Visit the Club Web Site at www.rmcclub.ca

Gift Shop Ideas!  http://www.rmcclub.ca/GiftShop/GiftShop.htm

Visit the RMC Club Foundation website at www.rmcclubfoundation.ca

RMC Club Foundation Online Donation Page https://www.rmcclubfoundation.ca/fundraising/donations/donateform_e.html

Commemorative Stones
http://www.rmcclubfoundation.ca/fundraising/stones_e.html

SVEINBJARNARDOTTIR-DIGNUM, Stefania - Peacefully at the Kingston General Hospital on Sunday, February 4, 2007. Stefania, 

beloved wife of A118 Raymond Dignum. 



Full obituary details... http://www.ospreyobituaries.com/sitepages/obituary.asp?oId=143207

Ex Cadets and RMC staff going as far back as 1959 will be saddened with the news that, Stefania, the wife of former RMC professor, 

Dr. Raymond Dignum (Electrical Engineering Department) passed away February, 4th.   



Stefania and Ray owned and operated the home of the first Icelandic sheep flock in North America. Icelandic sheep are direct descendants of the 

sheep that the Vikings brought to Iceland from Norway in 874-110 A.D. Isolated and protected from natural crossbreeding, the Icelandic sheep retain 

the qualities of those primitive sheep. They developed into a hardy breed due to the harsh climate of Iceland and the minimal management by herders. 

As noted, Stefania and Ray brought the first flock to this continent in 1985. Stefania was recognized the world over as a leader in the field and 

was the author of a number of highly respected articles concerning Icelandic Sheep. She was actually working the farm she loved up to two days 

before her death even though she was aware of her declining health. 

Ray retired from RMC in 1994 and in addition to being a highly respected member of the RMC Electrical Engineering Department for over thirty years; 

he is also well remembered for his leadership within the athletic and varsity sports programme. At various times during his RMC days, Ray was 

the coach and or chairman of the: Rugby; Track & Field; Harriers; Rifle; and Pistol teams. His article in the Veritas magazine in November 2004 

was one of the first steps in s the process to have rugby reinstated as a varsity sport. Read the Flashback below.

A118 Ray Dignum is an Associate Life-time member of the RMC Club and he may be reached at yeomanfa@frontenac.net  613 375-8127

RMC Club/Foundation News

Catching Up With The News

Joe Grozelle Inquest updates

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2007/03/28/3852403-sun.html
http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2007/03/29/3861341-sun.html 
http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=464514&catname=Local%20News&classif=
News%20-%20Local
http://ottsun.canoe.ca/News/BreakingNews/2007/03/29/3862215.html
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/03/29/grozelle-070329.html

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegion/2007/04/03/3905265-sun.html

http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=471204&catname=Local+News&classif=News+%2D+Local

In previous e-Veritas we have already mentioned: 

19033 Major Nicholas James Elliott Grimshaw, M.S.M., C.D.  (RMC ’93);

19662 Major William Hilton Fletcher, S.M.V., C.D. (CMR RMC “95);

19431 Major Michael Charles Wright, M.M.V., C.D. (RMC ’94) ;
22458Captain Nichola Kathleen Sarah Goddard, M.S.M (RMC 02). (Posthumous) 
Meritorious Service Medal (Military Division).

'The Unwilling and The Reluctant' of interest.

The unwilling and the reluctant: theoretical perspectives on disobedience in the military / Craig Leslie Mantle (editor) 

Winnipeg: Canadian Defence Academy Press, 2006 All members of the military are expected to follow legal order, 

yet oftentimes they do not! Whether by participating in a mutiny, exacting revenge to even the score or simply failing 

to "soldier" as hard as they can, individuals have sought to express their displeasure through a variety of means and 

for a variety of reasons. On occasion, their unwillingness and reluctance to obey has jeopardized success. This book, 

the first to offer a detailed examination of disobedience in the military uncovers the reasons behind such conduct and 

thus provides leaders of any rank with a powerful tool to help understand its essential dynamics and to hopefully limit 

its future occurrence. Price: Free

http://publications.gc.ca/control/publicationInformation?searchAction=2&publicationId=305027

Most Canadians coast to coast are familiar with two time NBA - MVP Steve Nash.   He is not the same Steve Nash that attended Royal Roads and RMC respectively, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, History (Honours) in 1989. Apologies for no photo and our not so subtle effort for you to read this caption of 16990 Steve but just picture him older and fatter than the last time you saw him.

