Royal Military College of Canada Memorial Staircase

The Memorial Staircase was established in the 1921-2 academic year by the then-Commandant, 151 Major-General (later Lieutenant-General) Sir A.C. Macdonell, KCB, CMG, DSO, LLD. The purpose was detailed in the Commandant’s Annual Report. Under the heading “Improvement to College” it is as follows:

“The staircase in the Administration Building has been converted to a “Memorial Staircase”, the photographs of each of the one hundred and seventy Ex-Cadets who have died on service having been placed on the walls. Other steps have been taken to beautify the staircase and to impress upon the Gentlemen Cadets the heroic sacrifice of those whose names are inscribed on the College Roll of Honour.”

The three Chandeliers at the bottom of the Staircase were donated in September 1972 by the members of the RMC Class of 1922-26 to mark the 50th anniversary of their year of entry. The chandeliers on the first floor landing of the Memorial Staircase and on the second floor were presented in September 1973 by the members of the RMC Class of 1923-27 to mark the 50th anniversary of their year of entry. The vestibule chandelier was presented by the Class entering the College in 1936 to mark the coincidence of the 40th anniversary of their year of entry and the centennial of RMC.

The memorial aspect has been maintained and expanded to include photographs of Cadets and Ex-Cadets who died in training or on active service.

In the vestibule of the Administration Building are several memorial plaques. They commemorate the following:

Inscription

352 Lieutenant Charles Carroll Wood, Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. Died of wounds at Belmont, Orange Free State, South Africa, 12 November, 1899.

146 Captain Charles Albert Hensley, Royal Dublin Fusiliers. Died of wounds near Venters’ Spruit, South Africa on 20 January, 1900.

322 Lieutenant John Woodburn Osborne, Scottish Rifles. Killed in Action at Spion Kop, Natal, South Africa on 24 January, 1900.

99 Captain Thomas Wellington Chalmers, Canadian Mounted Rifles. Killed in Action near Belfast, Transvaal, South Africa on 2 November, 1900.

134 Captain John Haliburton Laurie, Royal Lancaster Regiment. Killed in action near Philoppolis, Orange Free State, South Africa on 12 April, 1901.

1025 Lieutenant Travers Williams-Taylor, 13th Hussars. Died at Shendi, Soudan on 10 May, 1926.

135 Captain Harry Sloggett, Royal Engineers. Died at Chatham, England on 22 October, 1899.

39 Captain Huntly Brodie Mackay, Royal Engineers. Died of fever at Mombasa, Kenya on 16 April, 1891 while serving as the Acting Administrator of the British East Africa Company.9

62 Captain William Henry Robinson, Royal Engineers. Killed in action on 14 March, 1892, while with conspicuous bravery, blowing in the gate of the stockaded village of Tambi near Sierra Leone.10

52 Captain William Grant Stairs, the Welsh Regiment. Died of fever on 9 June, 1890 at Chende on the Zambesi River while in command of the Katanga Expedition sent out by the King of the Belgians.

917 Lieutenant Francis Fyshe, 7th Battery, 2nd Brigade Canadian Field Artillery. Killed in action near Messines, Belgium on 27 November, 1915.

1716 Gentleman Cadet Thomas William Smart (Tommy). Died on 12 October, 1926 as a result of an accident on the football field.

Lieut-Col Joseph Bramlen Ridout, 90th LI Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). First Captain of Cadets and Adjutant 1876 – 1881.

Robert Carr Harris CE. First Professor of Civil Engineering and Architecture Royal Military College of Canada 1879- 1897 and first Professor of Engineering Queen’s University Kingston.

Amongst the pictures, the following are of note:

A member of the Old Brigade, 4 – Lt Col WM Davis (d. 1918) raised the 54th (Kootenay) Bn CEF and then the 2nd Cdn Pioneer Regt (from Central Canada) which he took to the UK. Injured before he could take the unit to France, he died in Ottawa from those injuries at the age of 58.

25 – Maj Gen W.T. Bridges, was the first Divisional Commander to die in theatre of injuries received in action in the Dardenelles Campaign as Commander of the ANZAC forces. Withdrawn from RMC at the request of his parents (and on the payment of $100), he moved with them to Australia, joined the Australian Artillery, and was the founder of Duntroon.

774 – Lt C.G.G Mackenzie, KIA with the Royal Scots Fusiliers was killed on 29 Oct 1914 (probably at First Ypres after the Retreat from Mons) and the first Canadian to die in action in the Great War. His classmate, 775 – Maj J.L. McLennan, MC, RASC, the last Canadian to be killed in action as a member of the British Military Mission in Southern Russia.

41 – Lt Alexis Helmer, RCA, the ‘close friend’ of Maj John McCrae whose death prompted McCrae to write “In Flanders Fileds’ on 3 May, 1915; and

No. 23519 Cpl K.C. O’Quinn KIA in Afghanistan

L’escalier commémoratif fut créé lors de l’année universitaire 1921-1922 par le commandant à l’époque, 151 major-général (plus tard lieutenant-général) sir A.C. Macdonell, KCB, CMG, DSO, LLD. L’intention était détaillée dans le rapport annuel du commandant. Sous la rubrique « Amélioration du Collège », on peut lire comme suit :

[Traduction] « L’escalier du bâtiment administratif a été transformé en “escalier commémoratif” et les photographies de chacun des cent soixante-dix anciens cadets morts en service ont été placées sur les murs. D’autres mesures ont été prises pour embellir l’escalier et pour faire comprendre aux “Gentlemen Cadets” le sacrifice héroïque de ceux dont les noms sont inscrits sur le Tableau d’Honneur du Collège. »

Les trois lustres au bas de l’escalier furent donnés en septembre 1972 par les membres de la classe du CMR de 1922 à 1926 à l’occasion du 50e anniversaire de leur année d’entrée. Les chandeliers du premier étage de l’escalier commémoratif et du deuxième étage furent offerts en septembre 1973 par les membres de la classe CMR de 1923 à 1927, à l’occasion du 50e anniversaire de leur année d’entrée. Le chandelier du vestibule fut offert par la classe entrant au Collège en 1936 pour marquer la coïncidence du 40e anniversaire de leur année d’entrée et du centenaire du CMR.

L’aspect commémoratif a été maintenu et élargi pour comprendre des photographies de cadets et d’anciens cadets décédés à l’entraînement ou en service actif.

Le vestibule du bâtiment administratif comprend de nombreuses plaques commémoratives. Elles commémorent ce qui suit :

Le texte de l’inscription figure dans la section anglaise.