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Fort York Armoury
660 Fleet Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1A9
Tel: (416)-203-4628

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Aurora Armoury
138 Larmont Street
Aurora, Ontario L4G 1V7
Tel: (905)-841-6655

Unit History

Robert Rogers, a New Hampshire settler, raised the first company of Rangers in 1755 to serve in the British army in the Seven Years War. Rogers' Rangers are a part of Canadian history, with companies serving at the capture of Louisbourg in 1758 and under General Wolfe at the Plains of Abraham in the following year. The Ranger companies were all disbanded at the end of the war in 1763.

When the disputes between the Thirteen Colonies and the British Government erupted into armed conflict in 1775, Major Rogers was commissioned by General Sir William Howe to raise a battalion called the Queen's Rangers from loyalists in New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

The regiment had the misfortune to be included in the surrender of British forces at Yorktown in 1781. In 1782, the Rangers were absorbed into the regular British army and their ranks made permanent. The regiment was officially disbanded on October 13th, 1783 at St. John.

1837 saw a new militia regiment organized in York named the Queen's Rangers. The Queen's Rangers continued as a militia regiment until 1848, when it was disbanded.

The modern regiment dates from 1866and has existed continuously since then, despite numerous name changes. The 12th York Infantry Battalion was raised with headquarters in Aurora and companies scattered through the county. The name changed in 1872 to become the 12th Battalion of Infantry or York Rangers.

During the First World War, the government abandoned the traditional regimental names for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The first battalion to which the 12th York Rangers contributed was the 20th CEF Battalion.

Following World War I, the York Rangers were organized in two battalions, one for Toronto and one for York County. In 1925 the Toronto battalion amalgamated with the West Toronto Regiment to form the Queen's Rangers. In 1936, the Queen's Rangers and the York Rangers amalgamated to form the Queen's York Rangers, 1st American Regiment.

Following World War II, the regiment was given a new name and a new role, becoming the 25th Armoured Regiment (Queen's York Rangers). The regiment has used its current name since 1958 and has been an armoured reconnaissance regiment since 1965. In 1984, the regiment received its new guidon from Queen Elizabeth II.