Larry Burden’s This Day in the RCMP

September 19th 

1941 – “It was the finest thing I ever saw” was how John MacKenzie the one-legged Captain of the “Pink Star” described the actions of second officer James Howard Cassidy, after their ship had been sunk by a torpedo attack. 

Former Marine Division Able Seaman #12314 James Howard Cassidy’s tale of self-effacing heroism has been lost in the annals of WW2 and he was all but forgotten by his country. Born in Newcastle, New Brunswick, Cassidy enlisted as a mess boy on the R.M.S. Bayhound a vessel in the RCMP Marine Section in 1933 and re-engaged as an ordinary seaman in 1934. He served in the Marine Section until the outbreak of war in April 1939, when he joined the Merchant Navy as a third mate aboard the “Lord Kelvin” eventually ending up as the second mate on the “Pink Star” in 1941. The story of the Pink Star reads like a novel that should have been made into a movie.

She was originally named the “Saga” when she was built in 1926 by Nya Varvs A/B Oresund, Landskrona in Denmark. The 4.150-ton steam merchant ship was re-named the “Lunby” in 1931 for A.E. Reimann Stensved.

In 1941 the United States government seized all foreign ships in US waters and transferred them to the US War Shipping Administration and the Lunby was assigned to the US Lines Inc. and re-named the “Pink Star”. The Danish crew was asked to continue to serve aboard her for the war effort, which they agreed to do because their homeland was then under Nazi control. 

Cassidy was assigned to the Pink Star after spending eight months at sea working on coastal vessels around the United Kingdom. He had survived previous attacks from U-boats and German cruisers and recovered from wounds he received when he was struck by a shell fragment. On her final voyage the Pink Star was traveling in convoy SC-44 from New York to Liverpool steaming in calm seas 275 miles northeast of Cape Farewell off the southern tip of Greenland. 

When German U-Boat, “U-552” captained by Erich Topp encountered her. Topp fired two torpedoes at the convoy but only the Pink Star was hit. She sank quickly after breaking in two in only eight minutes. Only 23 of the 36-man crew survived the five-hour ordeal before a British Man O War picked them up. Most of the survivors managed to crowd into the only remaining lifeboat. When Jim Cassidy made it to the lifeboat, his shipmates reached out to pull him aboard, but he realized that the lifeboat was dangerously overcrowded and that if he tried to climb aboard her it would likely capsize and endanger his shipmates. 

Cassidy, a strong swimmer swam around the boat for a couple of minutes and over the protests of his mates he then waved farewell to the crew and said “Go on, I’m all right, so long”, then turned and swam off into the dark, never to be seen again. The wooden legged Captain of the Pink Star was later quoted in the press “Cassidy swam up as cool as you please, saw the situation and swam away, we never saw him again. It was the finest thing I ever saw”. When word of his heroism hit the press, there was talk that he should be recommended for the “George Cross” but it appears he never was. James Howard Cassidy’s sacrifice eventually faded away into the annals of history like he did in the cold waters of the North Atlantic.

P.S. My story about James Howard Cassidy has been a twenty year struggle for me to have him properly recognised. The behind the scenes story of how he was screwed over by the RCMP resulting in him being in the Merchant Marine instead of the Royal Canadian Navy makes his sacrifice even greater. I published a longer article about him in the Quarterly Spring 2021 / Vo. 86, No 2.

1980 – Honour Roll Number 166. 

#33580 Constable Thomas James Agar age 26 was killed on duty inside the City Detachment at Richmond, BC. As a result of injuring his back, Constable Tom Agar was assigned to light duties and was working the front counter at the Richmond City Detachment. As he began his shift at 8:00 pm he had no idea that he would be killed ten minutes later. 

Less than an hour before a local criminal, Steve LeClair had gone on a rampage in a Vancouver bar and murdered three people. LeClair had been drinking in the pub at the Palace Hotel and had been thrown out by the manager. LeClair’s parting words were that he was going to come back with a gun and kill him and at 7:30 pm he did just that. LeClair entered the Vancouver Bar and opened fire killing the bartender, the manager and a 72-year-old woman who happened to stop in for a beer. LeClair then left the bar and hijacked a car and ordered the occupants to drive him to the Richmond RCMP Detachment because he wanted to kill a Cop.

When he arrived at the detachment at 8:10 pm, he let his hostages go and he walked calmly into the detachment office with his .45 caliber revolver stuffed in his waistband under his coat. Constable Agar went to the front counter to deal with LeClair and asked how he could help. LeCair responded by asking him his name and when he replied “Constable Agar”, Steve LeClair pulled his revolver and said, “How fast can you draw” and shot Agar in the chest. #35115 Constable Wayne Hanniman was in the nearby radio room, heard the shot, drew his revolver and rushed out to see LeClair turn to face him and he was shot in the shin, breaking his leg. Hanniman went down on his knees and fired two rounds, one of which hit LeClair in the chest a few inches from his heart. At the same time #22667 Corporal Peter Lucas came onto the scene from another part of the office and pointing his revolver at the wounded gunman ordered him to drop his gun and surrender. 

