Royal Military College of Canada : The Royal Military College of Canada is the oldest military educational institution in the country. When most British garrisons were withdrawn from Canada in 1870, the dominion was threatened with a shortage of professional soldiers. It was expected that Canada would make up this shortfall, a hope that was more urgent given the tension with the United States over Fenian raids into Canada. Yet, the fact remained that there was no system in Canada to provide a full course of military training. To rectify that, the Mackenzie government passed The Royal Military College Act of 1874, providing for an institution capable of educating and training for young Canadians as officer candidates in the permanent force or Canadian Militia. The college opened in 1876 and focussed on military training and education in civil engineering. There were few positions in the Canadian permanent force for RMC graduates and those looking for experience (and action) joined the British Army, while many more took up civilian engineering posts. Still, many accepted positions in the Canadian Militia and helped to professionalize its training and leadership. RMC graduates served with distinction in the Boer, First and Second World Wars although ultimately, the total number of officers remained largely drawn from the civilian ranks. Before 1939, the main function of the College consisted of providing academic training to militia officers, who had little or no legal obligation to serve in the Armed Forces. In times of war it was difficult to justify better-trained cadets taking courses and being held back from the front, and in 1942 RMC was closed. Following the war it was a difficult task to reestablish the college but in 1948 RMC opened its doors again. With the implementation of the Regular Officers Training Programme (ROTP) in 1948, "it had become primarily, though not exclusively, devoted to the production of regular rather than reserve officers". In 1959, the Ontario legislature conferred on the Royal Military College the power to grant academics degrees. (See Richard Preston, Canada's RMC, Toronto: University of Toronto, 1969 and To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College Since the Second World War, [University of Ottawa Press, 1991]. Preface, pp. ix-xiii). With the closure of the other two service colleges, RMC was amalgamated to form Royal Military College/College Militaire Royal in 1995. The motto of the college remains Truth, Duty, Valour. RG 24 General Inventory
