Royal Roads Military College
Royal Roads Military College
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Royal Roads Military College

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Royal Roads Military College

Royal Roads Military College (RRMC) was a Canadian military college from 1940 to 1995, located in Hatley Park, Colwood, British Columbia, near Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

The facility now serves as the campus of Royal Roads University, a public university that offers applied and professional academic programs on-campus and via distance education.

The campus' centrepiece is Hatley Castle, which was erected by architect Samuel Maclure in the early 20th century for British Columbia coal magnate James Dunsmuir and his wife, Laura.

The property owned by industrialist James Dunsmuir, along with his mansion Hatley Castle, was acquired by the Dominion Government in 1940. The initial plan was that the site would be used to house the British royal family during World War II. However, as the Queen Mother put it, "The children will not go without me and I will not go without the King and the King will never go".

Designed to support Canada's naval war effort, the facility began operating in December 1940 as an officer training establishment known as HMCS Royal Roads (named after the Royal Roads naval anchorage). Many of the 600 volunteer reserve officers who underwent training during this time served in the Battle of the Atlantic. HMCS Royal Roads was used to train short-term probationary Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) sub-lieutenants to serve in World War II.

In 1942, because of wartime expansion, the Royal Canadian Naval College was established. In 1947, the facility became known as the RCN-RCAF Joint Services College where Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force personnel were trained. The facility changed its name to Canadian Services College, Royal Roads in 1948 where personnel from all three services – the Navy, Air Force, and Army were trained during a two-year program.

In 1968 the college's name was changed to Royal Roads Military College, and in 1975, the college began granting degrees.

The gentlemen cadets of RRMC were not only required to excel in their respective academic fields, but to achieve the standard in the three other components as well, the Second Language Training component, Physical Fitness component and the Military component. Failure in any of these four components resulted in the officer cadet not being awarded the coveted RRMC degree.

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