Constable Tom Agar, a native of Montreal, Quebec had only four years’ service. His wife Joyce was eight months pregnant with their second child when he was murdered. Joyce and their one-year-old daughter Samantha along with over 1000 people attended his funeral where he was buried with full honours at the Ocean View Cemetery in Burnaby BC.

Steve LeClair was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. Constable Hanniman and Corporal Lucas were awarded Commissioners Commendations for their actions and Letters of Appreciation were presented to municipal employees Sheila Wilson for rendering aid to Constable Hanniman and to Irene Truba for her role in staying calm throughout the incident and dispatching members to key areas during the attack. 

September 18th 

1874 – The men of the March West had their first view of the snow-capped Rocky Mountains over 100 miles away from the Sweet Grass Hills of Alberta. 

1875 – Canada’s 15th Prime Minister John George Diefenbaker (1895-1979) was born on this day in Neustadt Ontario. 

1947 – #10700 / O.439 Rene Carriere received a Commendation for his outstanding work on an investigation involving the Wartime Prices & Trade Board Orders. 

1990 – After responding to a complaint of assault at Igloolik, NWT, (now Nunavut) #33661 Corporal Eric R. Streeter & #35784 Constable John D. J Ennis were shot at shot at by the suspect when they approached the house. While the two policemen negotiated for over four hours with the suicidal suspect, Mrs. Denise Ennis handled the detachment radio and telephones. The suspect eventually surrendered and was safely taken into custody. For their role in successfully apprehending the gunman without incident both policemen were awarded Commissioners Commendations for Bravery and Mrs. Ennis was given a Letter of Appreciation.

2004 – #45370 Constable Craig Andrew Thur MB, Medal of Bravery. 

Earlier in the evening police responded to a complaint of a noisy bush party, where nearly 200 youths had been partying at the snow dump near Porter Creek Pond in Whitehorse, Yukon. After the majority of partygoers left the scene, Constable Craig Thur remained to conduct a foot patrol of the area and heard someone calling for help. Constable Thur followed the sound to the edge of the pond where he found a hypothermic 15-year-old boy in the water, barely managing to hang on to the edge. 

While Thur was pulling the boy out he heard a muffled gurgling sound coming from further out in the pond. Realizing that another person was in trouble, Constable Thur scanned the surface of the pond with his flashlight and spotted a second teenager struggling to stay afloat. Thur alerted #29237 Corporal Ken Putnam and had him care for the first boy while he proceeded to wade out into the pond. Initially he thought the pond was shallow but he soon found himself swimming in deep water being weighed down by his uniform and equipment. Struggling to swim with his flashlight in one hand, while being hampered by submerged tree stumps and hanging branches he kept the 14-year-old boy illuminated until he slipped below the surface. Having witnessed the youth submerge, Constable Thur was able to quickly find the boy’s body and grabbing hold of the victim’s jacket pulled him to the surface. 

The boy had only been submerged for approximately 30 seconds and immediately began breathing. Thur then towed him back to shore where the boy was transported to hospital by ambulance to join the first who had been taken in a police car. Had Constable Thur not bothered to remain at the scene and do a follow-up patrol of the party area, both boys would likely have perished. For his actions Constable Craig Andrew Thur was awarded Commissioners Commendation and later the Medal of Bravery.

September 17th 

1954– Honour Roll Number 109. 

#15802 Constable Douglas Earl Ferguson age 26, died of carbon monoxide poisoning aboard a boat near Cape Alexander, N.W.T. Constable Douglas Ferguson had joined the RCMP in 1949 and after serving for two years on the East Coast of Canada, applied for northern service. The day before his death he boarded the 40’ Hudson Bay trading boat “Kingalik” along with four other men at Cambridge Bay on Victoria Island. He was traveling to Bathurst Inlet to work on a number of files. Early the next morning Lorne Woodward discovered Constable Ferguson along with Peter Natit and Asger “Red” Pedersen unconscious in the cabin below deck. Suspecting carbon monoxide poisoning, he shut off the main engine and assisted by Jack Ehakataitok pulled the men out of the cabin. Peter Natit and “Red” Pedersen quickly regained consciousness and survived. Unfortunately Constable Ferguson could not be revived after 20 minutes of artificial respiration.

