Larry Burden’s This Day In The RCMP

The achievements and contributions of the Force have been built upon the individual contributions of many past Veterans. These contributions have largely been forgotten.

Veteran Sgt. Larry Burden (#35982), who served  in “E” Division for 20 years, has spent many years researching and summarizing these achievements by specific date.  Nearly every day, Larry sends out an email message with a selection from his work in progress manuscript “This Day In The RCMP” to individuals interested in these historical notes.

In an effort to share his research to a large group, Larry has agreed to permit us to develop a webpage on our website. Each webpage will post Larry’s historical notations over the past week.

If you wish to contact Larry Burden or provide additional information about his research, please email him at larryburden8@gmail.com.

June 8

1889 – Honour Roll Number 136.

Twenty-year-old Constable #2181 Alfred Perry drowned in the Belly River, near Lethbridge Alberta.

On Thursday June 6th Constable Perry left Lethbridge Alberta to ride 20 miles to his detachment on the west side of the Belly River. Due to the high water in the river Constable Perry chose to take the ferry across but could not locate his detachment so he returned on the ferry and told the ferry operator that he would ride down river and find a shallow crossing. When he did not arrive at his post by Saturday a search party of 18 men was organized and dispatched to scour the area. In the process they learned that he had spent a night at the “Fixely and Weir” Ranch and had set out the following morning. The search team found signs that he attempted to ford the river in several different locations and after splitting the team in two, they located a spot where his horse tracks entered the river but did not come out on either side. Shortly afterwards his horse was located on the other side of the river still saddled. Additional searching revealed that Perry had spoken to a local farmer who had warned him of the treacherous conditions of the river in that area and had offered to put him up for the night. It was concluded that his horse had thrown him while crossing the river and though he was a good swimmer, he had not made it out alive. Ten days later his badly damaged body was located downstream. Alfred Perry had emigrated from England and had only been in the Mounted Police eleven months. He was buried at the Mountain View Cemetery, Lethbridge, Alberta.

1906 – Honour Roll Number 29.

While on patrol, #4119 Constable Thomas Robert Jackson age 34 drowned when fording Six Mile Creek in Saskatchewan.

On June 6th 1906, Constable Jackson left Maple Creek Saskatchewan to ride to his detachment at Ten Mile. A witness had been seen riding on the west bank of Six Mile Creek on June 8th but he never reached his detachment. On June 10th a local farmer found Jackson’s exhausted horse still saddled struggling to get up the bank of the creek. A search party was quickly organized and Jackson’s body was found a half-mile downstream the following day. It will never be known why he attempted to ford the swollen creek instead of traveling further upstream and crossing at Spangler’s Bridge. Cst. Jackson was single and had immigrated to Canada from his home in Brighton England where he had worked as a laborer and served in the British Army with the Royal Engineers. He was buried in Plot 5 of the RCMP Cemetery at Fort Walsh.

1912 – American Arctic explorer Harry V. Radford is murdered near Baker Lake resulting in the longest manhunt in the Forces history conducted by Inspectors. J. Beyts and F.H. French.

1935 – Ambassador Pictures released the 60 minute “Code of the Mounted” starring Kermit Maynard in his 5th of nine Mountie movies. In this role Maynard plays Sergeant Jim Wilson, in a tale of a captured murderer who is broken out of jail by a woman who is a ruthless killer and leader of the criminal gang.

1944 – #12392 Constable Howard Fitzallen is wounded in action, while serving with the Provost Corps in Italy during WW2. Fitzallen joined the RCMP in 1934 and transferred to the military on November 1st, 1939 and served until June 8th 1944. After the war he returned to work and served in the RCMP until he retired as a Corporal in 1954.

1962 – In protest over the laying of criminal charges of intimidation against 71 members of the sects Freedom Council, 50 naked Doukhobor Freedomite women burned their homes to the ground in the area around Trail BC. The women then threw rocks at the RCMP and media. Later that month a group of Doukhobor women disrobed in front of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker as he was making a campaign speech in Trail.

1968 – Honour Roll Number 139.

#19508 Cpl. Terry Gerrard Williams age 32 drowned in boating accident, in Sheet Harbour Passage, Halifax County, N.S.

Corporal Williams accompanied by school principal Hilary Brown was conducting routine Small Vessels patrol in Sheet Harbour. Around 10 am the seas became rough and witnesses observed the two rowing their small boat. Though the stern of the boat was low they did not seem to be in any difficulty. At approximately 1:50 pm, a local fisherman found the empty boat swamped. A search was conducted and Corporal William’s body was found at 5:30 pm, Hilary Brown’s body was recovered 3 days later.

