We regret to advise of the death of Colonel James Douglas Megill CD, P.Eng. (Ret’d) on 19 November 2012 in Cornwall, ON. Jim was born in Kingston, ON and attended Le Collège Militaire Royal de Saint-Jean and the Royal Military College of Canada, graduating in 1963 with a B.Eng. (Civil)(Honours).
Jim was awarded the first Athlone Fellowship awarded to an RMC graduate but was unable to pursue this opportunity in England. Upon being commissioned into the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers, he was first posted to 2 Field Squadron RCE at Camp Gagetown. While there he joined a small number of RCE Officers being trained as Army Pilots. In 1965 he attended the Light Aircraft Pilot's Course at RCAF Station Centralia and the Canadian Joint Air Training Centre at Rivers Camp, Manitoba, obtaining his wings in April 1966. Following conversion to helicopters, he was sent to the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering as an Instruction Troop Commander and Explosives Disposal Officer.
In June 1968 Jim was appointed Engineer Advisor to the Tanzanian People's Defence Force. On his return to Canada a year later, he was posted to Canadian Forces Base Borden as the Acting Base Construction Engineering Officer. He attended the Canadian Army Staff College Kingston 1971/1972 and was subsequently a visiting Directing Staff member for the Reserve Officers Command and Staff Courses in 1972 and 1975. Upon completing his Staff College course Jim was appointed Commanding Officer of 5e Escadron de Génie du Canada at CFB Valcartier. After that tour he was posted to Mobile Command Headquarters at St Hubert, QC as Staff Officer Plans & Operations (National).
Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in 1974, Jim was then appointed Senior Staff Officer Field Engineers and, two years later, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff Combat Development & Support. In 1977 he was posted to CFB Halifax as the Base Const Engineering Officer. In 1981 Jim was appointed Commandant, Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering and held that appointment until 1983 when he was posted to NDHQ as Director Base Maintenance. Promoted to Colonel in 1983, he was appointed Director Construction Engineering Control. In 1985 Jim returned to Mobile Command HQ as Command Engineer for three years before he was selected to attend the National Defence College. Completion of that course saw Jim return to NDHQ as the Director Establishment Requirements.
Jim retired from the Canadian Forces in October 1990 to become the Director Planning & Engineering for the City of Cornwall, ON. Upon ending his City duties in October 1992, Jim became the Managing Partner of Conseils UBIQUE Consultants. He served for the year 1994/95 with the United Nations in Angola as the Programme Manager of the Central Mine Action Office. Next he worked with the Government of Canada and other public and private agencies in humanitarian mine action as well as in facilities management. Jim was the Executive Director of The Canadian Association for Mine and Explosive Ordnance (CAMEO) Security, a registered charity conducting humanitarian landmine clearance in war-torn societies, that he founded in February 1997.
Jim was also very active in his community. He was ordained to the Anglican clergy in Canada in 1983 and was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church of the Sudan in August 2005. He was the Past Chair of the Cornwall and Area Housing Authority, the Protestant Chaplain of Branch 297 of the Royal Canadian Legion and Wing 424 of the Air Force Association of Canada. Jim is also a Past President of the Cornwall-Sunrise Rotary Club.