The Coroner’s investigation determined that Ferguson had died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to a defective engine exhaust pipe that allowed the odourless gas to leak inside the vessel. Constable Douglas Earl Ferguson’s remains were returned to his mother where he was buried in his hometown of Brockville Ontario. 

1961– Honour Roll Number 114.

#20958 Constable Wayne Sinclair age 24 died of internal injuries received in a traffic accident near Regina, Saskatchewan Constable Wayne Sinclair a member of the Regina Highway Patrol was patrolling on his police motorcycle on Highway #6, twenty miles south of Regina. Sinclair had only recently passed the police motorcycle course and was on his fourth patrol on the bike. Traveling in good weather at approximately 45 miles per hour he lost control of the motorcycle when he came to a slight curve in the road and his front tire left the pavement onto the gravel shoulder. Unfortunately he overreacted when he applied the front brakes too hard and somersaulted into the ditch and failed to let go of the handlebars. 

He received massive internal injuries when the motorcycle crushed his chest when it rolled over on him and he died en-route to the hospital. Constable Sinclair had only two years’ service in the Force when he was killed. His remains were returned to his parents in St. Vital Manitoba where he was buried with full honours. 

1976 – RCMP Air Division pilot #22499 S/Sgt. Karl-Inge G. Gschwind was awarded the Commanding Officers’ Commendation for courage and exceptional capabilities as a result of completing two hazardous landings in CF-MPF during a rescue operation at Foxe Basin on Baffin Island. 

1988 – The St John Meritorious Certificate was awarded to RCMP Constable #34752 Gary J. Clarke and Delta Municipal Police Constable Kerslake for saving the life of an automobile accident victim by performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR on the Deas Island Highway at, Delta, BC.

1995 – The Gustafsen Lake Standoff

The conflict was a result of some members of the Shuswap Nation believing that property on a privately-owned ranch belonging to the James Cattle Company was unseeded land and a sacred space. A few years earlier Faith Keeper Percy Rosette and some other Shuswap elders had a vision that the site was sacred and they approached the ranch owner Lyle James for permission to hold a Sun Dance on his property. He agreed to let them hold ceremonies at the site for four years so long as they did not erect any permanent structures on the property. Instead of honouring the agreement, Rosette and his partner Mary Pena set up a permanent residence on the property and refused to leave. 

In June 1995 a fence was erected to supposedly keep cattle from the ceremonial area so the group was served an eviction notice while they were preparing for another Sun Dance. In response to the eviction notice an occupier named Splitting the Sky called for an armed defensive stance and press releases were sent out by the occupiers in which they claimed their right to practice their religion on unseeded indigenous land. Soon shots were fired and the RCMP was brought in to secure the area. 

On August 18, 1995 a native Indian group calling themselves the Ts’peten Defenders believed that a police invasion was imminent and shot at some RCMP Emergency Response Team (ERT) members who were discovered on the property. Throughout the standoff the RCMP conducted negotiations with the leaders of the group and the standoff eventually ended peacefully on September 17 when the remaining occupiers left the site under the guidance of medicine man John Stevens. 

Fourteen indigenous and four non-native people were arrested and charged following the siege, of which fifteen were found guilty and sentenced to jail terms ranging from six months to eight years. 

1995 – After 31 days, the armed standoff at Gustafsen Lake, BC ends. The $5.5 million operation was one of the largest such police operations in Canadian history involving the deployment of four hundred tactical assault team members, five helicopters, two surveillance planes and nine armoured personnel carriers (APC) and support from the Canadian Armed Forces.

September 11th

1885 – At one time Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear) was the leading chief of the Prairie River People and headed a camp of 65 lodges comprised of over 520 people. Initially he refused to sign Treaty No. Six and was steadfast in his refusal for six years. Faced with destitution and starvation, and a camp that had dwindled to 114 people, Mistahimaskwa finally signed an adhesion to the treaty in December 1882. 

Mistahimaskwa’s influence over the band’s warrior society began to fade because the government refused to negotiate with him, after he tried to create a political confederation of native nations that would be able to force concessions from the government and create an Indian territory in the Northwest. Despite his efforts to prevent his son his son Ayimisis and their war chief, Kapapamahchakwew (Wandering Spirit), members of his band attacked and massacred nine people at Frog Lake on April 2nd 1885. 

Although he was no longer in control of the band, he continued to counsel for peace during the rest of the rebellion and when Kapapamahchakwew attacked Fort Pitt on April 14th 1885, Mistahimaskwa intervened and was successful in negotiating the surrender and evacuation of 44 civilian inhabitants along with the police. 

Despite the fact that he did not participate in the fighting at Frenchman’s Butte and Loon Lake Mistahimaskwa was brought to trial in Regina on this day after he surrendered at Fort Carlton on in July. It only took the jury fifteen minutes to find him guilty on a charge of treason-felony for his part in the North West Rebellion and he was sentenced to three years in the Stony Mountain Penitentiary.

