The Governor General's Horse Guards Window was unveiled and dedicated by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh on June 21, 1997, in the presence of The Right Reverend Terence Finlay and The Very Reverend Douglas Stoute.
The base of the window includes the Regiment's badge centered, surrounded by a laurel of maple leaves, as found on the Regiment's Standard; the Regiment's battle honours listed on the left panel; and a message to the parishioners and the public on the right panel. St. James Cathedral was the family church of the founding family of the Governor General's Horse Guards, the Denisons. It was not the Regiment's church until the retired standard was moved there in the 1970s.
The Governor General's Horse Guards is a reserve regiment of volunteer citizen soldiers whose illustrious history dates from 1822 when Captain G.T. Denison formed a Troop of Dragoons for a local militia infantry battalion. The Denison family, from the town of Weston, commanded and financed the Troop for many generations. In 1839, the Troop became independent of its parent infantry battalion and was named the Governor General's Body Guard in 1866. In 1936, during a reorganization of the Army, the Mississauga Horse and the Governor General's Body Guard amalgamated to form the Governor General's Horse Guards. The new Regiment activated for overseas duty in 1940, saw action in Italy and subsequently, Northwest Europe, receiving nine battle honours for distinguished performance in the Second World War.
The Regiment's long history and prestigious lineage have made the Governor General's Horse Guards the senior Reserve Armoured Regiment in Canada. The Regiment received its first standard in 1938, still the only one in the Canadian Forces.
