METAL BUTTONS
1939-1945

During the interwar years, Service Dress was the main uniform of the Canadian soldier.  Most corps and regiments adopted distinctive buttons.  They were worn on the Service Dress Jacket, primarily, though some units may have worn them on greatcoats and service dress hats as well.  

Buttons were generally produced in three sizes; 15 mm (for use on caps), 20 mm (for use on pockets or shoulder straps) and 25 mm (for use on greatcoats and sometimes tunic fronts as well).  Not all units adopted all three sizes of buttons (Highland Regiments, for example, would have no use for the smallest size button, since they did not wear Service Dress Caps or Field Service Caps).
Corps or Regimental buttons may also have been used in the Second World War on Field Service Caps, Coloured FS Caps, Service Dress Caps, and greatcoats, in addition to Service Dress Jackets.  The Army in Canada adopted a special SD Jacket (known as a Walking Out Jacket, drab, serge) that many units probably added regimental or corps buttons to.
When there was a shortage of unit buttons, or no unit button was adopted, the standard button was called the General Service button and was appropriate for wear by members of any unit.  At right are examples of the General Service button, in black for Rifle Regiments and in brass for all others.  Most clothing would be issued with this type of button affixed.

Buttons were generally brass, with Rifle regiments generally wearing black (either horn or blackened metal).  Some units, or individuals (such as officers or bandsmen) may have adopted chrome or gilt versions.  Plastic buttons were adopted by the British Army during the Second World War as an economy measure, but don't seem to have been adopted by Canadians.  Regulations during the war did call for the cessation of construction of unit buttons, as an economy measure, though those in possession of corps or regimental buttons were permitted to keep wearing them.

Designs varied from a complete depiction of the cap badge (as on the Toronto Scottish button) to the use of significant icons (ie the falcon's head of the 48th Highlanders or the Little Black Devil of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles).  The Calgary Highlanders button was a simplification of the cap badge, stripping away everything but the St. Andrew's Cross and beaver.  The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders kept the button of their pre-1920 incarnation (the 91st Regiment).  Some units had the complete name on their button, others had initials only (i.e. FGH or SDG) or royal ciphers (VRI for the Royal Canadian Regiment) and others had abbreviations or shortened forms (i.e. Algonquin for The Algonquin Regiment).

Some of the buttons illustrated here appear to have a "Queen's Crown" (in other words, may appear to be postwar in manufacture, as most badges were changed in or after 1953 to reflect the ascension to the throne of a new reigning monarch).  However, units such as The Royal Canadian Regiment and The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada did not wear the crown of the current monarch and their pattern of badges did not change.  Other units, such as the PPCLI, had coronets in their badges and not crowns.

Most buttons were slightly dome shaped though some were flatter.

Thanks again to Bill Ellis for sharing images of his collection.

Royal Canadian Artillery	Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers	Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
Royal Canadian Army Service Corps	Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps	Canadian Dental Corps
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps	Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers	Canadian Technical Training Corps
Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps	Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps	Corps of Military Staff Clerks
Canadian Postal Corps	Canadian Chaplain Service	Canadian Forestry Corps
Veterans Guard of Canada	Canadian Provost Corps No. 1 Company used RCMP buttons, other units used the General Service Button until after the war.	Canadian Parachute Corps
Canadian Women's Army Corps	Canadian Infantry Corps	Canadian Intelligence Corps According to Smylie, if this corps had distinctive buttons of its own at this time, the pattern is not known. Given the late date of the formation of the corps, and the order prohibiting corps/regimental buttons, it is unlikely any button existed until after 1945.
	Canadian Armoured Corps

CANADIAN MOUNTED UNITS
(UNITS LISTED ALPHABETICALLY)

The British Columbia Dragoons	8th Princess Louise's New Brunswick Hussars	15th Alberta Light Horse	1st Canadian Armoured Personnel Carrier Regiment
First Hussars	The Fort Garry Horse	14th Canadian Hussars (The overseas unit raised by the 14th CH was the 8th Recce Regiment, who adopted this button in 1941)	14th Canadian Light Horse
14th Canadian Light Horse	4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards	The Governor General's Horse Guards	Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)
Manitoba Mounted Rifles	19th Alberta Dragoons	The Prince Edward Island Light Horse	The Royal Canadian Dragoons
2nd Armoured Car Regiment	2nd/10th Dragoons	17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars	7th/11th Hussars
16th/22nd Saskatchewan Horse According to Smylie, if this unit had distinctive buttons of its own, the pattern is not known.	6th Duke of Connaught's Royal Canadian Hussars (Armoured Car)	12th Manitoba Dragoons

