The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) ( RCAC ) The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) R . C . A . C . is a Canadian Forces Primary Reserve regiment based in Toronto and Aurora . The regiment is part of 4th Canadian Division ' s 32 Canadian Brigade Group . The regiment consists of two reconnaissance squadrons , A Sqn in Aurora and B Sqn in Toronto , and a Headquarters Service Support Squadron in Toronto . The Regimental family also includes The Queen ' s York Rangers Band along with two Royal Canadian Army Cadets corps . The unit motto is Pristinae Virtutis Memor – Remembering their glories in former days . Among its own members and those of other regiments , the unit is referred to as the Rangers . The name is abbreviated as QY RANG . Lineage . First raised in 1756 by Robert Rogers as a force of light infantry during the French and Indian War , the Rangers were intended to fight in the same manner as the French Canadian militia and their First Nations Allies . The Rangers were stood down in 1763 , but were raised again by Rogers in 1775 to fight for the British Crown during the American Revolution . Under Colonel John Graves Simcoe , who took command in 1777 , the Regiment particularly distinguished itself at the Battle of Brandywine , and still commemorates this battle today . It was also designated as the ' 1st American Regiment ' on the British Army List in 1779 . Following the end of the Revolutionary War , most of the regiment settled in New Brunswick , but were reactivated by Simcoe in 1792 as he took up his appointment as the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada . They were instrumental in the establishment of the city of York ( now known as Toronto ) and many of the city ' s oldest street names bear the names of Ranger ' s Officers such as Jarvis and Shaw . Rangers also first laid out Yonge Street and other major roads . They were stood down in 1802 , although most still served in the York Militia . Activated by Samuel Peter Jarvis for the War of 1812 , the York Militia fought at the capture of Detroit , the Battle of Queenston Heights and in the unsuccessful defence of York itself in the American raid of 1813 . Jarvis activated them again in 1837 during the Rebellion of Upper Canada , where the Regiment achieved some notoriety for the ' Caroline Affair ' in early 1838 — capturing a supply ship used by the last rebels on the American side of the Niagara river and sending it aflame over Niagara Falls . Thereafter they were stood down and returned to the informal annual musters of the York Militia . The Rangers were activated again out of the York Militia by another member of the Jarvis family in Aurora , Ontario on 14 September 1866 as the 12th " York Battalion of Infantry " . It was redesignated as the 12th Battalion of Infantry or " York Rangers " on 10 May 1872 , as the 12th Regiment " York Rangers " on 8 May 1900 and , following the Great War , as The York Rangers on 1 May 1920 . On 15 December 1936 , it was amalgamated with The Queen ' s Rangers , 1st American Regiment and redesignated The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) ( MG ) . It was redesignated as the 2nd ( Reserve ) Battalion , The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) on 5 March 1942 , as The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) ( Reserve ) on 15 September 1944 , as The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) on 30 November 1945 , as the 25th Armoured Regiment ( Queen ' s York Rangers ) , RCAC on 19 June 1947 , The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) ( 25th Armoured Regiment ) on 4 February 1949 , The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) ( RCAC ) on 19 May 1958 , The Queen ' s York Rangers ( RCAC ) on 3 September 1985 and The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) ( RCAC ) on 12 November 2004 . The Queen ' s Rangers , 1st American Regiment was formed in Toronto , Ontario on 15 January 1921 as The West Toronto Regiment . On 1 August 1925 , it was amalgamated with the 2nd Battalion ( 35th Battalion , CEF ) , The York Rangers and redesignated The Queen ' s Rangers . It was redesignated The Queen ' s Rangers , 1st American Regiment on 1 December 1927 . On 15 December 1936 , it was amalgamated with The York Rangers . Perpetuations . War of 1812 : The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) ( RCAC ) perpetuate the Battalion of Incorporated Militia of Upper Canada and the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the York Militia . First World War : The Regiment perpetuates the 20th Battalion ( Central Ontario ) , CEF , the 35th Battalion , CEF , 127th Battalion ( 12th York Rangers ) , CEF and the 220th Battalion ( 12th Regiment York Rangers ) , CEF . Operational history . North West Rebellion . The 12th Battalion of Infantry ( York Rangers ) mobilized four companies