Royal Military College

History

The Royal Military College, Duntroon, was opened on 27 June 1911 by the Governor-General, Lord Dudley. Situated on the Campbell family homestead in Canberra, which had been named "Duntroon" in 1833 after Duntrune Castle – their ancestral home on Loch Crinan in Argyll, Scotland. The college was one of the first Commonwealth facilities established in the newly created capital. The Australian Government first rented the Duntroon homestead for two years (November 1910 – July 1912) and acquired freehold to the estate and 150 hectares (370 acres) after the creation of the federal capital.

The first Commandant of the college was Brigadier General William Bridges, who later died on a hospital ship after being wounded by a sniper on the shores of Gallipoli. Under his recommendations the college was modelled on aspects from the Royal Military College of Canada and the military colleges of Britain and the United States of America. Several British officers, including Lieutenant Colonel Charles Gwynn as Director of Military Art, were assigned as staff members of the college. During Bridges' frequent absences, Gwynn served as acting Commandant.

When the First World War broke out in August 1914, there had not been enough time for the first class to complete the full Duntroon course. Nevertheless, it was decided to graduate the class early so that they could be sent to Gallipoli, where General Sir Ian Hamilton, commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, said that "... each Duntroon-educated officer was ... worth his weight in gold". During the war, 158 Duntroon graduates had been sent overseas on active service, of whom 42 were killed or died of wounds and another 58 were wounded. In 1927 the King's Colour was presented to the Corps of Staff Cadets by His Royal Highness, The Duke of York.

In the beginning, the college offered a four-year course, during which the first two years focused upon civil subjects and the last two years focused upon military subjects. Over the entire course, however, there was military specific training, including physical training, drill, signalling and weapon handling. Over the years, however, with the impact of the two World Wars, the duration and focus of the course changed as the requirements of the Army dictated. The college was forced to relocate to the Victoria Barracks, Sydney between 1931 and 1936 due to the economic downturn caused by the Great Depression. The commandant at the time, Brigadier-General E.F. Harrison considered the move of the college, a severe blow to the 'Duntroon spirit', suggested to the Minister for Home Affairs, Arthur Blakely, that the name "Duntroon" move with the college to Sydney, and the local area in Canberra be changed to "Campbell". The proposal for the name moving to Sydney was, supported by Percy Deane, the head of the Department of Home Affairs (1929–32) in an official memorandum stating that the heritage of Duntroon had become so great that "As a matter of fact, "Duntroon" is as well known in military circles as "Sandhurst"; however, he later stated it was proposed that the area in Canberra retain the name Duntroon. In a letter to Blakeley, Albert Ernest Green the Minister for Defence stated that in relation to the College in Sydney being called Duntroon, the Military Board has, "recommended in view of the tradition established by the Royal Military College and its association with the name 'Duntroon' that the name be retained for use on transfer of the Royal Military College to Paddington". The area would remain to be called Duntroon until 1956, when the suburb of Campbell was created named after Robert Campbell of the Campbell family, where ADFA and RMC-D reside.

Present day

Organisation

The majority of the cadets at Duntroon are members of the Australian Army, although the college also trains some Royal Australian Air Force personnel who are training to become Ground Defence Officers. By tradition a small number of officer cadets from New Zealand also attend the college, while since 1967 there has been a steady number of foreign cadets attending the college from nations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. While at the college, officer cadets are referred to by the honorary title of 'staff cadet', which is used as a substitute for the cadet's rank which is technically 'Officer Cadet'. This title came about due to the fact that originally graduates entered the Staff Officer Corps of the Australian Army. After the late 1940s, however, graduates were assigned different corps upon graduation and were no longer posted to the Staff Corps. The title was kept on as a tradition at Duntroon, however, although officer trainees at all other Australian Army officer training establishments are referred to as 'officer cadets'.

