Royal Roads Military College
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| Royal Roads Military College | |
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| Motto: | Truth, Duty, Valour |
| Established: | 1940 |
| Type: | Military college |
| Chancellor: | MND |
| Principal: | N/A |
| Staff: | N/A |
| Undergraduates: | N/A |
| Location: | Victoria, British Columbia, BC, Canada |
| Campus: | Hatley Park |
| Closed: | 1995 |
| Website: | rrmc.ca |
Royal Roads Military College (RRMC) was a Canadian military college (1940 to 1995) located in Hatley Park, Colwood, British Columbia near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The facility is currently being used as the campus for Royal Roads University, a public university that offers applied and professional academic programs. The centrepiece of the campus is Hatley Castle, constructed in the early part of the 20th century by B.C. coal baron James Dunsmuir for his wife, Laura. The house had been purchased as a wartime residence for the King, Queen, and their daughters.
The gentlemen cadets of RRMC were not only required to excel in their respective academic fields, but to achieve the standard in the three other components as well, the Second Language Training component, Physical Fitness component and the Military component. Failure in any of these four components resulted in the officer cadet not being awarded the coveted RRMC degree.
In February of 1994, after the end of the Cold War and under the pressure of massive spending cuts from the Government of Canada, the Department of National Defence announced that it was would be closing Royal Roads Military College, along with the Le Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean (CMR) in St-Jean Sur Richelieu. CMR however was retained as an educational institution for lady and gentlemen cadets, as a preparatory college for certain cadets before proceeding to the Royal Military College Kingston. The final graduating class of RRMC proudly marched off the parade square in May of 1995, signifying the historical close and the end of many years of proud college tradition at Hatley Park.
Hatley Park and Former Royal Roads Military College was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995 in order to commemorate the Dunsmuir family (1908-1937) and RRMC (1940-1995). The site was plaqued in 2000 as a superb Canadian example of an Edwardian park, with gardens, which remains practically intact.
On June 21, 1995, after negotiations with the Department of National Defence and the Government of British Columbia, the British Columbian Government passed the Royal Roads University Act, creating Royal Roads University. The campus is currently leased from the federal government under a $1, 50-year lease agreement with Royal Roads University which was announced in 2001. The Department of National Defence leases approximately 55 hectares of land for the campus to Royal Roads University, and has entered into a five-year Renewable Management Agreement with the University for the maintenance of the remaining 175 hectares of property owned by the Department of National Defence.
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[edit] History
| Year | Significance |
|---|---|
| 1917 | The Royal Canadian Naval College in Halifax, Nova Scotia was badly damaged in the Halifax Explosion. |
| 1921 | The Royal Canadian Naval College in Halifax was closed. |
| 1921 | The Canadian Government purchased the land for Royal Roads to reestablish the Naval college |
| 1940 |
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| 1942 | The Royal Canadian Naval College was established to train marine and naval officers. |
| 1946 | The Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force College offered the first two years of university-level programs to Royal Canadian Air Force and Navy officers |
| 1947 | The Canadian Services College Royal Roads offered the first two years of university- level programs to army, navy and air force officers. |
| 1949 | The RMC Club commemorated the fallen from the Second World War on two bronze plaques located on the flanking plinths of the Memorial Arch in Kingston, Ontario. Names of cadets lost in Korea, through peacekeeping and other operations were added as required. |
| 1950 | The Old Brigade, alumni celebrating 50 + years since they entered one of the military colleges, are inducted. |
| 1956 | Red tunics reintroduced |
| 1968 | Royal Roads Military College (RRMC) offered the first two years of university-level programs to Royal Canadian Air Force and Navy officers. |
| 1975 | The Royal Roads Military College Degrees Act was passed by the Government of British Columbia, allowing the Royal Roads Military College to grant degrees. |
| 1984 | The first female cadet enrolled at RRMC creating a slight shift culturally in the Canadian Military Colleges, as well as in the CF as a whole. |
| 1995 |
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[edit] Facilities
| Building | Year | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| Hatley Castle | 1908 |
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| Mews Conference Centre | 1912 | stables and garage later converted to classrooms, dormitory, social centre and conference centre |
| Cedar Building | 1900s | The original Tudor-style dairy and cattle barns were converted into laboratories and classrooms for physics and oceanography. The building was refurbished in 1998 into research and computer laboratories |
| Arbutus Building | academic classrooms, administrative offices, a computer lab, and a canteen | |
| Gate House | (or White House) an administrative centre | |
| Millward Building | 1991 | Offices, dormitories, named for former Commandant Millward (Air Force) of Royal Roads Military College. |
| Nixon Building | 1955 | classrooms, dormitories named after the former Commanding Officer Nixon of the Royal Naval College of Canada. |
| Grant Building | 1943 | main academic building, laboratories, cafeteria, and offices named for first Commanding Officer of HMCS Royal Roads, Captain John Moreau Grant |
| Boat House | 1989 | boat house |
| dock | 1990 | dock |
| sports complex | 1942 - 1957 | gymnasium, weight room, fitness studio, squash courts, outdoor tennis courts |
[edit] Royal Roads Military College Museum
Hatley Castle is home to the Royal Roads Military College Museum.
