Notes prepared by the RMC Museum staff.
The Coat-of-Arms of the
Royal Military College of Canada
On 31 July 1920 His late Majesty King George V issued a special Warrant granting the use of Armorial
Ensigns, “for the greater honour and distinction of [the] Royal Military College of Canada” and directed that
they be recorded in the College of Arms. This Royal Warrant transcended the normal method of granting
Armorial Ensigns (or Coats-of-Arms); as such things were normally left to the College itself to sort out in
accordance with the established laws of heraldry.
The design had originated with the College’s first Commandant, Colonel E.O. Hewett, and, from the earliest
years, it was widely used as an unofficial symbol of RMC. Colonel Hewett and his senior officers also created
the College motto, “Truth, Duty, Valour”. Having first decided on the words, “Truth” and “Duty”, they came to
the conclusion that where there is Truth and Duty, Valour was sure to follow.
An explanation of Hewett’s choice of symbols for his coat-of-arms was not recorded, however, given that the
College was created to, “---impart a complete education in all branches of military tactics, fortification,
engineering and general scientific knowledge”, it is possible to speculate on his intentions. In heraldry the
mailed arm symbolizes leadership. It therefore seems reasonable to assume that the mailed fist holding the
maple leaves is symbolic of officer training and the relationship of the Cadets to their country. While the
flaming grenades may represent the artillery and the engineers, the flaming grenade being the badge of these
two technical branches of the army; in heraldry, flaming bombs are awarded to one who has braved them in
battle. Although somewhat premature for cadets the use of flaming bombs could represent hazards to come, and
thus be a symbol for DUTY. The crossed swords could be taken to represent the military training given at the
College; however, in heraldry a sword symbolizes justice or military honour. The swords could thus be taken as
a symbol of TRUTH. The scaling ladder to the mural crown could symbolize the application of the RMC
education to success in civil life (in heraldry the mural crown has come to symbolize civic or municipal
government) but its use on the RMC Coat-of-Arms most likely harkens back to the origins of the symbol, when
a gold mural crown, awarded to the first man to scale an enemy fortress, was the highest honour for bravery that
could be bestowed in the Roman army. The ladder and the mural crown are clearly a symbol of VALOUR.
The addition of the Imperial (or Royal) Crown and the small shield with the Union Badge (i.e.: the Union Flag
or more commonly the Union Jack) were probably added as symbols of loyalty, without thought for their
heraldic significance, an action that proved somewhat presumptuous.
Following the First World War the College applied to have the design formally recognized by the College of
Arms in London. (Canada did not have its own Registry until 1988, and so until then, all such requests
originating from within the British Empire, and later the Commonwealth, were sent to a College of Arms in the
United Kingdom.). As noted above, the traditional RMC design was approved and granted as a Coat-of-Arms,
not by the College of Arms, but rather by a special order from the King, who wrote that he, “—do[es] require
and demand that this our Concession and Declaration be recorded in our College of Arms.”
The Grant was a ‘concession’ because the King allowed two special distinctions, the Imperial Crown and the
Union Badge, to remain. The Imperial Crown (now called the Royal Crown) in a Coat-of-Arms was rarely
awarded and was an honour reserved for the Monarch alone to bestow. The small inserted shield (or
inescutcheon) with the Union Badge was another issue. It was not an accepted form of heraldry and over all the
years and the thousands of coats-of-arms registered at the College of Arms it had only been granted once
before, and that was to the Duke of Wellington. The Warrant from King George V, ordering that the RMC
design, as submitted, be granted as Armorial Ensigns was thus an award of a special honour from the Monarch,
“—for the greater honour and distinction of our Royal Military College of Canada.”
As to why RMC was so honoured in 1920, one need only look to the outstanding record of ex-cadets in the
Great War of 1914-1919, and by extension, to the outstanding contribution and sacrifice made by the Canadian
Corps as a whole.
The RMC Coat-of-Arms is a symbol of both the history and the spirit of the College and it displays the
Monarch’s special mark of gratitude for the contributions of Canadians on the bloody battlefields of Europe, the
battlefields where Canada became a Nation.
