150th Anniversary Page - Index

11 September to 17 September 2026 - Le Tour des Collèges

18 September 2026 - Coin Presentation to the Class of 2030 UTPNCMs by the Class of 1979 UTPMs

18 September 2026 - Coin Presentation to RMC First Years by Steve Gasser

19 September 2026 - Old Brigade Adjt Pete Avis - Final Duties - March to the Arch, with Help from Rich Gimblett

19 September 2026 - Old Brigade Adjt Pete Avis - Final Duties - Hosting Old Brigade Dinner

Note: Most of the photos included below were gleaned from the Facebook pages for Le Tour des Collèges page, the RMC Alumni Association, RMC Canada CMR, and Ottawa Branch. Others were sent in by the riders themselves or taken by Class of 79 guys. Many of the Ride of Remembrance photos were taken by Linda Wongkee, wife of one of the riders, as well as Bill O’Brien but not sure about the others.

Le Tour des Collèges - Ride of Remembrance - 11 September to 17 September 2026

Background: In September 2026, alumni from Canada’s military colleges took part in Le Tour des Collèges, a commemorative ride that celebrated two historic milestones: the 150th anniversary of the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) and the 75th anniversary of Royal Military College Saint-Jean (RMCSJ). A team of alumni cyclists - known as the “Older Eighteen” in tribute to RMC’s very first class of cadets, the “Old Eighteen”— rode roughly 515 kilometers from RMC Saint-Jean to RMC via Ottawa, arriving at RMC during Reunion Weekend. The journey reflected the enduring values of leadership, service, and commitment that define the Canadian Military Colleges. The Ottawa Branch of the RMC Alumni Association was the Lead Sponsor of Le Tour des Collèges, and covered key logistical costs as well as sponsoring a BBQ on September 14th, allowing riders to focus fully on what matters, the ride itself and raising money. of the twenty-riders involved, ten were from the Old Brigade, remarkably including George Vanderkuur from the Class of 65 and Tim Sparling from the Class of 1966!

Class of 79 Involvement: Three of the riders were connected to the Class of 79 so also three Old Brigaders - Glen Mackay, Eric Mackay and Tom Keogh. All three successfully completed the journey and all exceeded the personal goals of $2,000 each by a wide margin, raising close to $23,500. In fact, Tom ended up raising the most donations of all the riders, Those contributions helped Le Tour des Collèges surpass the overall target of $150,000 (for the 150th Anniversary) goal set at the very beginning with the monies.

The Older 18 Riders (aka the Older 22 Riders)

First Group below includes the three riders with connections to the Class of 79 - Glen Mackay, Tom Keogh and Eric McKay

At CMR St-Jean - Thursday 10 September 2026

Day 1 - Friday September 11th, 2026 - CMR St-Jean to Valleyfield, Que - 105 kms

Departing CMR St-Jean - Glen Mackay in the middle with the extra layer of head protection

on one of the bridges between St-Jean and Valleyfield - tom keogh and glen were in this group.

Day 2 - Saturday September 12th, 2026 - Distance 80 kms - Valleyfield, Que to Cornwall, Ont

dinner at the cornwall legion - tom top right with his wife sheri, and glen third from the right

Day 3 - September 13th - 50 kms - Cornwall, Ont to Casselman, Ont

Day 4 - Monday September 14th- 75 kms - Casselman to Ottawa

riders led by Tour orgnaizer bruce mcalpine being piped in to hylands golf club by greg macdonald and escorted by branch president joel primeau

Day 5 - Tuesday September 15th - 75 kms - Ottawa to Perth

Helga Rausch (Ride Logistician and PAO), Bruce McAlpine (Chef de Peleton), George Vanderkuur, Don Falardeau, Al Wongkee, Terry Buehl, Alan Cassels, and Yvan Beaupré

Guest Rider for the Day, Garry McCracken, Sharon Donnelly, Michel Nazair, Paul Stanborough, Tom Keogh, Chris Cole, Tim Gijzen

Louise Leblanc, Jim Mckenna (Ride Technical Director), Tim Sparling, Glen Mackay, Eric McKay, Yvan again, John Pavelich, and Chris Peachment

eric and glen second and fourth from the right

Day 6 - Wednesday September 16th - 50 kms - Perth to Newboro

relaxing in newboro at the stirling lodge

awards ceremony at stirling lodge - class of 79 member and former chief of defence staff walt natynczyk presented tom with a 20 dollar silver 150th annivesary coin for raising the highest total of donations among the riders

Day 7 - Thursday, September 17th - 80 kms - Newboro - RMC Kingston

Arriving at RMC!

riders in front of mackenzie building, with the cheque showing they had exceeded their goal of $150,000 for 150th!

COIN PRESENTATION TO THE CLASS OF 2030 UTPNCMs BY THE CLASS OF 1979 UTPMs - 18 SEPTEMBER 2026

pete avis, larry, tom and john britten posing with the new utpms and other members of otter sqn

class of 79 members who were at the coin presentation - dave, tom wall, john britten, pete avis (old brigade adjt), glem mackay and larry richardson

Coin Presentation to 2026 Recruits - Friday 18th of September 2026

Steve Gasser volunteered to presenting coins to the RMC First Years who just finished the Obstacle Course. Steve volunteered and did an outstanding job of OIC Coin Table Two, leading five Old Brigade presenters to pass the coins and congratulations to the young cadets