This memorial was erected in 1902 by their old comrades and friends of the Royal Military College of Canada and by friends of the deceased officers in the Corps of Royal Engineers. The tablet is dedicated to the memory of three Officers Graduates of the Royal Military College of Canada, Huntly Brodie Mackay, Captain Royal Engineers; William Henry Robinson, Captain Royal Engineers; and William Grant Stairs, Captain the Welsh Regiment.
Captain Huntly Brodie Mackay (RMC 1878), Royal Engineers was the first Ex-Cadet to die on active service. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) as a member of the Emir Pasha Relief Expedition 1887 – 1890. He died of fever at Mombasa, Kenya on 16 April, 1891 while serving as the Acting Administrator of the British East Africa Company.
Captain William Henry Robinson (RMC 1879), Royal Engineers was the first Ex-Cadet to be killed in action. Killed in action on 14 March, 1892, while with conspicuous bravery, blowing in the gate of the stockaded village of Tambi near Sierra Leone.
Captain William Grant Stairs (RMC 1878), 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.