for active service on 10 April 1885 . The companies served with the York and Simcoe Provisional Battalion in the Alberta Column of the North West Field Force . The companies were removed from active service on 24 July 1885 . The Great War . The 20th Battalion ( Central Ontario ) , CEF was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 15 May 1915 . It disembarked in France on 15 September 1915 , where it fought as part of the 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade , 2nd Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war . For much of the war , the commanding officer of the battalion was LCol C . H . Rogers , a descendant of Robert Rogers . The battalion performed particularly well at the Battle of the Somme , Vimy Ridge , Hill 70 , Passchendaele , and at Amiens and Canal du Nord in 1918 . Two of its members , Lt Wallace Lloyd Algie and Sergeant Frederick Hobson , were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross . The 20th battalion was disbanded on 30 August 1920 . Altogether , 4 , 310 officers and men had served in the Battalion ; 843 were killed in action or died of wounds ( often having been wounded earlier ) and 1 , 855 were wounded — often several times . Some 22 members of the battalion had been taken prisoner during the war with the largest haul being when nine were taken when evacuating casualties at Passchendaele . The 35th Battalion , CEF was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Britain on 16 October 1915 . The battalion was redesignated the 35th Reserve Battalion , CEF on 9 February 1915 , and it provided reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field until 4 January 1917 when its personnel were absorbed by the 4th Reserve Battalion , CEF . The battalion was disbanded on 8 December 1917 . The 127th Battalion ( 12th York Rangers ) , CEF was authorized on 22 December 1915 and embarked for Britain on 21 August 1916 . It provided reinforcements to the Canadian Corps in the field until 20 November 1916 when it was reorganized as a railway battalion . It disembarked in France on 13 January 1917 , and was redesignated the 2nd Battalion , Canadian Railway Troops , CEF on 3 February 1917 , where it provided special engineering services to the British Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders until the end of the war . In April 1918 as the second great German offensive of the year rolled back over the old Somme Battlefield , the 127th was pressed into service as infantry near Amiens . Although initially trained as infantry , the battalion had not been employed as such but the men were apparently eager to show they could fight even if they were only armed with rifles . Combing through the chaos of Amiens , a large number of ' surplus ' Lewis guns were ' acquired ' and the battalion entered the line with considerably more firepower than might have been expected . At any rate , the German advance was being slowed up by exhausted troops and the usual logistical problems created in moving over WW1 Battlefields . The attempt to dislodge the 127th was not a determined one and the battalion ' s inordinate firepower debarred further attempts . The position they secured remained the Allied front line until the Amiens Offensive of August 8 , 1918 . Once relieved , the 127th returned to its previous duties . The battalion was disbanded on 23 October 1920 . The 220th Battalion ( 12th Regiment York Rangers ) , CEF was authorized on 15 July 1916 and embarked for Britain on 26 January 1917 , where its personnel were absorbed by the 3rd Reserve Battalion , CEF on 7 May 1917 to provide reinforcements for the Canadian Corps in the field . The battalion was disbanded on 1 September 1917 . The Second World War . Details from the regiment were called out on service on 26 August 1939 and placed on active service on 1 September 1939 for local protection duties until disbanded on 31 December 1940 . The regiment subsequently mobilized the 1st Battalion , The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) , CASF on 5 March 1942 . 40 It served in Canada in a home defence role as part of Military District No . 2 , until disbanded on 15 October 1943 . Altogether , over 2 , 000 Rangers served in the Second World but those who went overseas did so in other regiments . Battle honours . The following list are the battle honours won by the battalions perpetuated by the Rangers . They are organized by the campaign , Those battle honours in " ' bold type " are emblazoned on the regiment ' s guidon . The Queen ' s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) ( RCAC ) Museum . The museum preserves and displays the history of The Queen ’ s York Rangers ( 1st American Regiment ) and its several predecessors for the benefit of both the members of the Regiment and the public at large . The museum is affiliated with : CMA , CHIN , OMMC and Virtual Museum of Canada .