16990 LCol Stephen SM Nash (RRMC RMC ‘89)

Recently I was contacted by Bill Oliver to see if I was interested in providing a profile on myself for an upcoming e-Veritas. Apparently someone from the staff had seen my small business website and thought I might be an interesting choice. Ever flush with vanity, I agreed to provide something; however, my growing modesty told me I should reduce the brag sheet length and instead attempt to actually say something useful for the e-Veritas forum, just in case anyone actually cares to read about me.

So it goes like this…

Following RMC, sometime later, I also completed a Master's Degree of Defence Studies from RMC (with a Thesis on Close Quarter Operations) during my studies at the CF Command and Staff College.

As an officer in the Royal Canadian Regiment, I have had the luxury and pleasure to train and command Canadian soldiers on training and operational missions across Canada and the United States and around the world. Further, I have been very lucky to spend the majority of my service with units to include: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalions of the Royal Canadian Regiment; 2nd and 3rd Commandos of the Canadian Airborne Regiment and the 3rd Battalion of the British Parachute Regiment (on exchange). I have also been employed at 2nd Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group Headquarters; Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College; and presently remain employed within the recently created Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. Despite indications from several senior officer that it would take ‘1000 years’ for me to be promoted, I was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in December 2006 and was recently appointed to Command the growing Joint Nuclear Biological Chemical Defense Company in Trenton in APS 07. There is no doubt that I have had a lucky career thus far.

In March 2000, I created TRADITIONAL EXCELLENCE, a small business, to allow myself even more opportunity to interact with great people in the pursuit of their goals. As a professional soldier and as a person, my passions include the study of leadership and group dynamic; fitness training in all its aspects; martial arts; cartooning; and my family.

After over 26 years of training, I was graded to 5th Degree Black Belt in Shotokan Karate by 8th Degree, Takemasa Okuyama, of the International Karate Association of Canada in January 2007. Of some note, I consider that much of the most important aspects of my training and development as a student of martial arts comes from my time at RMC and, most specifically, from the teaching I received and continue to receive from Dr Tom Racey of the RMC Physics Department.

Not to seen too smug about the opportunities I have had over the past 21+ years, but I have done and seen just about everything I have ever dreamed of doing in the military. I would note, however, that I am humbled by the accomplishments of friends and colleagues, many of whom also happen to be graduates of RRMC/RMC. For example, a few weeks ago I was listening to a CBC radio show with Carol Off and Lieutenant Colonel Omer Lavoie, a classmate of mine at Royal Roads. I was proud to hear Omer discuss his exploits of command in combat as the 1 RCR Battle Group Commander in Afghanistan. Likewise, I was happy to see the rightful recognition of 19662 Major William Hilton Fletcher, S.M.V., C.D., a former student of mine at CLFCSC in Kingston, with the Star of Military Valour. 

Regards to all.

Steve Nash

e-mail: nashes@sympatico.ca
Telephone: (613) 546 0790
http://www.traditionalexcellence.com

16990 LCol Stephen SM Nash (RRMC RMC ‘89) is a lifetime member of the RMC Club.

Three brothers attended RMC and / or CMR and never wore a red coat.

It is rare but not unique for three siblings to attend 

RMC / RRMC / CMR - the Godefroy brothers - Jim, Mark and Andrew,

all attended RMC at some point during their careers and join just a 

handful of families with similar achievements.  

Jim was a UTPNCM graduate at CMR St-Jean back in ‘94 in 2005 with 

an MA War Studies (Intelligence).   Mark graduated out of the UTPO 

program at RMC in 2000.  Andrew received his M.A. and Ph.D at RMC.  

What is unique, we believe is the fact that not one of them wore

 the scarlet uniform (ROTP /RETP). Nevertheless all three have a great affinity and connection to the college
that was their home for many years, and they are all very proud to have had an opportunity to attend this prestigious institution.

Given their hectic schedules the brothers seldom find themselves co-located: Ottawa; Edmonton;
and Kingston are their current home cities.

Click here to read more about these three remarkable brothers

3828 Reverend Clair W.C. Woodbury (RMC ‘57)

Clair Woodbury is a member of the faculty of St. Stephen's, an ecumenical theological college at the University of Alberta 

in Edmonton. He is one of the members of the staff team for the Congregational Life Centre. He is co-author of 

Prisms: Identifying Gifts that Reveal God's Creative Spirit and Wings Like Eagles: How to Be a Thriving Congregation 

in the 21st Century. He brings 15 years of Canada-wide research and consulting to his courses. 

