Royal Roads Military College Royal Roads Military College ( RRMC ) was a Canadian military college ( 1940 to 1995 ) located in Hatley Park , Colwood , British Columbia near Victoria , British Columbia , Canada . The facility is currently being used as the campus for Royal Roads University , a public university that offers applied and professional academic programs on campus and via distance education . The centrepiece of the campus is Hatley Castle , constructed in the early part of the 20th century by B . C . coal baron James Dunsmuir for his wife , Laura . The house had been purchased as a wartime residence for the King , Queen , and their daughters . History . The property owned by industrialist James Dunsmuir , along with his mansion Hatley Castle , was acquired by the Dominion Government in 1940 . The sequence of institutions at Royal Roads : HMCS " Royal Roads " , 1940 - ' 42 ; the Royal Canadian Naval College , 1942 – 1947 ; the Royal Canadian Navy - Royal Canadian Air Force Joint Services College , 1947 – 1948 ; the Canadian Services College Royal Roads , 1948 – 1968 ; and the Royal Roads Military College , 1968 - 1995 . 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 " . 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 . In February 1994 , after the end of the Cold War and under the pressure of massive spending cuts from the Government of Canada , the Department of National Defence announced that it would close Royal Roads Military College . The final class graduated in May 1995 . Hatley Park and former Royal Roads Military College was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995 to commemorate the Dunsmuir family ( 1908 – 1937 ) and RRMC ( 1940 – 1995 ) . The site was plaqued in 2000 as a Canadian example of an Edwardian park , with gardens , which remains practically intact . HMCS " Royal Roads " is a Canadian naval training centre commissioned on 13 December 1940 . This was the first of a series of related institutions to be set up by the Department of National Defence at Hatley Park in Esquimalt , British Columbia . The name Royal Roads was drawn from geography . The name refers to an anchorage located in Juan de Fuca Strait between the city of Victoria , British Columbia and Albert Bay . HMCS " Royal Roads " was located on a property originally purchased by James Dunsmuir in 1902 . Dunsmuir was a former British Columbian premier and lieutenant governor . The Hatley Park Estate originally comprised . The Dunsmuir family added Hatley Castle , which was completed in 1908 . The Canadian Department of National Defence purchased Hatley Park , almost in its entirety , in 1940 , for $ 75 , 000 . This sum was roughly the value of the fence surrounding the property . As Executive Officer , Commander Reginald Amand ( Jumbo ) Webber D . S . C . , C . D . served there till late 1942 . On June 21 , 1995 , after negotiations with the Department of National Defence and the Government of British Columbia , the British Columbia government passed the Royal Roads University Act , creating Royal Roads University . The campus is currently leased from the federal government under a $ 1 , 50 - year lease agreement with Royal Roads University which was announced in 2001 . The Department of National Defence leases approximately 55 hectares of land for the campus to Royal Roads University , and has entered into a five - year Renewable Management Agreement with the University for the maintenance of the remaining 175 hectares of property owned by the Department of National Defence . The athletic facilities at Hatley Park included a swimming pool , five tennis courts , two squash courts , three soccer pitches , one rugby field , two ball diamonds , a quarter - mile track , a 6 . 1 km cross country course , jetty and boat house . Cadets played sports including rugby , soccer , ball $ 2 $ 3 , golf , scuba diving , track and field , wrestling , ball hockey , ball $ 2 $ 3 , and hockey . Squadrons of the Cadet Wing . The undergraduate student body , known as the Cadet Wing , was sub - divided into four smaller groupings called squadrons , under the guidance and supervision of senior cadets . The first three squadrons were for cadets while 4 Squadron was for mature students from the University Training Program Non - Commissioned Members program . Although squadrons were not named , they were represented by embroidered patches bearing mythological figures , which were worn on the sleeves of the cadet workdress . The squadrons were subdivided into flights , which were named after historical figures ( explorers ) . Cadets competed by squadron in drill and intramurals . Band . By 1955 , Royal Roads had a drum and bugle corps . The Brass and Reed Band had already been formed by 1975 . WO George Dunn , the first full - time Bandmaster , served from 1975 to 1979 . During WO George Dunn ' s last year at RRMC , he obtained enough equipment to start up a Pipe Band which performed as a unit along with the Brass and Reed Band . Royal Roads Military College was authorized to form a 15 piece voluntary Pipe Band effective 12 Jan . 