TRUTH –DUTY- VALOUR
Additional Notes
Refs: A) As You Were Vol. 1 p. 53
B) RMC Review Dec 1932, p. 43
King George may have had another reason for thinking kindly about RMC. As a young man in1883 (he would
have been 17 or 18 years of age), he was serving as a midshipman in the RN and his ship was in at Quebec. He
obtained leave to visit his aunt-Princess Louise, wife of the GG, The Marquis of Lorne. The Vice-Regal couple
was on their way to Kingston and took Prince George along. Whilst at RMC he met #111 Gilbert Edward
Sanders. The Prince asked Saunders to take him someplace where they could chat quietly. Sanders took him to
his room in the Stone Frigate where they hung out for an hour. (See photo of Stone Frigate, enclosed)
After graduation in June 1884, Sanders was commissioned into the NWMP. He served with the Force until
1911. He saw action in the NW Rebellion, helped tame the Wild West and during the Boer War he served as
officer commanding “D” Squadron, 2 CMR, where he won the DSO. In 1901 he was back in Canada and
commanding the RNWMP Detachment at Calgary. In 1908 he commanded the RNWMP contingent at the
Quebec Tercentenary. After retiring from the Mounted Police Sanders served as a Police Magistrate in Calgary.
During the First World War he raised a company for the 1st Canadian Pioneers, was later transferred to
command the 2nd Canadian Pioneers and he took his Battalion to France. He served there for over one year
before being made Commandant of Wandsworth Detention Barracks. For his wartime serve he was awarded the
C.M.G and two mentions in dispatches. After the War, Sanders returned to being the Police magistrate in
Calgary and held that post until retirement in 1932.
In 1891, after the death of his older brother, Prince Albert, George became next in line for the throne after his
father, Edward, Prince of Wales. George was than styled the Duke of York. In 1901, on the death of Queen
Victoria, his father became King Edward VII, and George became the Duke of Cornwall and York and than
somewhat later, the Princes of Wales. On 6 May 1910, King Edward died and George ascended to the throne as
King George V.
In 1901, as the Duke of Cornwall and York, George toured Canada. He presumably visited RMC as he
presented a signed portrait photograph of Queen Victoria to the College. The photograph is in the RMC
Museum collection. When he was in British Colombia as part of this same 1901 visit, he requested that Sanders
be appointed to command his traveling escort.
In 1908, George, now the Prince of Wales, was back in Canada officiating at the Quebec Tercentenary; again he
specifically requested that Sanders command his escort.
In 1910 Sanders was invited to the Coronation.
It was also King George V, who, on 30 August 1917, presented # 945 Captain Billy Bishop with the Victoria
Cross, the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross, all in one go, an unprecedented event! No doubt
the King had been well briefed and would have known that Bishop had been at RMC.
As noted above, the accomplishments of the Canadian Corps may also have been a factor in King George’s
decision to honour RMC.
What actually motivated King George to override the conventions of the College of Arms and order that the
RMC coat-of-arms be awarded, as requested, will never be known but it would seem logical that some, if not
all, of the above factors would have played a part in his decision.
Location of the original RMC Copy of the Warrant of 1920 Unknown
The original Warrant and rendition of our Coat-of-Arms is of course on file at the College of Arms in London.
Keith M. Murray, Portcullis (one of the Heralds at the College of Arms) made a copy of the original Royal
Warrant back in 1920 and this copy was sent to RMC. The current location of this document is not known.
The RMC sign painter (I believe his name was Mr. S. Taylor) made a rendition of the RMC Coat-of Arms very
early on. His version differed slightly in artistic interpretation from that provided by the College of Arms and it
is his version that has been the most widely used depiction of the Coat-of-Arms. His artwork can be identified
by the wording beneath the Coat-of-Arms, “Royal Military College of Canada / Assigned by Royal Warrant 31
July 1920”. His original artwork was apparently on display for some time at the College. Photographs (dating
to the 1950s) of this artwork also exist, however, once again, the current location of this original artwork is
not known.
Depiction of the Crown with the RMC Coat-of-Arms
Attached is an image of the RMC Coat-of-Arms. Two renditions are shown- one with the Crown, with raised
arches, as it was depicted on the original Warrant of 1920 (the so-called King's Crown), and the other with the
Crown depicted with depressed arches in the correct, current form (the so-called Queen's Crown or St.
Edward's Crown).
In heraldry the use of the Crown is an honour bestowed by the Monarch and while the ‘honour’ is granted in
perpetuity the symbol, or the depiction of that ‘honour,’ can change on the wishes of the Monarch.
Despite the change in the form of the Crown introduced with the reign of Queen Elizabeth II -the College
persisted (incorrectly) in displaying its Coat-of Arms with the older version of the Crown. Although the
depiction of the Crown on the College cap badge was changed, the fact that the cap badge was derived from the
Coat-of-Arms, and not a separate entity unto itself, didn’t seem to register. In 2004, at the request of the
Commandant back, I checked this practice with the Chief Herald of Canada. He confirmed that in accordance
with the wishes of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II all current depictions of the Imperial (or Royal) Crown
should follow the form with depressed arches.
Any new rendition of the RMC Coat-of-Arms should therefore use the current version of the Crown, i.e the
version with the depressed arches -the one sometimes called the Queen's Crown or St. Edwards Crown).