Administratively, the cadets are organised into a nominal infantry battalion structure, which is known internally as the 11th Infantry Battalion, with companies, platoons and sections which form the Corps of Staff Cadets. Within each of these formations there are cadets from all three classes (levels of training), who are organised into an internal hierarchy that gives the cadets themselves responsibility for looking after their own administration while the Corps is in barracks, albeit with guidance and supervision from training staff. Field training, however, is delivered by the non-commissioned officers and commissioned officers of the training staff and during this phase the cadets are separated into their distinct class groups.

Since its inception, the size of the Corps of Staff Cadets has fluctuated. Initially the Corps was organised into a single company, however, in 1922 the decline in the number of cadets being admitted meant that in reality only two platoons existed. Nevertheless, since then the Corps has largely increased. In 1947, when the four-year course was re-established following its suspension during the Second World War, the Corps was organised into two companies that were designated alphabetically 'A' and 'B'. In 1950, however, as the size of the Corps rose to 190 cadets, a third company, designated 'C' Company was established. These companies were re-organised the following year, however, as the Corps was expanded to 210 cadets and a fourth company raised. At this time the alphabetical designations were replaced with geographical names that were chosen based upon places where Australians had fought: Gallipoli, Bardia, Alamein and Kokoda.

Programs

The charter of the Royal Military College, Duntroon is "to produce officers capable of commanding platoon-sized elements in the Hardened and Networked Army concept, and to prepare specialist candidates for commissioning. The College prepares cadets and other selected candidates for careers in the Army by promoting leadership and integrity; by promoting high ideals and the pursuit of excellence, and by inculcating a sense of duty, loyalty and service to the nation". The current full-time program is a course of 18 months in duration, broken into three distinct classes, numbered as III, II and I Class. Each class lasts six months in duration and cadets must successfully complete each component to graduate and receive their commission. Throughout the course, cadets receive training in leadership, tactics, weapons systems, military law, military accounting systems, corporate governance and military history. The course is designed to test the cadets physically and mentally and graduation is by no means guaranteed. Upon graduating, cadets are promoted to the rank of lieutenant and receive a Diploma in Military Leadership.

Within the full-time course, there are two streams of cadets arriving at Duntroon; those that enter from the Australian Defence Force Academy and those that enter through the direct entry method. Direct Entry cadets complete the eighteen-month course, whilst cadets from ADFA join Duntroon in II Class, combining with the Direct Entry cadets and completing twelve months at the college. The leadership and military training provided at ADFA during the three years of training is considered the equivalent of III Class at RMC.

The college also oversees the program for training officers in the Australian Army Reserve. Upon appointment to the Reserves, members join a University Regiment within their location and then undertake their training over the course of five modules run by the various University Regiments around Australia. Additionally, they are required to parade at their unit one night a week and one weekend a month. The final six-and-a-half-week module of the Reserve officer course is conducted at Duntroon. In January 2008, the Part-time Officers course was shortened to a duration of 104 days, with further employment training, specific to Corps allocation, conducted thereafter.

In 2003, the Officer Tertiary Recruitment Scheme (OTRS) was introduced, which involves the recruitment of officers enrolled in tertiary study. Essentially, this program involves undergraduate sponsorship of university students, who are appointed as Officer Cadets in the Australian Regular Army, while they study. During their tertiary study, they train with the applicable University Regiment as reservists and conduct modules of training as they are able to fit in around their studies. At the conclusion of their study (provided they have completed the necessary modules) they enroll at Duntroon in II Class.

The Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon

The Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon has been in existence in some shape or form since 1916 when a part-time band was established from volunteers drawn from the riding staff. Nevertheless, it was not until 1954 that they were officially established, when a band formed from members of the Regular Army was established at the college. In 1968 it became part of the Australian Army Band Corps and since then it has become a regular feature of the ceremonies and parades conducted at the college, as well as at other events around Australia and overseas. Perhaps the most notable of these performances was in 2000, when the Band accompanied a detachment of the Australian Federation Guard to Great Britain where, as part of the celebrations of the centenary of Australia's federation, the AFG mounted the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace, while the RMC Band provided the Guards Band. Recently the band has also supported Australian troops serving overseas.

