Many, if not most of you, are probably unaware that for over 15 years, the RCEME Corps has played a vital role in the evolution and expansion of Canadian Army Aviation. During this period, the Army acquired 80 aircraft, trained over 200 pilots, including RCEME pilots, and over 600 RCEME aviation technicians.
The story of “RCEME In the Air” is now available on the Museum’s website: https://rcememuseum.ca/en-ca/Our-Stories/RCEME-in-the-Air
Lieutenant-Colonel LeSueur Brodie and Lieutenant Jon Jennekens are the only two former members of the RCEME Corps to have been awarded the Order of Canada. Sadly, Jon Jennekens passed away on 4 Sep 2023.
In an interview with Engineers Without Borders Canada in Dec 2020, he described his early years as a young RCEME Lieutenant.
“My interest in engineering started as a teenager. I became interested in motorcycles, cars, and trucks. The various body designs were of interest but what was important to me were the technical details of the engines, transmissions, suspensions, steering and braking systems.”
“In 1950, the cost of enrolling at a university to earn a degree in engineering was beyond the financial capabilities of my parents and me. However, by volunteering to serve in the Canadian Armed Forces I could enroll, if accepted, as a recruit at the Royal Military College.”
“Upon graduation from RMC, as a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, I was posted to the Canadian Brigade, 1st Commonwealth Division, UN Forces, Korea. My training as a mechanical engineer was invaluable to me in fulfilling my duties as Section Head, Wheeled and Tracked Vehicles, 42 Infantry Field Workshop. Our task was to recover and repair damaged vehicles.”
“Additionally, I was able during quiet periods, under canvas and with a chalkboard, to help some of the men in our workshop to add to their knowledge of science fundamentals. The attendees at our chalkboard discussions were soldiers who wished to succeed in their promotion exams following their return to Canada.”
Lt Jennekens went on to pursue a remarkable career as one of Canada’s foremost experts in Nuclear safety for which he received the Order of Canada. Our condolences go to Mrs. Jennekens and her family. Arte et Marte.
The quotes from Jon Jennekens are courtesy of Engineers Without Borders Canada, Dec 2020
The RCEME Foundation recently completed its 2023 RCEME Birthday Fundraising Campaign, in support of our STEM/Youth Education Programme. Thanks to the generous support of RCEME members, veterans and friends like you, we were able to raise over $16,000, which will allow us to continue to develop our RCEME Cadet Scholarship and History Education programmes, as well as supporting our Digital Heritage and Museum operations.
If you missed this year’s Birthday Campaign, but would like to support the RCEME Heritage Programme, please visit our website below:
There are only 50 golfing slots left! the entry form is available from LAD 103 Borden (Lorne Eastaugh) or directly click here.
RCEME Birthday Fundraising Campaign
Today, May 1st, the RCEME Foundation is launching its annual RCEME Birthday Fundraising Campaign. The RCEME Foundation, along with its partners, the RCEME Corps and RCEME Guild, are working to celebrate those who forged our rich history since 1944, and those who continue to serve Canada as members of the RCEME Corps.
You may already be aware of our continuing efforts to create Digital Museum and Heritage products including the Museum website, the Virtual Tour and our RCEME Stories. Last year, the Foundation and the Guild commissioned the digital Book of Remembrance. Digital projects under development include more RCEME Stories, along with a new Honours, Decorations, and Awards portal to recognize the special achievements of our RCEME engineers and technicians.
This spring, we are focusing our 79th Birthday fundraising campaign on the development of new Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education programmes – one for RCEME Cadet Scholarships and another for a future Digital Education portal. We hope that during this month of RCEME celebrations you will show your support for what your Foundation is doing and consider donating to further our STEM objectives.
Having recently completed our Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors felt it was timely to inform our supporters about our achievements as well as our plans for the next two years. We encourage you to take a few minutes to watch this short video presentation.
Sadly, this spring 2023 issue of the Foundation’s Newsletter pays tribute to two of our former Colonel Commandants and founding members of the RCEME Heritage and Museum Foundation. You will read about some interesting news items as well as plans for three new RCEME stories which will be posted on the Museum’s website. Our feature article deals with the subject of Museum and Heritage Governance. It explains the separate but mutually supporting roles played by the Council, the Guild, and the Foundation. There’s an article which will help RCEME Veterans understand the wide range of free services which are available from Veterans Affairs Canada, the Canadian Forces Morale and Welfare Services as well as the Royal Canadian Legion. Finally, our fifth RCEME Quiz contains some challenging and interesting questions.
March is National Engineering Month; it is Canada’s largest celebration of engineering excellence. An annual national campaign, National Engineering Month celebrates engineers, their work, and the important role they play in society.
Since its inception in 1944, the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps has applied its multidisciplinary engineering skills to design and improve Army equipment. There are many examples of vehicle testing and technical development carried out by RCEME over the years, including in the highly specialized area of amphibious, all-terrain vehicles. The Carrier, Cargo, Light Articulated, better known as RAT (Remote Articulated Track), was introduced in May 1957. It made international headlines as a vehicle capable of crossing almost any terrain while carrying 600 pounds and towing an additional 1,000 pounds.
One of the few surviving RAT vehicles, courtesy of the Base Borden Military Museum
The engineering skills and the lessons learned during the RAT project are being applied by the current generation of RCEME engineers and technicians to today’s vehicle testing and technical development projects.
Canada has emerged as a world leader in many science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, and many new jobs and career opportunities that have emerged in recent years are STEM-related. Given the obvious synergies between the skills of RCEME engineers and technicians and emerging STEM careers, the Foundation will be awarding annual scholarships to RCEME Army Cadets who have been selected to pursue post-secondary STEM educations.
You can help tomorrow’s engineers today. Every dollar you donate to the RCEME Foundation during the month of March will go directly towards our annual Cadet Scholarship Programme.
This fourth issue of the Foundation’s Newsletter coincides with the launch of our second annual Year-End fundraiser. We have achieved a lot since the last Year-End fundraiser; thanks to your generous support we launched the Museum website which now provides online access to the Book of Remembrance as well as two new online RCEME stories. We worked with the Corps staff to hire a part-time Museum archivist and we are about to implement the online Honours, Decorations and Medals project.
We are pleased to announce that the Kingsmill Bridge story can now be seen on the RCEME Museum’s new website. These online RCEME stories will pay tribute to the officer’s and soldier-technician’s whose bravery, leadership and engineering innovation underpin the rich heritage of the RCEME Corps. In our first story you will hear Captain Tony Kingsmill MC, describe the events leading to the successful crossing of the Gari River in May of 1944 by the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade during the Italian Campaign.
https://rcememuseum.ca/en-ca/Our-Stories/The-Kingsmill-Bridge
