Barry Bradley’s Old Newspaper Clippings

Throughout his career in the Force (1960 – 1995), Veteran Barry Bradley developed a newspaper scrapebook containing notable news stories about the RCMP in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.

Each week, we will post three of these old newspaper clippings for the interest of Veterans and their families.  This week’s webpage includes to traffic news stories and a brief story about a young fellow who escaped from the RCMP in Surrey.  This young fellow would later become a serial killer known across the country.

Two Week Study Of Bridge Traffic Flow Pays Off: He Beats Ticket Rap

1962-63: Photograph of an unknown RCMP members taken outside the Pattullo Bridge Detachment (Surrey, BC) (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection)

(January 11, 1963) NEW WESTMINSTER – A Burnaby man spent two weeks studying the Royal City approach to Pattullo Bridge to satisfy himself he had reason for being confused. Outcome of the one-man survey by Gordon Edward Martin, of 5643 Portland, was that he was given the benefit of the doubt Friday by Magistrate Millar Lougheed. Martin produced scaled drawings to back up his claim that present methods used to back the two-hour ban against traffic using the approach during rush hours confuse the driving public. He said he watched other drivers for two weeks over the Christmas holidays after he had been given a ticket December 21, 1962 at 5 p.m. for illegally entering the side approach to the bridge. Martin asked leave to put forward a suggestion but Magistrate Lougheed said this was not permitted.  He then said that a barricade set up in conjunction with two red stop lights led him to believe it was intended to reduce traffic to a single lane of traffic. He said he waited ten minutes for the lights to change then another driver called out that the lights had jammed. Police told Magistrate Lougheed that the RCMP and the highways department have given considerable study to the problem of how to end confusion during the closed period. On Sept. 4, 1960, approaches to the bridge from Sapperton and the Royal City were ordered closed from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. to avoid congestion. The approaches are used by east bound traffic on Columbia and westbound traffic on Columbia from Sapperton. “I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, it probably can happen again,” said Magistrate Lougheed in dismissing the charge. Martin thanked the court and police and said he raised his points in the interest of safe driving.

Car, Driver Crushed

(November 7, 1962) A truck without brakes and carrying a bulldozer raced down Scott Road Hill in Surrey Wednesday and spilled its four-ton cargo onto a car, killing the driver. Edward Wesley Bonter of Surrey, driver-owner of the flat-topped, three-ton truck realized his brakes had given out as the truck gathered momentum. As it swerved on a downhill curve,  a car driven by Arthur A. Robson, 50, of Haney, was coming uphill.  The two vehicles were about to pass each other when the bulldozer slid off the truck and onto the hood of the car, crushing it. Mr. Robson, who was on his way to work, was dead on arrival at Royal Columbian Hospital, where his wife is a nurse’s aid.  She was due to report for the early evening shift Wednesday. Mr. Bonter was in a state of shock Wednesday night. There will be an inquest at 10 a.m. Friday at Royal Columbian Hospital.  Coroner is H.H. McKenzie.

Arrested Man

Photograph of Clifford Olson.

(November 3, 1962) Robert Clifford Olson 22, of Richmond escaped from the Whalley RCMP office while an officer was questioning him.  He had been charged with breaking and entering.