He was released half way through his sentence because of poor health, and died on the Poundmaker reserve on 17 January 1888. 

1942– Honour Roll Number 73. 

#12130 Master, Navy Lieutenant Commander #O7480 John Willard Bonner age 44 was killed in action when his ship, HMCS “Charlottetown”, was torpedoed in the Gulf of St, Lawrence. John Willard Bonner joined the Preventive Service in 1929 and became a member of the RCMP when the Preventive Service was absorbed in 1932. 

His career in the Force saw him rise to the rank of Skipper – Lieutenant where he sailed from Halifax to Vancouver via the Panama Canal aboard the “P.V. Adversus” and he became the first commander of the RCMP Ship “French”. When War was declared in 1939, he along with all members of the RCMP Marine Section was transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy. 

In 1941 he was given command of the “HMCS Charlottetown” and in 1942 he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander. The HMCS Charlottetown (K-244) was a Flower Class Corvette and was built by Kingston Shipbuilding Co. in Kingston, Ontario, one year before she was sunk. The Corvettes short length (205’) and shallow draught made them uncomfortable ships to live in as they pitched and rolled terribly giving them the reputation of being able to roll on wet grass. When torpedoed, they usually sank in seconds due the few compartments below the water line, but for all their faults, Flower class corvettes were formidable U-boat hunters.

The Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence was part of the larger Battle of the Atlantic and was the only time since the War of 1812 that enemy warships wreaked havoc and death in Canadian inland waters. Between 1942 and 1944 German U-boats penetrated the Cabot Strait and the Strait of Belle Isle and came as close as 300 kilometres to Québec City. During the campaign 23 allied ships were sunk.

 After successfully escorting convoy SQ-30 to Rimouski Quebec the Charlottetown and the HMCS Clayoquot were returning to their base at Gaspe. At 12:33 hours in broad daylight two torpedoes fired from a German U-boat near Cap Chat hit her. Uboat U-517 captained by Paul Härtwig and U-boat U-165 had been on a hunting mission had wreaked havoc in the gulf for weeks. When Härtwig sited the Charlottetown and the Clayoquot steaming east at a speed of 12 knots he fired two torpedoes in quick succession and hit the Charlottetown on her starboard quarter while Lt. Commander Bonner was on the bridge. 

The ship began to sink immediately and Bonner ordered the crew to abandon ship. As the crew rushed to the escape the sinking ship he remained on the bridge until the ships bow lifted out of the water and pointed to the sky. Being the last man to abandon ship, he slid down her upturned hull and began swimming furiously away from the suction of the sinking ship as an oil slick quickly spread from the wreckage. As he and his executive officer, Lt. George Moors rushed to stay ahead of the rapidly growing oil slick several underwater explosions occurred sending violent shock waves through the water. 

After the shock waves passed Lt. Moore looked back at Captain Bonner and saw him floating lifeless in the water. Moors then helped pull Bonner’s body on board a lifeboat, but because it was seriously overcrowded they put the body back in the water. They then tied a line to his life jacket and attached it to the rudder so they could tow it to shore. After an hour of exhausting rowing in rough swells the rudder tore away from the life boat and it along with Lt. Commander Bonner drifted off into the dark water of the gulf and he was never found. Bonner, along with five of his crewmen was lost at sea and three other members of the Charlottetown’s crew died from their injuries.

John Willard Bonner was born in Sydney Mines Nova Scotia in 1898 and was survived by his wife Mary. Like so many Cape Bretoner’s, he spent most of his life on the sea. U-boat U-517 managed to escape several depth charge attacks and succeeded in sinking 9 ships on her first patrol. On November 21, 1942, just four days after departing on her second patrol she was sunk by depth charges dropped by an Albacore aircraft from the British aircraft carrier HMS Victorious southwest of Ireland. Her Captain Paul Härtwig and 51 members of his crew were taken prisoner and spent the rest of the war in captivity. Härtwig retired a Vice Admiral in the German Navy in the 1970’s.

1985 – When #35820 Constable Maria Collodel heard a knock at the back door of the Newton sub-office of the Surrey British Columbia Detachment, she opened the door expecting to let a police officer in. To her shock and dismay, she found herself facing a man pointing a loaded rifle at her. As she backed down the hallway #35868 Constable Douglas Gambicourt who was out of sight drew his revolver and was waiting for the opportune time to shoot the suspect when #37024 Constable Allan. J. K. Ross came passing by and saw what was happening and was taken prisoner as well. When they arrived at a second security door, he knocked on the door Cst. Collodel activated the electric lock. When the door was yanked open Ross grabbed the gunman’s rifle and punched him in the face. Constable Gambicourt jumped into the struggle and helped Ross subdue the gunman. 

