About Us

The Battle of Paardeberg

All Units in The CAV are named after Battles.

55F59C05-1526-4F8D-8BBD-740B52D2399F.jpeg

Paardeberg Unit is named after a battle which occured during the South African War (Boer Wars) 18-27 February 1900
The Canadian War Museum has an extensive display regarding the South African War


Who was Pte. R. R. Thompson?

In the last year of her long life, Queen Victoria crocheted eight scarves for presentation to members of her forces fighting in South Africa. Four were earmarked for members of colonial units, with one each going to "the most distinguished private soldier" serving in the forces of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The other four went to members of the British regular army. The Canadian scarf was awarded to Private R.R. Thompson for his actions in going to the aid of wounded comrades at Paardeberg on 18 and 27 February 1900.

With the passage of time, awareness of the scarf faded from Canadian memory. In 1964 Bombardier Kenneth Richardson, of the Royal Canadian Artillery, located the scarf with Thompson's family in Ireland. It was returned to Canada by Thompson's nephew in 1965, and has been on display at the Canadian War Museum ever since.

A number of misconceptions and legends surround the scarf. For example, some believed it to be the equal of, or even rank above, the Victoria Cross as a decoration. Research has established that the scarf has no relationship to the Victoria Cross and, in fact, has no status as a decoration. Nevertheless, to have received a scarf was a great honour.

To read about Pte R. R. Thompson follow these links:The Queens Scarf - Private RR Thompson, the Chelsea Pioneer Cemetery - burial grounds of Pvt RR Thompson - Queens Scarf of Honour, and Canadian War Museum - Ottawa.


Our riding plan

Under the direction of the Unit Road Captain with input from members a yearly ride plan is prepared. Rides may be casual on a Saturday or Sunday, or in support of a Charity.

Members are encouraged to attend the yearly The CAV national meetings.

Ride routes travel throughout the National Capital Region, the Ottawa Valley, Eastern Ontario, the Outaouais/Western Quebec and Northern New York State.

Check out our Event Calendar for more information


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License