He was Director of a five-year research project in new church development based at St. Stephen's College, Edmonton. 

He served on the Doctor of Ministry Committee at St. Stephen's College for 24 years. A graduate of Royal Military College, 

Clair studied theology at Queen's University and received his Ph.D. in theology from Drew University in the United States. 

His special interests are in congregational transformation, contemporary theology, writing and church history. 

He has served a number of pastorates and a term as President of Alberta and Northwest Conference for the United Church. In a varied career, 

he has worked in the ghetto of Chicago, served as Canadian NGO Coordinator for the U.N. Vancouver Habitat Conference, and as Director of a village development 

project in the hills of Italy. 

Clair Woodbury married his high school sweetheart, Mary Woodbury (nee Harker), the author of the Polly McDoodle Mystery Series. They have lived in 

Edmonton, Alberta since 1979. The family has 80 acres of woods with a lodge and a cabin, close to the Athabasca river. 

Clair Woodbury

#404, 10319 - 111 Street Edmonton, AB T5K 0A2 Phone: 780.633-0048

woodbury@ualberta.ca clair@congregationallife.com 

http://www.congregationallife.com/

7736  Reg J DeLong (RRMC RMC 1968) 

Reg DeLong, a director of 3e Training, is responsible for training operations, as well as development and delivery of

 various financial and contract workshops. Reg has been involved with adult training since 1977, and with financial and 

contract training since 1985. When Reg left the provincial government to form 3e Training, he was a senior analyst 

responsible for financial and contract management training.

Prior to his employment with the B.C. Government, Reg was with the Canadian Armed Forces for 20 years. 

His last posting was as the Assistant Registrar at Royal Roads Military College, where he planned for the 

selection of suitable candidates, the academic timetable and convocations. His formal qualifications include a BSc from the Royal Military 

College, Kingston, Ontario, as well as various courses related to training, including instructional techniques, managing the training function, 

and needs analysis, evaluation and validation.

jrdelong@shaw.ca       info@3etraining.ca

8045 David DME Jurkowski (RMC ‘70) 

David M. Jurkowski, CMM, CD, BEng (Brigadier-General – Retired) is Vice President, Government Relations & Business Development, 

Bombardier Aerospace – Military Aviation Training. A native of Selkirk, Manitoba , Mr Jurkowski graduated from the Royal Military 

College of Canada in 1970 with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. He took top honors on his pilot flying courses and, upon 

graduation from the Royal Air Force Staff College at Bracknell, England in 1981, he won the Commandant’s Prize. His military career 

includes 3,500 flying hours of operational and advanced jet fighter pilot training experience as a Fighter Weapons Instructor on CF104, 

CF5 and CF18 aircraft in Europe and Canada. Before joining Bombardier Aerospace in May 2001, Mr Jurkowski was Principal Consultant on a 

study to establish a regional emergency Coordination Centre for Ottawa. 

8177 Terrance (Terry) T.B. Rogers (RRMC RMC ‘69)

Terry is a graduate of the Royal Military College and has extensive leadership and training credentials from his 35 years in the Air 

Force. His procurement and project management experience provides a solid basis for risk and contract management training for a wide 

audience of public and private sector enterprises. Terry's expertise in training development is also used to design, develop and deliver 

informative and entertaining skill focused training workshops in supervisory skills and management at 3e Training Inc.

terryrogers@shaw.ca                      info@3etraining.ca

8752 Mr Jacques Roy 1966 (CMR ’71)

Jacques Roy is Director of the Production and Operations Management department at HEC-Montréal where he is also responsible for the specialized programs in Supply Chain Management. He is also the Director of the research group Chaîne which is conducting research activities in the field of Supply Chain Management. He is currently an administrator of the Foundation for Training in Freight Transportation in Quebec. He was also Director, Research and Publication and Director, Training, at the Montreal based International Aviation Management Training Institute. Professor Roy graduated with a BSc from the Royal Military College in Saint-Jean and completed his education with an MBA and a PhD in Business Administration at École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Montréal. Prior to his teaching career, Dr. Roy was employed as an aerospace engineering officer with the Canadian Armed Forces. He also possesses many years of experience as a management consultant with several large Canadian corporations and governmental organizations. His expertise lies in the areas of logistics and transportation management. Dr. Roy has authored several articles and publications in this subject area and has participated in many conferences at both national and international levels. 