1995– During the armed standoff with Native Protestors at Gustafsen Lake near 100 Mile House, British Columbia, an armoured personnel carrier (APC) became immobilized with several police officers trapped inside. Despite taking heavy gunfire from the protestors three members of the Emergency Response Team: Constables #30697 Wilby, #33939 Douglas Maze and #42154 Neil Smyth managed to secure a tow bar to damaged APC so it could be towed to safety. The three member’s actions resulted in the vehicle being removed from the line of fire that saved the lives of the men inside the vehicle. All three were awarded the Commissioner’s Commendations for Bravery.

1999 – #37805 / O.1936 Inspector Gordon Black, M.S.M., Richmond, B.C., Corporal Jaime Victor Sebastian, M.S.M., Bogotá, Colombia, Meritorious Service Medal (civil division) 

In September 1999 seven Canadians and one American citizen were kidnapped in Ecuador and held for ransom. Negotiations with the kidnappers were complicated due to the rivalry between the Ecuadorean military and the national police force. 

The Canadian Ambassador in Ecuador requested assistance for the RCMP and #37805 / O.1936 Inspector Gordon Black and #40702 Corporal Jaimie Sebastian became involved and through their efforts they established and facilitated inter-agency cooperation between the military and the police. Inspector Black, being a trained and experienced negotiator, established and maintained contact with the kidnappers and he and Cpl. Sebastian provided valuable advice to the Ambassador, facilitating the cooperation with all parties involved in the investigation. 

Through their expertise, Insp. Black and #40702 Cpl. Sebastian succeeded in obtaining the release of the kidnap victims and building good relations with the Ecuadorean authorities. As a result both men were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal on June 25th 2001. 

2001– The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and downing of United Airlines Flight 93 result in the shutting down of air space over the United States of America. This results in dozens of aircrafts being re-routed to airports all across Canada. The resulting security alert mobilizes members of the RCMP’s emergency response teams (ERT) in nearly every region of the country. No passengers are allowed to leave the aircraft until every passenger has been identified and the planes searched. Once cleared, communities all over the country open their homes and hearts to the stranded, exhausted travellers.

September 10th

1876– Chief Big Bear returns from a Buffalo hunt to discover that the plains Cree had signed Treaty No. 6 the day before at Fort Pitt. He is furious and believes they have given up their valuable hunting lands for very little.

1881– The Governor General the Marquis of Lorne met with a delegation from the Blackfoot nation led by Chief Crowfoot. Dressed in ragged robes Chief Crowfoot pleaded for additional rations and to help his people who were starving due to the loss of the buffalo. He was advised to take up farming because the old ways were now dead.

1941– The government of Alberta orders all schools in the province closed because of an epidemic of infantile paralysis (poliomyelitis) and encephalitis. During the school closure student lessons are published in the newspapers.

1977– At 3:00a.m. Special Constable L. Good Eagle responded to a house fire on the Blackfoot Indian Reserve near Gleichen AB. He entered the burning house and searched all of the rooms and found Wesley Drunken Chief unconscious and dragged him from the house. For his actions he was awarded the “Certificate of Merit” by the Royal Canadian Humane Society.

1986– Medal of Bravery Recipients: #27703 Corporal Brian Robert Douglas, MB #31716 Constable Craig Allan Gates, MB #33530 Constable Philip David Morris, MB #34680 Constable Thomas Richard Hansen, MB* (*Bar to The Medal of Bravery. First MB See October 28, 1981) #37194 / O.2066 Constable Robert Douglas Hagymasy, MB

Five members of the North Vancouver Detachment responded to a report of a hostage taking and upon their arrival they discovered that a mentally deranged man armed with several handguns was threatening to kill his children. The members attempted to reason with the gunman but he was determined to either kill himself or die in a “shoot-out” with the police.

When the policemen saw smoke and flames inside the residence, they decided to enter the building in an attempt to save the lives of the four children trapped inside. #27703 Corporal Brian Douglas and Constables #31716 Craig Gates, #33530 Phil Morris, #34680 Thomas Hansen and #37194 / O.2066 Robert Hagymasy then broke into the residence and proceeded to fight their way through the thick black smoke crawling on their hands and knees searching for the occupants. After searching the main floor they regrouped outside and concluded that all of the occupants were upstairs.

Then Constable Hagymasy, Gates, and Hansen obtained air packs from the Fire Department and proceeded up the burning staircase with their guns drawn. When they reached the top of the stairs they found the body of the gunman with three pistols. Constable Hagymasy and Hansen then dragged him out of the house to a waiting ambulance and Cst. Gates continued searching for the children. Tragically, all four children had been shot before their father had set the fire.

