Badge of The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment

Blazon

Azure a stag’s head on a torse Or all within an annulus inscribed HASTINGS & PRINCE EDWARD REGIMENT and resting on a scroll inscribed PARATUS, all Gules edged and inscribed Or, the whole surmounting a cross pattee Or ensigned by the Royal Crown proper and environed by a wreath of maple leaves issuant from in base a beaver couchant on a log Or;

Symbolism

The nine maple leaves on each side, which was the number of Canadian provinces when the regiment was formed in 1920, and the beaver (from the badge of the former 16th Prince Edward Regiment) represent service to Canada, and the crown, service to the Sovereign. The cross commemorates the former 49th Regiment “Hastings Rifles”, as does the stag’s head, which is a symbol of the region in which the regiment is based. The royal blue is the official facing colour of the regiment, the gold represents both the brass origins of the equipment badge and the other regimental colour adopted in 1934 with the alliance with The Royal Sussex Regiment of the British Army (now, through amalgamation, The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment). The scarlet (or red) commemorates the regiment’s service with the 1st Canadian Division in both world wars and is the traditional colour of the army and the infantry in particular. “HASTINGS & PRINCE EDWARD REGIMENT” is a form of the regimental title, and “PARATUS” is the motto of the regiment.