1978 . The pipe band consisted of 10 Pipers and 5 Drummers , including bass and tenor drums . The Ex - Cadet Club of Canada provided all the kilts in 1978 , and the feather bonnets in 1980 . The Pipes and Drums performed at parades , public relation trips and recruit shows . The Pipe Section and the Drum Section performed at mess dinners ; parades ; sporting events ; ceremonies ( official or squadron ) ; weddings ; funerals ; public relations ; wing events ; Christmas and Graduation Balls ; private events ; and holidays . PO1 Gabby Bruner served as bandmaster from 1979 to 1985 . For the Royal Visit of HM Queen Elizabeth II in 1983 PO1 Gabby Bruner composed a Slow March entitled " Dunsmuir Castle " ( 1983 ) , an arrangement for the combined bands at RRMC . The Cadet Pipe Major , OCdt . Daniel V Ferguson [ # M0341 RRMC 1986 ] composed a March appropriately titled " Colonel George Logan " ( 1983 ) for the Graduation Parade and departure of the then Commandant Col . George Logan [ # 3912 RRMC 1957 ] . Col . Logan presented the Pipe Major with a banner worn on all special occasions and during the yearly Sunset Ceremony and Graduation Parade , which shows the Logan family crest on one side and the Royal Roads College crest on the other . Since the MacKenzie tartan was initially adopted by RMC , the senior military college , it became the tartan for all military college pipe bands . In 1990 , a request to adopt the Clan Murray tartan , was endorsed by NDHQ , in honour of the Dunsmuir Castle . The 1991 Graduation [ saw ] the Pipe Band in its new Murray tartan . Capt . John Slater [ # 12337 RRMC 1979 ] PPCLI , under the direction of PO Gabby Bruner produced a recording of the Pipes and Drums at RRMC in 1984 . It contains " Colonel George Logan " ( 1983 ) , " Dunsmuir Castle " ( 1983 ) , as well as some traditional pieces . The band , augmented by Highland Dancers at the Sunset Ceremony , took an active part in the Sunset Ceremony and Graduation Parade during the 5Oth Anniversary celebration in 1990 . The bands performed traditional military , pop , modern and highland music , as well as a few jazz and contemporary numbers . To honour the College , the band played " Hatley Park " and " Going Home " the official quick and slow march of the Royal Roads Military College preceded by " The Standard of St . George " . The band also played " Dunsmuir Castle " composed by PO1 G . R . Bruner for the royal visit by Queen Elizabeth II to RRMC in 1983 . To honour the academic staff of Canadian Military Colleges , the bands played " March of the Peers : from Iolanthe " ( 1881 ) words Sir William S . Gilbert , music Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan ( 1842 – 1900 ) , arrangement Bryceson Treharne which opens with a fanfare leading to a swaggering march from Sullivan ' s " Iolanthe " . To honour the environments , the bands played the Tri - Service March Past : " Heart of Oak " ( Maritime Command ) ; " Celer Paratus Callidus " ( Land Force Command ) and " RCAF March Past " ( Air Command ) . To march on the colours at RRMC parades , they played " The Maple Leaf Forever " . During the annual Sunset Ceremony at RRMC , " Pathfinders " was performed during the Precision drill display . They played " The British Grenadiers " , which is the advance in review order , regimental quick march for the Canadian Armed Forces . They played traditional pipes and drums tunes such as " The Skye Boat Song " , " Flower of Scotland " , " The Barren Rocks of Aden / Mary ' s Wedding " . To honour the Royal Marines , the band played the slow march " The Globe and Laurel " . Facilities . The Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings lists 9 recognized buildings and 1 classified buildings on the former grounds of the Royal Roads Military College . Royal Roads Military College Museum . Hatley Castle is home to the Royal Roads Military College Museum . The museum is located in Hatley Castle , on the campus of the Royal Roads University and former campus of the Royal Roads Military College of Canada . The Museum mandate is to collect , conserve , research and display material relating to the history of the Royal Roads Military College , its former cadets and its site . The Royal Roads Military College Museum is a member of the Canadian Museums Association and the Organization of Military Museums of Canada Inc . The Royal Roads Museum is an accredited museum within the Canadian Forces Museum System . The museum has formed a cooperating association of friends of the museum to assist with projects . Filming location . The campus of Royal Roads has been used as a film set for :