Corporal, Canadian Forces Uniform 1971


Mike Chappell’s illustration of a corporal of the PPCLI is taken from The Canadian Army at War in the Osprey series. The caption has this to say about the uniform: ‘In the early 1960s it was decided to have one uniform only for Canada’s land, sea and air forces. This ‘Canadian Forces’ uniform began to appear in 1967 and was formalised in 1971. Our figure is a corporal of the PPCLI in ceremonial order. Note Presidential Unit Citations and the medal for UN service in Cyprus.’  

The colour of the uniform is not mentioned in the caption but it appears to be blue. It seems odd to many people that the same type of uniform would be worn by the land, sea and air forces of a country. It begs the question as to when the PPCLI adopted a green uniform. 

The Presidential Unit Citation is the small blue rectangular cloth badge near the top of his sleeve. This was an award by the US president to the 2nd Battalion for their bravery at Kapyong in Korea. The two gold stripes have a gold Maple leaf badge on the upper stripe. 


Regimental Details | Uniforms


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by Stephen Luscombe