CANADIAN INFANTRY UNITS
(UNITS LISTED ALPHABETICALLY)

The Algonquin Regiment Bill Alexander tells me that  distinctive buttons were not adopted until after WW II.	The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise's) (M.G.)	Argyll Light Infantry (Tank)	The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
The British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own Rifles)	The Brockville Rifles	The Calgary Highlanders  Prewar button This style was approved by 1939
The Calgary Regiment (Tank)	The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (M.G.)	The Canadian Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (M.G.)	The Canadian Grenadier Guards
The Canadian Scottish Regiment (M.G.)		The Cape Breton Highlanders	The Carleton and York Regiment
The Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles	The Edmonton Fusiliers (MG)	The Edmonton Regiment	The Elgin Regiment
The Essex Regiment (Tank)	The Essex Scottish	48th Highlanders of Canada	Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke
Fusiliers du St. Laurent	Les Fusiliers Mont Royal	The Garrison Battalion According to Smylie, if this unit had distinctive buttons of its own, the pattern is not known.	The Governor General's Foot Guards
The Grey and Simcoe Foresters	The Halifax Rifles	The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment	The Highland Light Infantry of Canada
Irish Fusiliers of Canada (Vancouver Regiment)	The Irish Regiment of Canada (M.G.)	The Kent Regiment (M.G.)	The King's Own Rifles (M.G.)
The Lake Superior Regiment	The Lanark and Renfrew Scottish Regiment	The Lincoln and Welland Regiment	The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Haltot Regiment)
The Manitoba Mounted Rifles According to Smylie, if this unit had distinctive buttons of its own, the pattern is not known.	The Manitoba Volunteer Reserve	The Middlesex and Huron Regiment According to Smylie, if this unit had distinctive buttons of its own, the pattern is not known.	The Midland Regiment (Northumberland and Durham)
The New Brunswick Rangers	The New Brunswick Regiment (Tank) (1936-1941) According to Smylie, if this unit had distinctive buttons of its own after 1941, the pattern is not known.	The North Nova Scotia Highlanders (M.G.)	The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment
The Ontario Regiment (Tank)	The Oxford Rifles	The Pacific Coast Militia Rangers According to Smylie, if this unit had distinctive buttons of its own, the pattern is not known.	The Perth Regiment (M.G.)
The Pictou Highlanders	The Prince Albert and Battleford Volunteers	The Prince Albert Volunteers	The Prince Edward Island Highlanders According to Smylie, if this unit had distinctive buttons of its own, the pattern is not known.
The Prince of Wales' Rangers (Peterborough Regiment) (M.G.)	The Prince Rupert Regiment (M.G.)	The Princess Louise Fusiliers (M.G.)	The Princess of Wales' Own Regiment (M.G.)
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry	The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada	The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada	The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (M.G.)
Le Regiment de Chauteauguay (Mit)	Le Regiment de Gaspe-Bonaventure	Le Regiment de Hull	Le Regiment de Joliette
Le Regiment de la Chaudiere (Mit)	Le Regiment de Levis According to Smylie, if this unit had distinctive buttons of its own, the pattern is not known.	Le Regiment de Maisonneuve	Le Regiment de Montmagny
Le Regiment de Quebec (Mit)	Le Regiment de St. Hyacinthe	Le Regiment du Saguenay	The Regina Rifle Regiment
The Rocky Mountain Rangers	The Royal Canadian Regiment	The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment)	The Royal Montreal Regiment (M.G.)
The Royal Regiment of Canada	The Royal Rifles of Canada	Royal 22e Regiment	The Royal Winnipeg Rifles
The St. John Fusiliers (M.G.)	The Saskatoon Light Infantry (M.G.) Officer's button, small. The rose is in sterling silver, remainder is brass.	The Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury Regiment (M.G.)	The Scots Fusiliers of Canada
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada	The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment	The Sherbrooke Regiment (M.G.)	The South Alberta Regiment
The South Saskatchewan Regiment	The Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders	The Three Rivers Regiment (Tank)	The Toronto Scottish Regiment (M.G.)
Victoria Rifles of Canada	Les Voltigeurs de Quebec	The Westminster Regiment (M.G.)	The West Nova Scotia Regiment
	The Winnipeg Grenadiers (M.G.)	The Winnipeg Light Infantry (M.G.)