The museum is located in Hatley Castle, on the campus of the Royal Roads University and former campus of the Royal Roads Military College of Canada. The Museum mandate is to collect, conserve, research and display material relating to the history of the Royal Roads Military College, its former cadets and its site.
The Royal Roads Military College Museum is a member of the Canadian Museums Association and the Organization of Military Museums of Canada Inc. The Royal Roads Museum is an accredited museum within the Canadian Forces Museum System. [3] The museum has formed a cooperating association of friends of the museum to assist with projects. [4]
[edit] Traditions
| Tradition | Significance | |
|---|---|---|
| blanket toss | blanket toss of senior class members after the last waltz at the Graduation Ball | |
| ceremonial mace | Symbolizes the authority of the college, as granted in the name of the Sovereign (currently Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II). When carried into the ceremony and placed on stage, the mace signals the opening of the convocation. | |
| 'change of command ceremony' | The former commandant offers farewell and best wishes to the college and to the new Commandant. The new commandant accepts a first salute as the cadet wing marches past. | |
| college Toast (honor) | RRMC club toast to absent comrades meaning those who have fallen in action or who had died | |
| colours | After the last parade of RRMC in spring 1995, the Colours were deposited into the care of Christ Church Cathedral in [[Victoria, British Columbia" where they are on display with several other retired colours including "Royal Canadian Navy" and "Royal Canadian Air Force". | |
| Feux de Joie | an honour guard perform a rifle salute with field artillery, or more commonly, rifles using blank ammunition. | |
| Ghost Stories | B.C. Society of Paranormal Investigation and Research into the Supernatural have investigates stories of paranormal activity in and around Hatley Castle [5] | |
| Graduation and Commissioning Parade | in honour of graduating cadets:
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| Jacket exchange | RRMC Director of Cadets exchanges tunics with I Year Officer Cadet at RRMC Christmas Dinner. | |
| Just Passing By | When a graduate of the RRMC pilots an aircraft in the vicinity of Victoria, British Columbia he or she conducts an impromptu airshow over the College. | |
| March | Hatley Park; Going Home | |
| obstacle course race | gruelling course for recruits set up by the cadets' immediate predecessors | |
| Old Brigade | Alumni who entered military college 50+ years before wear unique berets and ties, have the Right of the Line on reunion weekend memorial parades, and present the College cap badge to the First Year cadets on the First Year Badging Parade. Each class traditionally marks its 50-year anniversary and entry into the Old Brigade with a gift. | |
| skylarks | annual class practical joke or prank | |
| sweetheart broach | officer cadets gave their dates an enamel brooch in lieu of a corsage for formal dances at Christmas, and Graduation. | |
| white peacock | Blue Indian peafowl have lived free on the college grounds since the 1960s. Albert, a rare white peacock resident since RRMC days, died in 2003. [6] |
[edit] Commandants
| # | Name | Year | Significance |
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| 6440 | Captain(N) Tony AJ Goode ((College Militaire Royal/RMC 1965) | 1984-87 | Commandant, RRMC |
| RRA18 | Colonel Kenneth E. Lewis (RRMC ‘47) | 1968-70 | 11th Commandant, RRMC |
| 2576 | Captain William P Hayes 1937 (RMC 1937) | 1963-65 | Commandant, RRMC |
| 2444 | Captain John A. Charles, C.M.M (RMC 1935) | 1955-1958 | Commandant, RRMC |
| 3912 | Colonel George L. Logan (RRMC/RMC ‘57) | 14th Commandant, RRMC | |
| 7264 | Colonel Ross K Betts (RMC 1967) | Commandant, RRMC | |
| 9318 | Captain(N) Dave Bindernagel (RRMC RMC 1972) | Commandant, RRMC | |
| 8241 | 1995 | Commandant, RRMC | |
| 8335 | Colonel Claude JEC Naud (CMR/RMC 1970) | Commandant, RRMC |
[edit] Notable alumni of the Royal Roads Military College
Royal Roads Military College is prestigious and has had many notable alumni (Shown with college numbers).