Cpl. Williams had served in the RCMP for 13 years, and saw lots of the country in his short career having been posted in Ottawa, Newfoundland, Yukon and Nova Scotia. After his funeral his wife and three children scattered his ashes at sea.

In 1971 the “Corporal TG Williams Memorial Trophy” was established in his honour for highest score obtained in annual Division shoot.

1975 – The Saint John Ambulance Meritorious Certificate was awarded to #29458 Constables Allan B. Wellwood and #28672 Graham L. Geddes for saving the life of Mrs. Ferguson by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation at Lynn Lake, Manitoba.

2000 – 99 year old former Mountie drives his first police car!

Former RNWMP Constable #8740 Ernest Gibson had served in the RNWMP and the RCMP from 1919 to 1921. His career was cut short when an armed suspect that he was chasing in 1921 shot him in the knee. The wound led to his being medically invalided and forced him to retire from the Force. To celebrate his 99th birthday, members of the Central Vancouver Island RCMP Veterans Association arranged for him to drive a police car, this was the first he had ever driven one, having only rode a horse while a member of the Force.

Ernest Gibson died on January 20th, 2004 at Comox, B.C. at age 102, then the oldest known veteran of the Force.

June 6

1874 – Commissioner George French, along with15 other officers and 201 constables and sub-constables with 244 horses departed Toronto on two Grand Trunk Railway cars en-route to Camp Dufferin (Emerson) Manitoba to begin the march west. Some men, fearing being scalped by Indians shaved their heads and were mistaken for “jail birds” by civilian populace because the members were traveling in civilian clothing because the train traveled through the United States.

1944 – D-DAY: Canada’s part in Operation Overlord’s includes 14,000 Canadian soldiers storming Juno beach between Courseulles and St-Aubin-sur-Mer, one of four coordinated attacks involving Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Free French Forces across a 60-mile front on the beaches of Normandy launches the allies newest campaign in Europe following the advance on Italy. Clearing the approaches to the beach minesweepers from the Royal Canadian Navy swept the sea for mines as Lancaster bombers and Spitfire fighters attacked Nazi defences.

The Canadian Army is tasked with pushing through the Germans and forcing a gap between Bayeux and Caen. Preceding the attack on Juno Beach were the men from the British Paratroopers and 514 men of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion who jumped into the darkness the night before and rushed forward to capture a bridge near Caen. Hitting the beach under heavy enemy fire, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division along with the 2nd and 3rd Armoured claw their way to higher ground. By 9:30 am the 8th Brigade captures Bernières-sur-Mer but the advance inland is held up by determined German anti-tank guns, who create a traffic jam in the village that slows the Canadians until evening. The Canadian 7th Brigade finally takes the communities of Courseulles, Ste-Croix and Banville but the cost is high in losses of Canadian soldiers. As the push continues on, the 9th Brigade forces its way to Bény and then onto Villons-les-Buissons, four miles short of their objective.

By the end of the day the good news reaches command HQ, Canadian casualties are less than expected only 715 wounded and a mere 359 sons of Canada are dead. Scattered amongst the various Canadian units are serving and former members of the RCMP. History fails to record how many men left their defence of Canada and gave service in the Armed Forces to fight against tyranny in Europe because the official record only kept track of those who served with the RCMP overseas, not those who took a discharge to serve in the regular military.

1972 – Around 2:30 am, a man walked into the Nanaimo BC Detachment office claiming that he wanted to lay a charge for assault against some kids on bikes that had given him a rough time and damaged his car. He then invited #27210 Constable Donald E. Grudgefield to come outside and inspect the damage to his vehicle. As Grudgefield walked around a file cabinet he saw that the man had suddenly raised a shotgun. The constable attempted to dive for cover between two desks but was hit by a shotgun blast in the abdomen and leg. Constable Grudgefield managed to return fire with his revolver but could not get a clear shot at his assailant. For several minutes the two men talked back and forth with the gunman ranting on about how the police had ruined his life by arresting him for impaired driving, while Grudgefield tried to convince him to give up his shotgun.

After a while Grudefield began to feel faint from the loss of blood and shock and told the gunman that he needed to get to the hospital. The gunman agreed and then offered to drive him there. Declining his offer, Constable Grudgefield suggested that it would be better if another policeman took him to the hospital. The gunman agreed and then left the building. Grudgefield was then able to call for help and was rushed to the hospital, three hours later the gunman who was identified as John Stanley Puff was arrested.