September 8th 

1890 – Honour Roll Numbers 15 and 16. 

#02439 Constable George Quiqueran Rene Saveuse DeBeaujeu age 18 and #02162 Corporal Harry Oliver Morphy age 30 were killed when the Mounted Police vessel “Keewatin” capsized on Lake Winnipeg during a storm. 

In 1890 the NWMP purchased the SteamShip Keewatin for use in trying to control illegal liquor movement on the 300-mile-long Lake Winnipeg. The two policemen were assigned to the vessel and made patrols throughout the summer. When the vessel failed to return from a patrol after a heavy storm, word of the ship’s fate filtered in from local natives reporting that the boat had been wrecked on the eastern shore of the lake. Eventually searchers located wreckage half way up the lake hull at Rabbit Point with the unconscious civilian Ship’s Captain; Matthew Watts lashed to the Keewatin’s hull. 

When the Captain was taken to hospital in Selkirk Manitoba he was interviewed by Commissioner L.W. Herchmer. From him they learned that the ship had left Spider Island on the morning of September 7 in strong winds. Later that afternoon they had anchored off of Swampy Island to ride out the storm, but around 7:30 pm, the boat’s anchor chain broke and the ship was cast adrift. Unable to re-anchor the ship, they tried to ride out the storm while Constable DeBeaujeu and Corporal Morphy spent the night bailing water in an attempt to prevent the ship from being swamped. At daybreak the following morning the ship lost its centreboard when it struck a submerged reef and then capsized.

The three men clung desperately to the hull but late in the day Constable DeBeaujeu, overcome by exhaustion and hypothermia, slipped off the hull and drowned. Corporal Morphy succumbed to the same fate the following morning. Captain Watts managed to lash himself to the hull and slipped in and out of consciousness until he was rescued 13 days after the disaster. Sadly Watts died a few days after the Commissioner interviewed him. 

An extensive search was conducted as soon as the wreck was located, but neither body was found. Two months later the body of 18-year-old Constable Rene DeBeaujeu washed up on shore. The remains of George Quiqueran Rene Saveuse DeBeaujeu were returned to his parents, where he was buried in Montreal. He had only been in the NWMP less than five months. 

Corporal Harry Oliver Morphy had joined the Force in Toronto and had only served 2 years and 89 days. The accepted belief is that Corporal Morphy’s body was never recovered. But confusion exists to this day because of two separate memos that report that his body was recovered. One memo dated March 21, 1891 states that his body was found by Indians and was buried on Tamarac Island. Another memo dated September 16, 1891 states that Morphy’s body was recovered and is buried in his family plot in Toronto.

1935 – The newly constructed Honour Roll monument listing the names of all of the men who had been killed in the line of duty was unveiled at Depot in Regina. The memorial was unveiled by the Honourary Chaplain of the Force Reverend Hendy assisted by Constables #09267 Robert Rathbone and #10958 / O.458 Herbert Robertson. 

1990 – Whitehorse Yukon member #33497 / O.1801 Corporal Andrew S. Lathem was awarded the Commissioners Commendation for Bravery and his partners Corporal #36263 Rick D. T. Noack, Sergeant #30153 Phil Humphries and civilian Mr. G.R. Nowell were awarded Commanding Officer’s Commendations for their roles in apprehending an armed man who possessed unusual strength and was acting in an uncontrollable rage. 

2023 – The third Guidon is presented to the RCMP at a ceremony at Depot. 

The first RCMP Guidon was consecrated in 1935. It was retired in 1973 when a new Guidon was presented in Regina, Saskatchewan, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the RCMP by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, then Honorary Commissioner of the RCMP.

The new Guidon will include the addition of Afghanistan 2003-2014 to the honours, the change of Europe 1939-1945 to Second World War 1939-1945 and the return of the Provost Corps badge.

September 6th 

1921 – #7684 Constable Francis Boucher hung up his spurs and put on a pair of hockey skates, when he purchased his discharge from the RCMP to play for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League. 

1945 – The Member of Parliament for Montreal-Cartier and leader of the Canadian Communist Party, Fred Rose (1907-1983), was arrested for communicating official secrets to the USSR. After a sensational trial involving the Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko who defected and testified about Soviet espionage tactics in Canada. Rose was convicted and sentenced to 6 years in prison and then deported to Poland. 

1977 – The Metric System arrives on the highways in Canada as most Provinces, except Quebec and Nova Scotia adopt the system of measurement. Eventually all Canadian provinces convert their highway signs to kilometres.

1995 – Honour Roll Number 191. 

#44134 Constable Joseph Ernest André Claude Gagné age 30 was killed on duty in a police car accident on Highway 217 near Seabrook, Nova Scotia. 

