the 3rd Battalion Princess Patricia ' s Canadian Light Infantry . From 1983 to 1995 , the regiment was operationally tasked to provide an airborne company to the Canadian Airborne Regiment . Members of The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada have served on recent overseas deployments including : UNTAG ( United Nations Transition Assistance Group ) Namibia 1989 – 1990 , Cambodia , Cyprus , Somalia ( for Operation Deliverance 1992 – 1993 members were attached to 1 , 2 and 3 Commando of the Canadian Airborne Regiment ) , Sierra Leone , Bosnia , Kosovo , Afghanistan , Darfur and the Sudan . The unit played a large role in the purchase of the Victoria Cross of Corporal Frederick George Topham in 2005 and its subsequent donation to the Canadian War Museum . On April 22 , 2006 , The QOR of C opened Dalton Armoury in Scarborough as part of the Land Force Reserve Restructure expansion . Buffs Company parades out of Dalton Armoury . In September 1910 , the QOR went on a route march with The Buffs ( East Kent ) Regiment of the British Army . It was noted that the Buffs and QOR used the same regimental march , a tune known as " The Regimental Quick Step of the Buffs " composed for The Buffs by Handel . A regimental alliance was made official in 1914 . Battle honours . The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada has earned 46 battle honours during its history . The battle honours in bold are approved to be emblazoned on the regimental drums ( rifle regiments do not carry " colours " ) . Victoria Cross recipients . Seven members who served with the regiment have been awarded the Victoria Cross , Canada ' s highest military award : Regimental Museum of The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada . The Regimental Museum of The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada is located on the third floor of the historic Casa Loma château in Toronto . Sir Henry Pellatt , who built Casa Loma , was an ardent supporter of the Regiment , and was knighted in 1905 for his service with the unit . Three non - functioning firearms – a Sten submachine gun , Bren light machine gun and a Bock bolt - action rifle – were stolen during a 2008 break - in . They were later recovered and returned . Two suspects were arrested after police used DNA analysis , fingerprints , and tips from the public to identify them . Regimental church . St . Paul ' s , Bloor Street Anglican Church in Toronto has been the regimental church of the QOR since 1910 . It is located at 227 Bloor Street between Church Street and Ted Rogers Way ( which connects to Jarvis Street which is further south ) . The Cross of Sacrifice located outside the church is dedicated to the members of the QOR that have died in combat . It was built and dedicated after the First World War . The Books of Remembrance are a list of the names of the QOR fallen , and are located in the interior of the church . The books are paraded annually on Remembrance Day Sunday , when the regiment parades to St . Paul ’ s to attend services . Memorials . The most recent is the regimental crest carved on the back of one of the pews of the Royal Memorial Chapel at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst . The oldest memorial is the Ridgeway tablet at the Memorial United Church in Ridgeway , Ontario . Ridgeway is also commemorated in a stained glass window at University College , a tablet in the Ontario Provincial Parliament buildings , the Canadian Volunteers Monument in Queen ’ s Park ( west side of Queen ’ s Park Crescent ) and a cairn at Ridgeway . A sandstone monument with Italian marble figures and bronze plaques erected on the University of Toronto Campus was dedicated to those of the The Queen ' s Own Rifles of Canada regiment who were killed in action or who died from wounds defending her frontier in June 1866 . The monument was erected by the Canadian Volunteer Monument Campaign of 1866 , Committee of Toronto citizens and its chairman , Dr . McCaul , then President of the University of Toronto . The North - West Rebellion of 1885 is remembered by the North - West Rebellion Monument in Queen ’ s Park ( east side of Queen ’ s park Crescent ) , the Battleford Column tablet in Moss Park Armoury and a cairn at Battleford , Saskatchewan . The South African War memorial is on University Avenue . An additional tablet is in Denison Armoury . The First World War is commemorated by the Cross of Sacrifice and the shrine containing the Book of Remembrance at St Paul ’ s Anglican Church . In addition , a tablet is mounted at Moss Park Armoury . The QOR fallen are also remembered in The Buffs Memorial window , Warrior ’ s Chapel , of Canterbury Cathedral . A plaque was erected to the fallen in the Second World War at the site of the D - Day landing , Bernières - sur - Mer , Normandy , France . A tablet was also placed of a farm building at Mooshof , Germany , where Sergeant Aubrey Cosens , VC , earned his decoration . There are also significant memorials at Le Mesnil - Patry , Anguerny , Anisy ( France ) and Wons , Rha , Sneek , Doorn , Oostburg , Zutphen ( Holland ) . Other lesser memorials also exist .