Vintage RMC: 1980 Recruit Term and College Life
Arriving…
Within a few steps of being on the College grounds through the Gatehouse entrance you will encounter Brucie, the bronze statute of a male cadet in full dress scarlets.
Circle Parade…
‘Circles’ were issued to recruits as a form of ‘behavioural guidance’—each circle assigned was one full lap of the athletic track. Recruits would accrue circles and run them at a rate of maximum eight per night at 10:00pm. The recruits leading this pack were the eight circle runners.
Kye…
Kye was an evening snack served in the recruit hallway at 10:00pm…during the exact same time that Circle Parade was taking place out on the track.
Room Inspections….
Recruit Harriers…
The Recruit Harrier race was run for points toward the Squadron Competition for ‘Right of the Line’. Recruits raced along the route of our morning run routine…from the Parade Square up around Fort Henry, down to the St Lawrence River, up Heartbreak Hill, and back along Navy Bay to the finish on the Parade Square. Five kilometres.
Recruit Drill Competition…
The Cadet Wing Commander inspects A Flight.
Recruit Room Inspection Competition…
The Director of Cadets, the Cadet Wing Commander, and two A Flight Recruit Staff inspect our room…that’s my kit being inspected!
Passing Off the Square Competition…
Helping each other with final uniform checks…
Passing Off the Square was mandatory before being permitted off College Grounds after Recruit Term as a Cadet, and therefore, representative of RMC. We had to perform specific drill maneuvers, be assessed for quality of our ‘turn out’ including pressing, polishing, and deportment, and answer several etiquette questions.
Doggie Night…
Doggie Night: Thursday, October 2nd, 1980—the final night of Recruit Term before becoming full-fledged First Year Cadets after running the dreaded Recruit Obstacle Course on Friday afternoon. This evening was the last hurrah of Recruit Flight Staff to exercise their full jurisdiction over us. They put us through our paces…
Standing on our heads…
Simon Says…
Panic Drills…
Putting on as many articles of clothing at once as possible…
Doing drill up and down and around the hallway while fully kitted out in our uniforms…
The Director of Cadets, Lieutenant-Colonel Annand, lived next door to the Frigate in Panet House. He had a dog named ‘Genghis’ who loved to make guest appearances in our Recruit Hallway—we nicknamed him our ‘early warning system’ because whenever Genghis showed up normally DCdts wasn’t far behind! Here’s Genghis checking out McDonald Bags on Doggie Night…I think those are DCdts shoes in the frame.
We took turns applying camouflage stick to each others faces…
What goes around comes around…
Once camouflaged, the Fourth Years ran us through a series of ‘Pit Drill’ exercises…
Followed by a series of games using mattresses as the main prop…this game was called ‘The Princess and the Pea’—I recall being stretched out on top of this stack of mattresses and being tested as a true Princess by my ability to discern when another Recruit was tucked between the mattresses beneath me.
The most memorable mattress game was a competitive series of ‘Mattress Races’ up and down the hall—charging at each other blindly from under our mattress cover.
The Obstacle Course is covered in a separate journal post.
Wing Regatta on Navy Bay…
A Flight lining the retaining wall alongside the Frigate…the Old Boathouse is seen in the background.
S.F.M.A. Hallowe’en Party…
The Stone Frigate Military Academy’s mascot was a spider…which made Hallowe’en a pretty big deal in our squadron.
There were absolutely no rules to restrict our choice of Hallowe’en costume…and going with the school of thought that we dress up on Hallowe’en in ways we wished we had courage to show up in the world; looks like I was feeling quite powerless in the Fall of 1980. The bullwhip was borrowed from a second year who was a closet circus performer: juggler, uni-cycle rider, and possibly a part-time lion tamer.
One main event was the SPIDER RACE Competition…cadets captured a spider from within the Frigate, released it to race with the object being coaching your spider to cross the finish line…use of tiny steering sticks were permitted. If you look closely, you may notice masking tape lanes on the Gunroom floor.
Another main event was “WHEN I WAS A ROOK…” story telling competition by Fourth Years claiming that when they were recruits their lives were even worse than this year’s recruits….you can notice a lot of booing and laughter going on!
During the award presentations, I apparently thought it was a good idea, in concert with my choice of costume, to give the Squadron Commander a noogie.
Wing Snowball Fight…
Victorious Frigateers celebrating out front of the Frigate after repelling an attack against us by the other squadrons in the Cadet Wing as they attempted to storm our building and steal our Kye. They failed! The Wing Snowball Fight is an annual tradition taking place on the night of the first major snowfall each year. This is a classic photo of the Frigate entrance…notice the stain-glassed spider above the opened front doors and the Frigate bell supported in the arch behind the group.
Cadet Christmas Dinner…
A Christmas Dinner for cadets is served by faculty and staff before we start winter exam routine…looks like the bagpiper is standing a little too close to the table for everyone’s enjoyment!
RMC Christmas Ball…
A scene from the Christmas Ball Dance…my classmates Dave and Suzie are dancing together in their scarlets.
Winter Parades…
It looks like 1880 on parade in our Great Coats and Astrakhan hats but it’s the winter of 1981…winter parades were miserable to endure…
…maybe for everyone, including the Commandant.
Intramurals…
The Frigate Floor Hockey team…my intramural sport for winter term after leaving the men’s Basketball team.
Wing Swim Competition…
A picture is worth a thousand words…that’s me in the midst of all these male swimmers in the role of a ‘timer’ at the swim meet. There were so few women cadets at RMC that this kind of situation was not uncommon.
Winter Carnival Celebrations…
Lining up on the edge of the Square for the ‘Bed Races’…that’s Massey Library in the background and the Gatehouse at the top left of the photo.
The Frigate is the finish line…with the Old Gym on the right and Panet House, the DCdts residence, at the edge of the scene.
Annual re-enactment of the first RMC vs Queen’s hockey game played by the Old Eighteen in 1876…Kingston’s City Hall is in the background.
1981 Hudson Squadron photo…
Squadron photo taken on the Frigate fire escape stairs…which were out of bounds for regular use by First Year Cadets.
Last Day of Class—Frigate First Years jump in the lake…
April 1981—Annual Tradition of Hudson Squadron First Years jumping into Navy Bay from the pier behind the Frigate on the last day of classes for the year.
An action shot of me jumping with ‘Fitzroy’— a clear view of the running shoes that we nicknamed ‘Cripplers’. Fort Henry Hill can been seen across Navy Bay in the background and the slope of Heartbreak Hill.
‘On Charge’ Dress...
A cadet on charge—wearing the white belt and gaiters with his daily dress—standing out front of LaSalle Dormitory. This photo gives an excellent perspective of the distance from LaSalle to the Frigate across the Square. You can see cadets practicing drill right in front of the Frigate. The Mackenzie building and the Old Hospital are seen in the high left of the frame.
Drill Fest…
Drill Fest is the nickname given to the two weeks of Graduation Parade practices after final exams leading up to Grad of 1981. The spent shell casings on the ground are the result of practicing for the honorary fire arm salute that will be fired for graduates before they march off the Square for the last time…
Grad Parade during the moment the CWC and Chief of Defence Staff General Ramsey Withers inspect the Cadet Wing…they are reviewing Hudson Squadron and I happened to be in the frame.
The Class of 1981 marches off the square for the last time…heading into Currie Hall. First Year is officially done!!