 jacques.roy@hec.ca

10137 Gord GT Loney (RMC 1974)

Gord Loney is an engineering graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada and a former head of the Canadian secretariat for the 

Canada -US Military Cooperation Committee.  Since his air force retirement, he has specialized in the field of perimeter protection 

for border, military, industrial, transportation, and other critical infrastructure facilities.  A long time member of the American 

Society for Industrial Security and the National Defense Industrial Association, he has lectured numerous professional audiences on the 

subject of outdoor security and has participated in several border security proposal teams around the world.  Mr. Loney resides in 

Ottawa, Canada where he is employed as the Director of International Programs for Senstar-Stellar Corporation, a leading supplier of 

outdoor security solutions. 

gloney@senstarstellar.com Senstar-Stellar Corporation Magal Security Systems Ltd. 119 John Cavanaugh Drive Carp, ON Canada K0A 1L0 

Telephone: (613) 839-5572 Fax: (613) 839-5830

11052 Glenn GN Bucholtz (RRMC RMC 1976) 

General Manager: Geimar, Louisiana

Raised in Vulcan, Alberta, Glenn attended Royal Roads Military College in Victoria, BC and graduated from the Royal Military 

College of Canada in 1976 with a degree in Chemical (Nuclear) Engineering. After completing his military service, he joined

Shell Canada in 1980 as a process engineer at the St Boniface, Manitoba Refinery. With the closure of the refinery in 1983, 

Glenn transferred to Shell's Sarnia Refinery, where he held a variety of technical, environmental and operating positions, 

before moving to Calgary in 1986 with the manufacturing and supply planning department. 

After Head Office, Glenn worked with Shell Canada Resources as superintendent of Innisfail/Olds Gas Complex before arriving at 

Scotford in1990. At Scotford, Glenn held both the Styrene and Refinery Operations manager positions before being named 

the Chemical Site Manager in1997. Glenn was appointed General Manager of the Geismar plant on 1 January 2007. 

Glenn, his wife Karen, and two sons enjoy an active lifestyle, including downhill skiing, golf, tennis, camping, hiking and mountain biking. 

14461 Michael M.R. Labrecque  (RMC ’84)

Mike Labrecque P.Eng. Director, Transportation and Public Works, Regional Municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia 

Mike Labrecque was born in Windsor, Ontario. He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, 

Ontario in 1984 with a bachelors degree in Engineering and Management. Mike has been a Registered Professional 

Engineer since 1993.

As an army officer with the Canadian Military Engineers, Mike held staff and command positions in Canada and the United 

States. Most recently Mike was the Base Construction Engineering Officer at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in Oromocto 

New Brunswick. In this capacity he was responsible for the operation, maintenance, and development of all Department of 

National Defence infrastructure in the provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Mike retired 

from the military in May 2000 after 20 years of service. 

Mike has been with HRM since his retirement from the Canadian Forces. He has held the positions of GM Building Management Services, 

Director of Real Property and Asset Management, and was temporarily the Project Director for the Harbour Solutions Project.

In April of 2005 Mike became the Director of Transportation and Public Works Services, Regional Municipality of Halifax, Nova Scotia, 

where he now serves. Mike is active in minor hockey and enjoys golf. Mike lives in Bedford, Nova Scotia with his wife and two children.

LabrecM@halifax.ca

16392 Doctor Elinor E.C. Sloan (RMC 1988) 



Dr. Elinor Sloan is associate professor of international security studies in the Department of Political Science, Carleton University

and is a former defence analyst with Canada's Department of National Defence. Dr. Sloan received her B.A. 

(Hons Political and Economic Science) from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1988, 

her M.A. (International Affairs) from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at 
Carleton University, Ottawa, in 1989, her M.A. (Law and Diplomacy) from the Fletcher School 

of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Boston, in 1995, and her PhD (International Relations) 

from the Fletcher School in 1997. 

Dr. Sloan's research interests include US and Canadian security and defence policy, US and Canadian military

capabilities and force transformation, homeland security, homeland defence including ballistic missile defence, 

peacekeeping, NATO military capabilities, and the future role of the Alliance. She is the author of Bosnia and 
the New Collective Security (Praeger Publishers, 1998), The Revolution in Military Affairs (McGill-Queen's University

Press, 2002), and Security and Defence in the Terrorist Era (McGill-Queen's University Press, October 2005). 

