Memorial Arch

On 25 June 1923, as part of that year's Graduation Day activities the Governor-General of Canada, His Excellency Viscount Byng, of Vimy, officially laid the cornerstone of the Memorial Arch. Within the stone in a sealed copper box, were nominal rolls of Cadets and Staff, pamphlets concerning the Arch, the RMC Review of May 1923, Canadian coins and stamps and the Roll of Honour of the College. Designed by architect John M. Lyle, Esq., of Toronto and funded by the Royal Military College Club of Canada with monies raised from ex-cadets and other friends of the College.

The Arch was unveiled on June 15, 1924, by Mrs. Joshua Wright, mother of cadets #558 Major G.B. Wright, DSO, RCE, and #814 Major J.S. Wright, who gave their lives in the First World War.

Memorial Arch stood completed in 1924 and commemorates ex-cadets who lost their lives in the Great War and earlier conflicts. The stones around the Arch are fundraisers bearing the names of people that have donated to its construction. It is 46 feet high and 42 feet wide and is constructed of granite and Indiana limestone. On the back and front pedestals are low reliefs, exquisitively carved, of ancient armorial designs. The cost of the structure was about seventy thousand dollars.

The Arch was dedicated to the memory of all “the Ex-Cadets of the Royal Military College of Canada Who Gave Their Lives for the Empire.” The names begin with No. 52 Captain WG Stairs who died during the Emir Pasha Relief Expedition 1887 – 1890; followed by No. 62 Captain WH Robinson who died in West Africa 1892. There are then five names of Ex Cadets who were killed during the Boer War 1899 – 1901, followed by those from 1914 – 1918.

On September 25, 1949 two granite pylons, one on each side of the Arch, were unveiled by the Governor General, Viscount Alexander of Tunis, on which are recorded the names of those Ex Cadets who gave their lives between 1926 and 1945. In 2006 another plaque, donated by former Commandants, was attached to the East pylon. On it the names of Ex Cadets who have died on active service since 1945 are recorded.

[front/devant]
TO THE GLORIOUS MEMORY OF THE EX-CADETS
OF THE ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE OF CANADA
WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE EMMPIRE
ERECTED ANNO DOMINI MCMXXIII

(flanked on one side by the Dominion and on the other side by the College coat-of-arms, superimposed on spear shafts and other ancient trappings of war)

(flanquée d’un côté par le Dominion et de l’autre par les armoiries du Collège, superposées sur tiges de lance et d’autres objets de guerre anciens)

[left side/côté gauche]
Hark how the drums beat up again for all true soldiers, Gentlemen.

THE EMIN PASHA RELIEF EXPEDITION 1887-1890
WEST AFRICA
SOUTH AFRICA 1899-1901
GREAT WAR 1914-1918 BATTLES

SOUTH AFRICA
MONS
MARNE
AISNE
YPRES
FESTUBERT
LOOS
SOMME
VIMY

JE ME SOUVIENS

[right sdie/côté droit]
KUT EL AMARA
GALLIPOLI
HILL 70
PASSCHENDAELE
CAMBRAI
AMIENS
ARRAS
DROCOURT-QUÉANT
CANAL DU NORD

WORLD WAR II BATTLES
BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
BURMA DIEPPE
HONG KONG
LOMBARDY PLAIN
NORMANDY
ACTIVE SERVICE 1926-1945
INDIA 1926
NORTH AFRICA
NORTH WEST GERMANY
THE PACIFIC
PAS DE CALAIS
THE RHINE
SICILY
SOUTHERN ITALY

[back/arrière]
TRUTH, DUTY, VALOUR,

BLOW OUT YOUR BUGLES OVER THE RICH DEAD,
THERE'S NONE OF THESE SO LONELY AND POOR OF OLD,
BUT DYING HAS MADE US RARER GIFTS THAN GOLD.

(a helmeted head standing in high-relief from the keystone; the inner faces of the archway carry two large rectangular tablets of bronze, standing on designs in low-relief, showing forth the names of the Gallant Dead)

(une tête coiffée d’un casque se démarquant en haut?relief de la clé de voûte; les faces intérieures de l’arcade portent deux grandes tablettes rectangulaires en bronze, portées par des motifs en bas?relief, indiquant les noms des morts galants)

[plaque]
PRO DEO ET PATRIA

ERECTED BY THE ROYAL MILITARY
COLLEGE CLUB OF CANADA
ANNO DOMINI 1923

THE EMIN PASHA RELIEF EXPEDITION 1887-1890
52 CAPTAIN W.G. STAIRS

WEST AFRICA 1892
62 CAPTAIN W.H. ROBINSON

SOUTH AFRICA 1899-1901
99 CAPTAIN T.W. CHALMERS 146 CAPTAIN G.A. HENSLEY
134 CAPTAIN J.H. LAVRIE 322 LIEUT. J.W. OSBORNE352 LIEUT. C.C. WOOD
GREAT WAR 1914-1919

[left column/colonne de gauche]
626 MAJ A.W. AGNEW
951 CAPTAIN E.D. ASHCROFT
1095 LIEUT.

1095 LIEUT. C.K. AYLEN
696 LIEUT. D.P. BELL-IRVING
940 CAPTAIN H.E. BETHUNE, M.C.
1016 LIEUT W.O. ??

[right column/colonne de droite]
1266 2ND. LIEUT. F.H. ANDERSON. M.C.
1007 CAPTAIN M.C. AVERY. M.C.
427 CAPTAIN E.C. BAKER
765 CAPTAIN J.K. BERTRAM
LT-COL H.L. BODWE.., C.M.G. D.S.O.
??

[stone/pierre]
THIS STONE WAS LAID
BY
HIS EXCELLENCY
THE RT HON GENERAL LORD BYNG OF VIMY
GCB KCMG MVO
GOVERNOR GENERAL AND COMMANDER IN CHIEF
25TH JUNE 1923