| # | Name | Grad | Significance |
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| RCNC17 | The Honorable John Nichol C.M. | RRMC 1942 | David Simmonds Parkinson’s Leadership Award by Parkinson Society of Canada |
| 3184 | Leonard L.F. Bolger, deceased | RRMC/RMC 1953 | earned Alberta Centennial medal, Vice-president at Shell Canada, Director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Back Door, Alberta Research Council and Alberta Energy Research Institute |
| 3528 | General (Ret) Paul David Manson O.C., CMM, CD, B.Sc., D.M.S. | RRMC 1956 | military leader, business executive and volunteer; former Chief of Defence Staff |
| 7344 | Robert Brown | RRMC RMC 1967 | Businessperson, philanthropist |
| 7809 | Eric Ruff | RRMC/RMC 1968 | appointed Fellow of the Canadian Museum Association, Curator Emeritus, author; musician |
| 13738 | Colonel (Ret'd) Chris Hadfield | RRMC/RMC 1982 | Astronaut |
| Larry Lillo | RRMC 1964 | Theatre & artistic director, 'Larry Lillo Award for outstanding direction' and 'John Moffat & Larry Lillo Award' for West Coast theatre artists, BC Entertainment Hall of Fame [7] | |
| 3237 | Doctor John J.S. Mothersill | RMC 1954 | Principal, Royal Roads Military College, 1984-95 |
| Alex Trebek | Game show host on Canada's Walk of Fame and Hollywood walk of fame |
[edit] Quotes
| # | Name | Quote |
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| Mr. Kasper, 3rd Session, 35th Parliament, Legislative Assembly of British Columbia |
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| Alex Trebek Esquire magazine, March 2003: |
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[edit] Trivia
The beautiful campus of Royal Roads was used as:
- the Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in the "X-Men" movies.[1]
- the Luthor Mansion, the estate belonging to Lex Luthor in TV series "Smallville".
- the Shady Glen School in the 1997 movie, Masterminds
- the hideout in "MacGyver", season 5, "The Legend of the Holy Rose, part 2"
- the home for royal family in TV series "Seven Days", episode 9, season 2 "Love and Other Disasters"
- Alex Trebek of Jeopardy fame attended Royal Roads for a brief time, but left before completing his first year.
[edit] Books
- Peter J.S. Dunnett “Royal Roads Military College 1940-1990, A Pictorial Retrospective” (Royal Roads Military College, Victoria, BC 1990)
- 4237 Preston, Dr. Adrian & Peter Dennis (Edited) Swords and Covenants. Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976.
- H16511 Preston, Dr. Richard A. Canada's Royal Military College: A History of the Royal Military College, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1969.
- H1877 Smith, R. Guy C. (editor) As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember. In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876-1918. Volume II: 1919-1984. Royal Military College. [Kingston]. The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984
- To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College since the Second World War, Ottawa, University of Ottawa Press, 1991.
- 4669 Roht, Toivo (CMR RMC 1960) "Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean, Royal Roads Military College and Royal Military College 1955-2006" 2007
[edit] See also
- Royal Military College of Canada
- Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean
- The Canadian Crown and the Canadian Forces
[edit] References
- ^ The Future of the Reserves - Dr. Klepak
- ^ http://www.royalroads.ca/about-rru/the-university/campus-information/campus-map/Campus Map
- ^ www.rmc.ca/other/museum/index_e.html Royal Roads Museum
- ^ Canadian Forces Museums http://www.admfincs.forces.gc.ca/admfincs/subjects/cfao/027-05_e.asp
- ^ Royal Roads University - Ghosts in Hatley Castle
- ^ InRoads - February 2003
- ^ The History of Metropolitan Vancouver - Hall of Fame
- ^ Robinson completes family circle at Royal Roads