She is currently writing a book for Praeger Publishers on Military Transformation and Modern Conflict.

Elinor's feedback on the structure and content of this year’s summit the 6th annual Carleton University Model NATO Summit which had RMC cadet participation.

elinor_sloan@carleton.ca

17096 Carina De Pellegrin (CMR RMC ’90)

Carina De Pellegrin is a lawyer with Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP in Ottawa. Carina De Pellegrin, born in Montreal, was admitted to the 

Ontario bar in 1999. She studued at the Royal Military College of Canada (B.Eng., 1990) and the University of Ottawa (LL.B., 1997). She 

is a member of  AIPLA; LSUC; IPIC; and Ontario Professional Engineers. She retired as a Captain in Canadian Force (CF, 1985-

1994)]. Her practice areas are Intellectual Property Law; Intellectual Property Litigation; Patent Prosecution Law; Patent 

Prosecution Litigation; Licensing and Computer Law; Trade Law; and Government Procurement Law. 

http://www.gowlings.com   depellec@gowlings.com    

17435 Doctor Michael MJ Brydon (RRMC ‘90) 

Doctor Michael MJ Brydon earned a Ph.D. in Business Administration - MIS in 2000 at the University of 

British Columbia. His thesis was Canada Agent-Oriented Planning and Control in Manufacturing: A Framework for 

Multiagent Decision -Theoretic Planning. In 1993, he earned a M.Eng. in Engineering Management (Industrial Engineering) at 

the Royal Military College of Canada. His thesis was on Canada Intelligent Quality Control: Application of Machine 

Learning to Large-Scale Continuous Processes. In 1990, he earned a B.Eng. in Engineering Management (Industrial Engineering), 

at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Since 2000, he has worked as an Assistant Professor, Business Administration (Management Information Systems) 

at Simon Fraser University. From 1999 to 2000, he worked as an Instructor, Business Administration (Management 

Information Systems) at Simon Fraser University. From 1998 - 1999, he served as a Fellow at the Centre of Operations 

Excellence (COE), at the University of British Columbia. From 1993 - 1999, he worked as a lecturer/teaching assistant 

at the Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration at the University ofBritish Columbia. From 1993 - 1999, 

he worked as a lecturer/teaching assistant in the Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration, at Simon Fraser University.

He worked as a lecturer/technical officer in the Department of Engineering Management at the Royal Military College of Canada in 

1991 - 1993. From 1990 - 1991, he worked as a database analyst/programmer at the Royal Military College of Canada.

http://www.sfubusiness.ca/homes/index.php?employeeID=10047

mjbrydon@sfu.ca

20688 Ms Shanie ESAES Ste-Marie (CMR/RMC 1997)

Shanie Ste-Marie is a translator from English to French Canadian. She can comfortably perform translations relating to science and 

engineering, Navy and military, classical music and singing as well as outdoor adventures. She owns Traduction SSM Translation 

Services in Chelsea, QC.which offer the following services: revision of translations (from English to French), texts alignment, as well as 

correction of French documents. 

Shanie earned a Certificate in Translation at the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface (Winnipeg, Manitoba) in 2004. She 

earned a Bachelor of Engineering – Electrical Engineering (Power), Royal Military College of Canada (RMC and CMR) in 1997. 

She is the former Director of the choir and the Band at the Royal Military College of Canada. 

She served as a Maritime Engineering Officer specializing in Combat systems (DND), from 1992-2004. 

http://www.ssmtranslations.ca/  

info@ssmtranslations.ca

Official Historian off to Europe with - The Major!

3984 Maj Doug Whiffin (CMR / RMC ‘58) will be traveling on a tour bus (2 – 14 April) with veterans, relatives and friends visiting WW I and WW II battlefield sites/memorials/cemeteries in Belgium, the Netherlands and northern France. He has been appointed by the tour organizer, 

S 109 Maj Danny McLeod to be the tour's Official Historian for the South Alberta Regiment Veterans Association and the South Alberta Light Horse Regiment Foundation. 