Puff was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to five years. Constable Donald Grudgefield was awarded a Commanding Officers Commendation for bravery and he eventually returned to work. He retired as a Corporal in 1994.

1975 – At approximately 2 am, Constables #30576 Glenn Brian Calder and #31983 Ronald David Noye of the Unit “B” Freeway Patrol in Coquitlam, BC, received a report of an overturned car burning in the ditch on the Lougheed Highway at the Cape Horn interchange near the Port Mann Bridge.

When they arrived on the scene they discovered that the driver was trapped inside the vehicle screaming “God help me – God save me.” After fire extinguishers failed to douse the flames, Constable Calder went into the ditch and attempted to pry open the car door but was forced back from the vehicle by the intense heat. Constable Noye then joined him, and the pair of police officers made repeated trips into the ditch and as the flames spread towards the fuel tank. They finally managed to pry open the door and pull the badly burned victim out. As the two men were helping the injured man up the bank to the road, the flames ignited the fuel tank and the vehicle exploded. Both constables and the victim suffered severe burns and had to be treated in hospital.

For their bravery both men were awarded the Commissioners Commendation on August 16, 1975 and on February 11,1977 both Constables were presented the Medal of Bravery by the Governor General.

1978 – On this day Mr. Gordon Hemminger made a false claim that he had been assaulted by #33701 Constable Robert Needham after being stopped in his car at Beausejour, Manitoba. The complaint resulted in the constable being charged criminally.

At a later date Hemminger admitted that he had lied about the assault and he was then charged with public mischief and dangerous driving. Upon being convicted he was sentenced to $1,500 in fines and Constable Needham sued him personally and received an out of court settlement.

Robert Needham joined the RCMP in 1976 and died while serving on duty in 1985.

June 7

1927 – The largest ever rally of the Ku Klux Klan in Canada is held at Moose Jaw Saskatchewan.

1958 – Honour Roll Numbers 92, 93, 94, 95, 96.

While on patrol, five members of the RCMP, #14588 Corporal Herbert Milton Smart, and constables #19469 Maurice Melnychuk, #19478 Glen Frederick Farough, #19879 David Melvyn Perry and #19915 George Herbert Edward Ransom drowned in Lake Simcoe, near Georgina Island, Ontario.

Earlier in the day 33-year-old Corporal Herbert Smart and his four-member patrol had arrested four men for offences under the Indian Act. Around 10:30 pm that evening the five policemen were observed launching a 14 foot (4.25 meters) police boat with 35 hp outboard motor, on Lake Simcoe near Jackson’s Point, in calm weather. While the members were on the lake, a sudden and violent electrical storm swept across the lake swamping the boat.

When the patrol had not returned, a search was undertaken the next day and the boat was found mid-lake floating upside down. The body of Cpl. Herbert Smart was found later that day. On June 26th, the bodies of Maurice Melnychuk and Glen Farough were found while the body of David Perry was located on June 30th. Constable George Ransom’s body wasn’t located until July 9th.

The purpose of the late night patrol was never determined, but it was believed to have been connected to the arrests earlier that day. The disaster occurred so fast that none of the members was able to get a life jacket on.

Herbert Smart was buried in the Maplewood Cemetery at Windsor Nova Scotia he was survived by his wife Reta and their two daughters.
Maurice Melnychuk, also 21, had just completed two year’s service in the Force. He was buried in his hometown of Price George BC.Glen Farough was only 21 years old and had two years service. His body was returned to his home in Stockton Manitoba where after a funeral at the Stockton Church he was buried at the Glenbow Cemetery.

David Perry at 19 was the youngest member of the group and had 14 months service. His remains were returned to his mother in Vancouver and interred at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in North Vancouver.

George Ransom age 21 was the junior constable in the squad having only served 14 months service. His remains were taken back to Melville, Saskatchewan and his parents buried in the town cemetery.

June 2

1967 – The first recruit sworn in, as a member of the RCMP in Canada’s centennial year is #25366 Constable Eric James Suley of St. Johns Newfoundland.

1977 – The Guidon leaves Canada for the first time to be paraded in the 25th Jubilee Parade for Queen Elizabeth II. The Guidon colour party was made up of #15548 Sergeant Major John Walker Maquire, and Sergeants # 21310 J.E. Dunn and # 20541 G.S. Ogilvie.

1977 – The Saint John Ambulance Meritorious Certificate is awarded to #27639 Lindsay Jacobs for reviving an infant that had stopped breathing.

