September 1954
 

 

Instructor Commander George Amyot RCN (Ret'd)
(HMCS Venture's founding Director of Studies, passed away in Ottawa, on 12 June 2004 at the age of 92)

 
          George Amyot joined the RCNVR as a S/Lt (SB) in 1942 and later entered the RCN. He served at Royal Roads from 1946-1949. He was promoted to InstCdr in 1949 and served in "Ontario" and "Stadacona". He was the Director of Studies in HMCS Venture from 1954 to 1957. He retired from the RCN in 1963.
          His patrician demeanor and no-nonsense approach to the instruction of recalcitrant early Venture Cadets prepared them for much greater challenges ahead.
 

From Read Admiral Robert Welland RCN (Ret'd)
 (HMCS Venture's architect and first Commanding Officer)
          I first met George Amyot in September 1945. He was an Instructor Lieutenant on the staff of Royal Roads, teaching math to 200 or so cadets. I was the XO in charge of setting a good example, and had little else to do. George soon fixed that. For the next two years he saw that I was properly instructed at golf and tennis. Soon he had me doing cross-court backhand smashes and dodging his 100 mph serves; never did I beat him. At golf he saw to it that I was properly trained by a Pro (at the Royal Colwood), but not so I could take money from him; a 12 handicap wouldn’t do it. 
          George was 6-2 at least, he had put himself through the University of Manitoba by playing professional hockey and more profitably, club boxing for money in the smoky  gyms of Winnipeg and North Dakota. His hockey career was briefly interrupted when he was suspended for punching out a rowdy fan who insulted him. His reputation as a teacher saw him sent to the toughest high school in Winnipeg to restore order, ...that took only one day.
           In 1953 when I was assigned the job of inventing a naval college, (I was Director of Training in Ottawa) I asked that George be assigned to help. At the same time I asked that LCdr Ray Phillips also be put on my staff; Ray had been my XO in "Haida"  for the last year of the war.  11 months later we had 162 cadets on the Venture parade ground. Amyot or Phillips interviewed each boy who was finally accepted. 
           George wrote the instructional syllabus for all academics; he had a major input into the sports program, and selected the officers for his staff who could double in sports: Joe Connor, Dave Atkinson, Rugger Williams and others. George saw to it that we had a proportional representation from Quebec, and the other provinces. Every cadet learnt conversational French or English; George was 12 years ahead of Mr. Trudeau on that subject!
          George and Ray were great co-operators; there were no turf wars between academics, sports and the time-consuming matters of flying, yachting and warship seatime.
          Every Venture cadet owes George one.

          So do I.