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Huntingdon, Quebec (Canada)s

Ville de Huntingdon

image provided by Ronald Critchley, 5 April 2011

Town flag

See also:

Town flag

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