- The Governor General of Canada
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HMCS Robert Hampton Gray
Ottawa, Ontario
Approval of a Badge
September 20, 2024
Vol. VIII, p. 307
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Blazon
Badge
On a plate an eagle stooping Azure beaked and membered Or holding in its claws a trident bendwise sinister Gules, all within the Badge Frame for Ships and Naval Reserve Divisions;
Motto
FORTITUDO, SOLLERTIA CONSTANTIAQUE;
Symbolism
Badge
The eagle descending on its prey is taken from the badge of 1841 Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy, with which Lt Robert Hampton Gray, a pilot of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, served. The trident is taken from the badge of HMS Formidable, the ship from which the squadron operated. Its deep red colour refers to the ribbon of the Victoria Cross awarded posthumously to Lt Gray for his valour in leading an air attack on a Japanese destroyer in August 1945. The white background refers to the Arctic environment in which HMCS Robert Hampton Gray will operate.
Motto
These Latin words mean “Courage, skill and determination.” They were qualities of Robert Hampton Gray cited in the Mention in Dispatches honouring him for his role in the attack on the defences around the German battleship Tirpitz in Norway in August 1944.