After a report of a serious car crash was received at the Digby Detachment Cst. Gagné got into a police car driven by #44684 Cst. Russell D. Manderville and they proceeded to the scene at a high rate of speed. As they approached the area known as Seabrook, and elderly driver pulled out in front of them. To avoid a collision Cst. Manderville moved into the opposite lane to pass the car, unfortunately the elderly driver who despite the siren and flashing lights was unaware of the overtaking police car, veered his vehicle to the left because he and seen a cyclist riding on the shoulder of the road. That resulted in the police vehicle being forced toward the opposite ditch causing the police vehicle’s left wheels to drop off of the pavement. 

When Cst. Manderville attempted to steer his car back onto the pavement, the edge of his left front tire caught the edge of the asphalt, tearing it from the rim. The car then began fishtailing and while he attempted to bring his vehicle under control the damaged wheel dug into the pavement and sent it into the ditch where it rolled over several times and flattened the roof of the car, crushing both occupants. Cst. Gagné did not survive his injuries. Cst. Manderville suffered multiple injuries to his head, ribs, kidneys, and spleen and was later transferred to hospital and eventually recovered.

Claude Gagné was originally from Quebec City and joined the RCMP only three years earlier and served all of his field service at Digby Detachment. A memorial service was held the day after his untimely death at a funeral home in Digby and then his remains were transported to Quebec City. His funeral mass was attended by a massive crowd of family friends and RCMP Police personnel. Afterwards his remains were interred in a crypt at the St. Charles Cemetery near Sainte-Odile parish.  Cst. Maderville recovered from his injuries and retired from the Force in 2013.

September 5th 

1945 – Canada is thrust into the international limelight when Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko (1919-1982) defects from the USSR Embassy taking with him more than 100 secret documents hidden under his coat. 

The documents detail the inner workings of a major Soviet spy ring in Canada that reach into the Department of External Affairs code room, the British High Commissioner’s Office and the Chalk River nuclear facility. After the RCMP concluded their investigation 20 espionage trials were held resulting in nine criminal convictions, including a Member of Parliament. Gouzenko is given a new identity and lives out the rest of his life in Canada and dies in 1982. 

1986 – Canada Post Corporation unveils a new 34-cent stamp commemorating Assistant Commissioner James Farquharson Macleod at a satellite ceremony in the foyer of RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa. The official launching ceremony occurred at Fort MacLeod Alberta where the stamps honouring MacLeod and Chief Crowfoot were unveiled. Present for the unveiling ceremony in Ottawa were the Honourable Jude Rene’ J. Marin, #17740 / O.759 Deputy Commissioner J. Fernand ‘Fern’ Joachim Bosse’ and #21443 Sergeant Carl Stoski and #29361 / O.1718 Corporal J. Pierre M Belanger.

1991– After a drunken, agitated man went on a shooting rampage in Igloolik, NWT (now Nunavut) #32100 Corporal Dean E. Taylor confronted the man and ordered him to put down his .303 caliber rifle. Eventually the gunman calmed down and surrendered his weapon and was arrested. In recognition of his courage and presence of mind Corporal Taylor was awarded the Commissioners Commendation. 

September 4th 

1909 – Major General Robert Baden-Powell presides over the first Boy Scout rally at Crystal Palace in London England. This was the first world Scouting event of its kind and was funded in part by Canadian High Commissioner, Lord Strathcona, Donald A. Smith. Throughout the history of the Canadian Scout Movement the RCMP has played a vital role, providing support and volunteers at every level of Scouting in Canada. In the 1980’s Scouts Canada and the RCMP combined efforts and created the RCMP Venturer and Rover programs for youth between the ages of 14 – 19. 

1939– #09119 Corporal David Rennie had neither plans, nor any thought of coming back to work after he retired in May of 1939. But thanks to World War Two, he and many other retired members of the Force were recalled to active duty. 

1977 – Honour Roll Number 157. #28632 / #S/1692 Special Constable George David Foster age 26 was killed when his aircraft crashed on a flight from Vancouver to Victoria, B.C.

George Foster had originally joined the RCMP as a regular member and converted to a Special Constable in 1975 when he was accepted into the RCMP Air Section as a pilot. Foster had been working in the Vancouver area on September 3rd and was unable to return to his home base in Victoria due to poor weather conditions. Though the weather was still poor early the following morning he was cleared for take-off at 2:30 am. During his flight across the Georgia Straight in a Cessna 182 he established radio contact with the Victoria Tower at 3:46 am but was never heard from again. 

