Last modified: 2012-08-09 by rob raeside
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The Town of Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada, on whose town council I have the
honour to sit, has a flag and arms granted to us by Her Excellency, the
Governor General of Canada in 2009. They can be found at Vol. V, pg. 453 of
the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Banners of Canada:
http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1965
And from that site:
Blazon: Arms
Vert a fess wavy Azure
edged Argent between two wool sacks Argent each charged with a fleur-de-lis
Vert;
Crest
A hunting horn Argent virolled and stringed Vert issuant from
a mural crown Argent masoned Vert;
Supporters
Dexter a rifleman of
the Rifle Brigade tempore 1870, sinister a private of the Black Watch (Royal
Highland Regiment of Canada) tempore 1940, standing on a girder Vert;
Motto
AVANCEZ;
Symbolism
Arms
The green represents the agricultural
lands of the Chateauguay Valley and the Irish heritage of Huntingdon. The blue
wavy band symbolizes the Chateauguay River, which divides the town in two. The
wool sacks on either side of the wavy band represent the wool and weaving
industries in Huntingdon. The fleurs-de-lis stand for the heritage of the
Francophone and Anglophone communities as fleurs-de-lis appear in the arms of
the Kingdom of France, the arms and flag of Quebec, and the arms of the former
Borough of Huntingdon and Godmanchester in England.
Crest
The
mural crown represents civic authority. Huntingdon was the location of the
county court and is still the seat of the Municipalité régionale de comté du
Haut-Saint-Laurent. The hunting horn is a reference to the name and also to the
arms of the English Borough of Huntingdon and Godmanchester.
Supporters
The soldier of the Rifle Brigade evokes the Fenian Raids of
1866 and 1870, when troops from the Montreal Garrison joined with the local
militia, the Huntingdon Borderers, to face invaders from New York State. It also
honours Prince Arthur (later, the Duke of Connaught), the third son of Queen
Victoria, who was a lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade stationed in Montreal in
1870. He came to Huntingdon to congratulate local soldiers shortly after their
victory at Trout River, and returned some 50 years later, after having served as
Governor General of Canada. The soldier of the Black Watch (Royal Highland
Regiment of Canada) refers to the creation of an army camp in Huntingdon during
the Second World War, at which officers and NCOs from that regiment formed the
initial training cadres. As a result, the Black Watch was accorded the freedom
of the city of Huntingdon. The green beam evokes the Walker Bridge, which has
long united Huntingdon and the Townships of Godmanchester and Hinchinbrooke.
Motto
AVANCEZ, meaning “Advance,” is a military command well known
to all francophone soldiers. Here it evokes the economic and social progress of
the town.
Ronald Critchley, 5 April 2011