1991 – The Governor General of Canada, the Right Honourable Raymond J. Hnatyshyn presented the new RCMP Ensigns to Commissioner Inkster at a ceremony held at the Training academy in Regina. The new Ensign along with seventeen divisional and section Ensigns were designed for use in a variety of different public events. Prior to the creation of the new Ensign the Force only had its “Guidon” or Regimental Colour.

June 3

1980 – #35982 Constable Larry Burden was sworn in as a member of the RCMP in Moncton, New Brunswick.

1912 – Honour Roll Number 38.

#4837 Cst. Francis Walter Davies age 23 was killed by an Indian known as Mike Running Wolf, near Brooks, Alberta, while trying to arrest him.

After three drunken Indians in a wagon fired a rifle at two local men, the victims reported the event to the local RNWMP. Upon hearing the description of the assailant, Cst. Davies recognized him as Jim Ham, a local member of the Blackfoot Nation who went by the name Mike Running Wolf. Davies saddled up his horse and tracked the wagon to the Canadian Pacific Railroad station and learned from the station agent that Running Wolf, his brother Pretty Young Man and a woman named Red Face who was carrying a baby had headed south. When Davies caught up to the trio he confronted Running Wolf and ordered him to turn the wagon around and head back to Brooks. When Running Wolf ignored him and drove off, Cst. Davies drew his revolver and fired a warning shot and galloped ahead of the team. When he turned his horse back towards them, Running Wolf fired at him with his rifle but missed. His second shot killed the policeman and knocked him off his horse. Running Wolf then climbed down from the wagon and stripped the constable of his gun belt, chaps and took his hat and horse and then rode it back to the reserve.

When the drunken murderer boasted about killing the policeman the residents of the reserve were shocked and appalled. They waited until he fell asleep and then tied him up and delivered him to the police still covered in Cst. Davies blood and wearing the items of kit that he stole. Running Wolf was later convicted for the murder and was sentenced to life in prison.

Frank Davies had only served in the RNWMP for three years, having immigrated from Hampstead, England. He was buried with full honours at the Mounted Police Cemetery in Calgary.

1935 – King George V knighted James Howden MacBrien, the eighth Commissioner of the Force.

Commissioner MacBrien was one of the most accomplished men in Canadian history. Having retired in 1927 from a distinguished military career, Major General MacBrien was recalled to duty by Prime Minister R.B. Bennett who asked him to serve as the Commissioner of the RCMP. He led the RCMP from August 1, 1931 until March 5, 1938 when he died while still in office at the age of 59.

MacBrien was born at Myrtle, Ontario and first joined the North-West Mounted Police on April 7,1900. He took a free discharge to join the South African Constabulary in February 1901 and upon returning to Canada in 1906, he joined the Royal Canadian Dragoons. In the First World War he fought in France and Belgium with the 1st Canadian contingent and was twice wounded at the battle of Ypres and at the Drocourt-Queant line. At the age of 38 he became the youngest Canadian to be promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General and was placed in charge of the 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade. In 1923 he was appointed as Canada’s first Chief of Defence Staff.

When he retired in 1927 he pursued his interest in aviation and became a founder of the Canadian Aviation League, considered to be one of builders of air travel in Canada.

Commissioner, MacBrien’s term as the head of the RCMP was just as impressive as his military career. Under his leadership the RCMP nearly doubled in size and became a truly national police force. He instituted the Aviation section, the Police Service Dog Section, the first Crime Detection Laboratory and a museum for RCMP based in Regina. He introduced the RCMP Long Service Medal and created a Reserve Force of 300 men across Canada trained to be ready for service in the event of a national emergency.

It can be argued that no Commissioner before or since had as much of an impact on modernizing the RCMP and preparing it for an ever-changing world.

His service to King and Country both as a soldier and a policeman was exemplified by the numerous awards he received over the course of his life and included; being decorated with a Distinguished Service Order in 1915, awarded the Companion of St. Michael and St George in 1918, and given both the Companion of Bath and the Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1919 as well as becoming a Companion of Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in 1934.

Three years after his death, his 23-year-old son, Flying Officer Michael Desmond MacBrien was killed in a flying accident in Manitoba while training with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

1936 – Columbia Pictures release “Secret Patrol” starring Charles Starrett (best known for his role as the Durango Kid) as Corporal Alan Barclay. Filmed on Vancouver Island, the 60-minute movie has our hero go undercover to solve the case after his best friend is murdered.

1967 – Honour Roll Number 134.