One of the many highlights will be when the group attends the large-scale Rededication Ceremony of Vimy Ridge on the 90th anniversary of the successful battle that effectively forged our nation.  Queen Elizabeth II will be called upon to do the honours. Danny and Harry Quarton will conduct the tour, with input along the way from dignitaries, local guides and historians. 

Of interest, the father of Doug Whiffin served with the CEF in WW I and he was 2IC of the South Alberta Regiment 1931-33.  Doug is currently a member of the South Alberta Regiment Veterans Association.  He commanded 6 Field Squadron RCE, North Vancouver, BC 1968-70 and also served with the Northwest Highway System in Whitehorse, YT - 1961-63.

22417 Mark Lachapelle (RMC ’02) - Aerospace Controller” the great diversification of the job. I never know what the next day is going to bring or 

what great challenges my next assignment may offer."

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/newsroom/news_e.asp?id=2808

Photo: MVP Kevin Dulude Caption:  22909 Kevin Dulude (RMC ’04) who holds two Ontario University 

Athletics (OUA) records for most points scored in a career (2092) and most rebounds in a career (1165) - Is at it again. 

Following a lengthy tour in Afghanistan, Kevin appears to have picked-up where he left off regarding his basketball skills.  

He was chosen MVP at the Canadian Forces National Men’s Basketball Championship recently held at CFB 

Borden -  he led his CFB Petawawa team to an undefeated round robin and a thrilling  87 – 81 victory over 

Halifax in the final.

More here 

http://www.cfpsa-borden.ca/SPORTS/Nationals/Results/2007/Basketball/basketballmain.htm

OUA  Men’s Basketball records   http://oua.ca/sports/mbasketball/records/

22512 Blair McNaught (RMC ’03)…Task Force 3-07 will have an eye in the sky

RUGBY AT RMC – THE EARLY YEARS:   By  A118 LCol (Retd) Raymond Dignum

Rugger came to RMC in the fall of 1959.  I had completed a year on leave without pay from the RCAF to do a master's degree at McMaster University and had been invited by Dr. Andy Elliot, head of the mathematics department of RMC, to join the college faculty as a lecturer in mathematics.  I came to teach calculus to the first and second year cadets and was the youngest member of the RMC faculty.  As an electrical engineer it was with some trepidation that I began teaching calculus but in fact I enjoyed it immensely. 

Shortly after my arrival a group of Cadets, mostly from Royal Roads, came to my office to talk rugby.  I had played rugger in England from the age of ten, first for my school and them for the first fifteen of Westcombe Park Rugby Football Club, a London club.  Whilst stationed in Ottawa I had played with the Bytown Beavers.  The Cadets in my office had played rugby at Royal Roads and wanted to continue playing whilst at Kingston.  I was completely sympathetic to their desires and agreed to take their idea to the Director of Athletics, Major Danny McLeod, and to the Recreation Club for discussion and hopefully approval.

Major McLeod was sympathetic but it was at the next Rec Club meeting that we encountered our first roadblock.  The new College football coach, Squadron Leader H. J. Tamowski, was totally opposed to a rugger team since he believed, quite correctly, that it would take away the Royal Roads Cadets as potential football players.  S/L Tamowski, who had played with the Ottawa Rough Riders, and I were old friends and had served together in the same telecommunications section at AMCHQ for three years.  I could not get him to change his mind, but he did agree that he would have no objection to us playing after the football season had ended, and in the spring term. 

This was better than nothing and we began training with me as coach.  Our first game was against Queen's and was played on Grey Cup day on one of the intramural fields on the Queen's Campus.  The night before we had the first snowfall of the season and the field that morning had two inches of snow and you could not see a line on the field.  To make up the full team I played in the game as a wing forward as did Dr. Phil Gribbon, an Irish post-doctoral fellow in the Physics Department.   At scrum half was 4860 General John de Chastelain who had learned his rugby at Fettes College in Scotland and who was that year’s Deputy Cadet Wing Commander. The pitch condition led to a scrappy game which I recall ended in a 3 – 3 tie.  That was the only game we played in 1959.   Next spring we were not allowed to travel as we had no budget, but played two home games against Deep River and a Balmy Beach team from Toronto. 