In the 1980s the band began performing shows for local charities, known as the "Strike up the Band" shows and this continues today, albeit under the guise of the "Music at Midday" shows which the band performs six times a year, with proceeds going to local charities.

Buildings and features

The College itself is situated at the foot of Mount Pleasant on the Duntroon estate. The base is one of the only military bases in Australia that is open to the general public, consisting of a large area of land incorporating a golf course, a library, a residential area for Defence members and their families, various area logistics and infrastructure units, a military hospital, a retail area, vast sporting facilities and the Australian Defence Force Academy.

The ship's bell from MV Duntroon (which served as a troopship from 1942 to 1949) was removed when the ship was sold by her Australian owners in 1960, and was presented to the College in 1978. It is now positioned at the base of the flag station near the parade ground and is used daily as part of the cadets' flag duties. Many of the original buildings from when the college was first opened in 1911 still stand and continue to be used today, having been heritage listed. An example of this is the officers' mess, known as 'Duntroon House', which is an imposing stone building, that was actually built as the Campbell family's house before the land was purchased by the Crown.

The Majura Training Area is located nearby and is currently where cadets from the College undertake the majority of their basic field training in III Class.

The Anzac Memorial Chapel of St Paul was opened on 30 April 1966. The chapel has a common foyer with two specific chapels: Anglican/Protestant Denominations and Catholic. Retired Colours are displayed in the foyer. Also in the foyer is a perpetual light that is lit while former cadets are on operations with the ADF. The chapel is also used for the Graduation Church Parade. Beside the main chapel is the Changi Chapel, which was reconstructed on the site and rededicated in August 1988.

Graduation awards

There are two main awards presented to cadets upon graduation: the King's Medal and the Sword of Honour. The King's Medal is awarded to the cadet graduating top of their class academically. It was originally instituted in 1919, and all cadets, including foreign cadets attending the college, are eligible. Indeed, Singaporean cadets established a long tradition of receiving this honour, doing so in 1975, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1982 according to a 1986 source. The Sword of Honour is awarded to the cadet who displays "exemplary conduct and performance of duty" throughout their course.

Reserve Units of the Royal Military College – Australia

In 1997 the Royal Military College took responsibility for overseeing the training provided to Reserve officer cadets and as a result in 1998 the Royal Military College of Australia was established as a formation. As a part of this formation, the following University Regiments were placed under the college's command:

Melbourne University Regiment (MUR)

Monash University Regiment (MonUR)

Queensland University Regiment (QUR) (Including North Queensland Company)

University of New South Wales Regiment (UNSWR)

Sydney University Regiment (SUR) (Including Australian National University (ANU) Company)

Adelaide Universities Regiment (AUR) (Including Northern Australia Platoon)

Western Australia University Regiment (WAUR)

University of Tasmania Company (UTC).

In July 2008, however, responsibility for Reserve officer training was taken away from Duntroon, and these units were placed under the command of the 2nd Division, with each regiment reporting directly to its parent brigade unit. Nevertheless, they continue to follow the Duntroon curriculum in modularised format, and Reserve officer cadets attend the college for their final four-week training block prior to commissioning.

Commandants

The following officers served as commandants of the college:

Plaque

In 2010, a plaque dedicated to RMC graduates was placed on the ACT Honour Walk. It reads:

Situated at the former Campbell homestead at Duntroon, the RMC was opened on 27 June 1911 by the Governor-General, Lord Dudley. The first Commandant was Colonel (later Major-General) William Throsby Bridges, who was killed at Gallipoli. RMC was created to oversee the initial military training of all officers in the Australian Army. As one of the first institutions to be established in Canberra, RMC has been integral to the life of the ACT. The RMC Band regularly performs at ceremonial and community events. Since its establishment, RMC graduates have served in every military conflict in which Australia has been involved.