#25214 3/Constable Terry Eugene Tomfohr was killed on duty at Burnaby BC

Constable Tomfohr had only been out of basic training for three weeks after being posted to Burnaby BC. He along with Constable #22949 R.W. Yakubchuk attended a late night complaint of boys throwing rocks at houses. While looking for suspects, Tomfohr heard some movement in the bush so the two members split up to search. Unfortunately Constable Tomfohr was unfamiliar with the area and when he ran after them, he unknowingly ran over a 100-foot cliff in the darkness and died as a result of the fall.

On June 3, 2002 Constable Leigh Tomfohr attended the unveiling of a monument dedicated to his older brother and placed a rose on the monument.

1969 – The Masset Detachment on the Queen Charlotte Islands off the coast of British Columbia had to call in the assistance of members of the Royal Canadian Navy and United States Navy to detonate a Japanese WW2 ship mine. The mine had drifted in the Pacific Ocean for over 25 years and washed up on the beach on the west coast of Graham Island. Local helicopter pilot Jim McDougall was flying by and spotted the mine lying in a pile of logs. The Naval demolition team used a ten-pound charge of explosives to detonate the mine. After the smoke cleared all that remained was a crater 25 feet across and 15 feet deep.

1972 – Commendation awarded to #26946 Constable Gordon Manson of the Faust Detachment, in Kinuso District Alberta. Manson responded to a family disturbance where a man had ordered all of his family members from his house with a shotgun. He was able to calm the suspect down and convinced him to surrender without anyone getting injured.

2005 – Honour Roll Number 218.

#37655 Constable Jean (Joseph) Minguy, age 46, drowned when he fell overboard from an RCMP patrol vessel into Okanagan Lake at Vernon BC.

At approximately 3:00 pm, Cst. Minguy launched the detachment rigid hull inflatable boat on Okanagan Lake near the Vernon Yacht Club and as he increased the power to the engines he was thrown overboard and did not surface. He was wearing a full uniform with a kevlar vest, sidearm, ammunition but no personal floatation device. Members of the underwater recovery team recovered his body the following day. He had 23 years service with the RCMP.

June 1

1875 – The sod is turned at Fort William Thunder Bay Ontario and construction begins on the Canadian Pacific Railway. The new rail line heads west to Winnipeg running on the left bank of the Kamistiquia River. The construction of this railway opens the west and eventually goes all the way to the Pacific Ocean. The original troop of Mounties had the arduous task of trekking by horse and on foot to Winnipeg that lasted several weeks. Had the rail line been available their trip would only have taken hours.

1915 – #5199 Cpl Clifford Weight was awarded $25 from the Fine Fund for his meritorious service in the investigation of “theft of wheat” that led to the conviction of the accused, Arthur Lohn.

1928 – RCMP absorbs the short-lived Saskatchewan Provincial Police due allegations of political interference and the fact that the province was near-bankruptcy during the Great Depression.

1935 – The Royal Canadian Post Office releases a new 10-cent postage stamp depicting a Mounted Policeman on a horse. This is the first ever postage stamp to include a Mountie on it, several more will be produced over the next 80 years, including one in 1999 that is a reproduction of the original.

1969 – During their ‘bed-in” at suite 1742 in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, singer John Lennon and wife Yoko Ono record “Give Peace a Chance” with friends Tommy and Dick Smothers, Derek Taylor, Murray the K and Timothy Leary. Earlier a brash student union president from the University of Ottawa named Allan Rock talked his way into the room and suggested he take John Lennon back to Ottawa to meet Canada’s new Prime Minister. John Lennon agreed and accompanied Allan Rock to Ottawa, but Pierre Trudeau wasn’t interested.

Two weeks later Lennon and Rock gave a press conference at the University and held a panel discussion on world peace. Afterwards Rock drove the Lennon’s around Ottawa and stopped by the Prime minister’s residence, but he wasn’t home.

Over twenty-five years later the same Allan Rock is the Federal Justice Minister and is instrumental in pushing through sweeping legislation imposing tighter restrictions on handguns.

Shortly thereafter the RCMP upgraded their handguns from a 38. Caliber to a 9mm semi-automatic. Even though he was quoted as saying “I came to Ottawa with the firm belief that the only people in this country who should have guns are police officers and soldiers.” When the members of the Force asked for permission to purchase their old revolvers as mementos of their careers, the request was refused and they are advised that because of the new legislation the weapons have to be destroyed. The RCMP then offers to have the handguns laser cut in half so they can be mounted on plaques at the members expense they are informed that wasn’t permissible either. Alan Rock then went on to a new post as Canada’s Health Minister and over the objections of the Canadian Medical Association he pushed through legislation legalizing “medical marihuana in 1993.