The fall of 1960 saw the advancement of rugger by it's introduction as an intramural sport at the College.  In addition, whilst not officially, the College produced a representative team, coached by me, which enjoyed reasonable success in its second year of existence.  Four games were played (two against Queen's, one against Ottawa and one against Deep River), and RMC came away with three losses and one win.   Against Queen's we lost 3 – 12 and 0 – 13; against Ottawa we lost 0 – 3; and we beat Deep River 26 – 3

As 5472 Officer Cadet James Colbeck said in the 1961 Review: "Rugger deserves a place in the athletic ranks of the College.  It deserves recognition for its worth as a sport which challenges each participant.  There is a recognized and growing league across the province in which a College representative team could be active and in which this year's team was invited to participate.  Perhaps in the fall of this year the question of rugger status will be broached again with favourable results."

But it was not to be and 1961/62 was a repeat of the previous year.  In June 1962 I was transferred to AFHQ and that fall the rugger buffs at RMC had their traditional game against Queen's after the football season ended and won 10 – 0.  In the spring term of 1963 several games were played against Toronto teams and RMC was undefeated. 

I left the RCAF and returned to the College in 1963 as a lecturer in the Electrical Engineering Department.  In 1963/64 RMC enjoyed another very successful rugger season.  That season the arrangement of matches, the formation and training of teams was done entirely by Cadets. Much of the credit for this work must go to 6268 John Leech, 6289 Scottie Phillips and 6266 Jacques Leduc.

1964/65 saw another successful season completed by rugby enthusiasts at RMC, although no official recognition was forthcoming.  In the fall we played Queen's three times and beat them twice.  In the following spring we beat Ottawa Indians 15 – 3 and Toronto Balmy Beach 22 – 0.  That season we had both the first and a second fifteen but we were still playing in cast-off uniforms from the other College teams. 

In 1965/66 rugby, "the outlawed game", as it was affectionately called by RMC's football coach, had a successful year.  RMC's first team beat Queen's 6 – 3, points being shared equally by the scrum half, 7430 Grant Rusconi and the stand-off 7066 Mel Spotswood.  RMC's second fifteen soundly trounced Queen's Intermediates in two games.  In the following spring term the "ruggers" took on their greatest challenge in a match against the Ontario Rugby Union Champions, the Canadian-Irish from Toronto.  At half time, honours were even with a drop goal by Mel Spotswood against an unconverted try by the Irish.  Play was even in the second half until in the last minute of play the Irish scrum scored a try which was converted leaving RMC at the short end of a 8 – 3 score.  This fine RMC performance highlighted the fact that the next fall would see RMC competing as an official team in the new league against Queen's, McGill and the University of Toronto.  For the first time, a rugby team represented RMC in a regular league in the fall of 1966 with me as a coach assisted by Dr. Perron of the French Department.  The team did not do as well as had been hoped at the beginning of the year, winning only one game of the six played.  Without wishing to make excuses this team was seriously hampered throughout the season by injuries.

In the fall of 1967 I stepped aside as a coach as a very experienced Irish player, Dr. Kelly, a physician at the Ontario Hospital, had volunteered his services.  He brought with him two assistants, Mr. George Holloway and Major Roberts.  The team looked great in new red and white hooped shirts and played hard rugby.  The results were, however, a repeat of the previous season, winning only one league game out of six.   Three non-league games against Guelph and MacDonald College were, however, won by RMC.

Since these early days RMC rugby forged steadily ahead until in recent years the College has fielded two representative men's teams and one women's team. It's unfortunate recent demise was a great shock, but like the Phoenix RMC representative rugby, both men's and women's, will rise again.   The announced intramural rugby program is a step in that direction.  It took seven years to achieve true varsity status the last time – let it not take that long this second time around.

Other Things . . .

Reunions

This is reunion year for the Class of ‘77. To help pull that together, we have a class website at 

http://www.trainscan.com/rmc77/ .  The site includes a class nominal roll and reunion details. 

Class of 77 -- check it out, to make sure your contact info is correct, and find out what's happening!

  We get e-mails . . . 

Thanks for putting so much effort in eVeritas - I think it is excellent.  From the recent article you circulated, I saw the article on Nick Grimshaw 

being awarded the MSM - I clicked on the GG's link in the article, and noticed that LCol Shane Schreiber (who I think is also an RMC grad, circa 

Class of 1988, or so) also received the MSM at the same ceremony last month. If this LCol Schreiber is in fact the RMC ex-bud that I'm thinking of,

 I wonder if he can also be mentioned in an upcoming edition of eVeritas (if he hasn't been mentioned already).  Many thanks.

 Best regards,

16849 Mike Doi (RMC ’89)