Three rows of COTC officers in uniforms and hats; winter scene.

Four rows of COTC Warrant Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers in uniforms and hats; outdoor scene with bare trees and building in background.

Elevated view of COTC officers and cadets watching a demonstration of the use of a machine gun at Saskatoon Armouries. Unique heater in background.

Elevated view of COTC non-commissioned officers practicing first aid at Saskatoon Armouries.

Elevated view of COTC officers and non-commissioned officers training with field artillery at Saskatoon Armouries.

Bio/Historical Note: "One of the chief prices which Canada paid in the last war for her lack of preparation was the tragic waste of thousands of her best young men killed while fighting in the ranks because they had not been previously trained for a more useful career as officers. It is to prevent such a waste in any possible future war that every Canadian University is now giving facilities to its students to qualify as officers during their undergraduate course. Our own contingent of the C.O.T.C. came to life in January of this year and is already recruited up to a strength of 170." (The Spectrum, 1921) The Canadian Officers' Training Corps was a unit in the Active Militia of Canada. The Corps prepared university students for the examinations for a Lieutenant's or Captain's Commission and the universities granted course credit for COTC work. Senior commissions were held by faculty while all junior commissioned and non-commissioned ranks were open to undergraduates. Interest in the Corps declined in the 1950s and came to an end in 1964.

COTC officers and cadets in uniform standing in formation; band visible at left. At Saskatoon Armouries with flags and emblems on background walls.

Elevated group photo of officers and cadets at Saskatoon Armouries.

COTC cadets with rifles at attention awaiting inspection.

Elevated view of COTC officers, cadets and brass band standing at attention for inspection at Saskatoon Armouries.

Image of Governor General, Lord Tweedsmuir visiting veterans at Fort San.

Seven rows of COTC officers and cadets seated in front of Chemistry Building.

COTC cadets receiving small arms instruction from a corporal. Officers in background are G.A.H. Trudeau and H.H. Ferns; in Rutherford Rink.

COTC cadets receiving small arms instruction at Rutherford Rink.

A sergeant with rifle and bayonet during training at Rutherford Rink.

Bio/Historical Note: Built on a site previously used for an open outdoor rink, construction of “The Rink”, later known informally as the “Dog House”, was due to student initiative. A campaign to have a closed rink facility began in 1920; by 1928, the Students Representative Council appointed a committee to look into the feasibility of the student body assuming responsibility for construction. The Board of Governors loaned SRC the funds; which the student council hoped to pay back by instituting a $3 student fee. Although opened for use in December 1929 the rink, “already the most popular place on campus,” had its official opening on 23 January 1930, with an inter-varsity hockey game against the University of Manitoba (Saskatchewan won, 5-1). 650 attended the opening; and between 18,000-20,000 people used the rink during its first year of operation. The original design included “waiting rooms” on the west and east side, primarily for use by men and women respectively. The rink was used for general skating, “scrub,” faculty, senior men’s and girls’ varsity team hockey practices, the “fancy skating club,” children’s skating, and band practice, and winter carnival activities. Speed skates were allowed, but the rink was “not responsible for injury resulting therefrom.” During general skating, “playing tag,” “cutting in,” “cracking the whip,” and “reckless disregard and abandon in speed skating” were not tolerated. The building was renamed in honour of William J. Rutherford, the University’s first Dean of Agriculture, after his sudden and unexpected death on 1 June 1930. Minor renovations occurred over the next 88 years. Merlis Belsher Place, a multi-use ice facility, opened in 2018, mercifully replacing the ancient Rutherford Rink. The new arena is located on the south side of College Drive near the Field House.