An Inauspicious Beginning

Where is H.E.'s CC?

A number of readers sent me photos of His Excellency the Governor General receiving the first poppy of the year in advance of Remembrance Day. While His Excellency was wearing his medal bar, he was not wearing any neck insignia, when in fact he should have been wearing his CC or CMM. It could be that he simply forgot to put it on when dressing, but this is a thin excuse. 

This is the sort of thing any half competent Aide de Camp or member of the Rideau Hall staff should have noticed. Let us hope this is not repeated -- it would be a real shame if Mr. Johnston was to adopt the attitude of one of his predecessors who patently refused to wear medals other than an infrequent display of his CC (see photo below for a clue of who it was). These sorts of things are not terribly complex and require only minor attention to detail. At the installation ceremony a month ago he was properly dressed with CC at the neck and medal bar on his breast. 

Even the CC was rarely worn.

Surely when you are appointed Governor General someone takes the time to explain that you are going to have to wear dress clothes much of the time and you will also have to wear medals on many occasions. As President of the University of Waterloo His Excellency regularly wore his academic gown on the appropriate occasions, so the transition from "academic garb" to "state garb" should be a natural one.