Canada commemorates Battle of the Atlantic May 1st

Royal Canadian Navy tartan

It took me quite a while to find the story behind the RCN tartan. It is not on any Canadian Forces website, not registered with the Scottish Registry of Tartans in the U.K., and to the best of my knowledge unavailable anywhere other than Tartan House Canada.

But a buyer recently told me what he understands to be the history behind the design. According to him, a member of the navy wanted to put together a pipe band, similar to that of the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force), at the time. Now, since then our armed forces have been amalgamated into the CF with its various army, navy and air force branches. At the time, however, the RCN was still a separate entity.

In any event, the serviceman in question, and I have not been able to identify him (and it must have been a "him.," because this was also before the navy became all-inclusive), wanted his band to have its own tartan, just as the RCAF did, and so he either commissioned its design or designed it himself.

The pipe band has apparently not survived in any form but the tartan is popular with many navy servicemen and women. It played a prominent role in the Orillia (Ontario) Scottish Festival when the Royal Canadian Legion Orillia Branch 34 sponsored the festival in 2010 and commemorated the 100th anniversary of Canada's navy.

I have also shipped fabric to serving armed forces members for displays and to one woman serving on Canada's west coast who planned to wear it for her wedding!