The wreckage of the RCMP Cessna aircraft was not located until Monday September 5th, Labour Day. The investigation determined that Constable Foster had erred when he programmed his plane’s automatic direction finder to hone in on Victoria. The setting should have been 278, but he mistakenly dialled 378 which took him on a collision course with Mount Tuam on Saltspring Island, instead of towards Victoria. Believing that he was flying a direct course to Victoria, he flew his plane at an altitude 100 feet below the summit of the mountain and with poor visibility flew directly into the side of the mountain. 

George David Foster joined the RCMP on January 6, 1971 and never married. His body was returned to his family where he was buried in Sussex, New Brunswick. 

1991– When #29852 Constable Ron A. Angell attended a complaint of a disturbance at a local bar in Dawson Creek, BC, he didn’t expect to find a man wielding a chainsaw threatening the patrons. Constable Angell took control of the situation and forced him to put down the chainsaw and took him into custody. For his courage and presence of mind he was awarded the Commanding Officer’s Commendation.

September 3rd 

1894 -The new public holiday “Labour Day” is officially celebrated in Canada for the first time. 

1962 – Rogers Pass Alberta – Prime Minister John Diefenbaker officially opens the Trans-Canada Highway at Rogers Pass British Columbia. The new highway united Canada from coast to coast stretching over 4800 miles.

1970– The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police presented the RCMP’s first Commissioner’s Tipstaff to Commissioner W.L. Higgitt.

The tradition of the tipstaff dates back to 16th century England. Then a “tipped staff” was the symbol of authority for a variety of law enforcement officials and evolved into a badge of the King’s authority for law enforcement. Eventually the staves evolved into hollow tubes, with a tip that could be unscrewed and serve as a receptacle for transporting arrest warrants and other legal documents. Today the Commissioner’s Tipstaff is a symbol of the solemn responsibility and authority for law enforcement borne by the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and it has been passed from every outgoing Commissioner to the new Commissioner at the change of command ceremony.

1978 – Around 8:00 pm the Detachment at The Pas, Manitoba, received a call from a woman regarding two men and a four-year-old girl who were adrift on a makeshift raft on Lake Winnipegosis. The lake was nearly 100 kms (60 miles) southeast of The Pas, and it was becoming too dark to conduct an effective search. Thinking quickly, detachment constables #31696 Kenneth G. Gallant and #34400 / O.1831 J. W. Richard Roy contacted Mr. Chris Duncan a local pilot and were soon enroute to the scene by float plane. After landing in the dark on rough water, the trio were pointed in the direction that witnesses had last scene the missing group. After taxing over a mile from shore with the two constables calling out into the darkness while standing on the aircraft’s floats, they found the trio clinging to a partially submerged air mattress. 

As Constable Gallant was pulling one of the men onto the airplane float, he saw the other man and the child lose their grasp on the air mattress and then the child slipped below the surface. Passing the first man to Constable Roy, Gallant and the pilot dove into the water and fortunately Constable Gallant was able to locate the child and returned her to the airplane. Mr. Duncan managed to get hold of the other man but had difficulty swimming the man back to the airplane because the wind was blowing the craft away from them. Constable Gallant then dove back into the lake and assisted the pilot in swimming the man back to the plane.

In recognition of their courage under hazardous conditions in saving the lives of three individuals, Constable Gallant and pilot Chris Duncan were awarded the Commanding Officer’s Commendation and Constable Roy received a letter of commendation form Officer Commanding Thompson Sub Division. 

September 2nd

1874 – On this day during the march west the first buffalo were encountered and shot. Commissioner French noted in his diary“a very fine beast about 10 years old; he made, when dressed, 953 lbs. ration meat”. He wrote again on Wednesday, September 23rd 1874  “Saw immense quantities of buffalo, estimated at 70 or 80 thousand by Macleod and I”.

1912 – Members of the Royal North West Mounted Police participate in the first Calgary Stampede parade. 

1925– The new Friml-Hammerstein-Harbach Operetta “Rose Marie” opens on Broadway in New York to rave reviews. The cast features a group of baritone Mounties and smash hit song, “Indian Love Call”. In 1936 the production was made into a Hollywood movie starring Nelson Eddy as Sergeant Bruce and Jeanette MacDonald as Marie de Flor. Other big names in the movie include James Stewart as John Flower and David Niven as Teddy. A remake of the movie, this time filmed in Jasper Alberta was made in 1954. 

1942– #11371 Corporal Laurence P. Ryder was attacked from behind by Arnold Blaney and received a heavy blow to the head and then struck his head on a car bumper, as he was falling. The subsequent attack led to his death several months later from a stroke caused by a cerebral hemorrhage. (See January 20, 1943, Honour Roll Number 105) 

1976– Fifty years to the day from when it opened, the Detachment at Moose Factory, Ontario was closed.

1985– #35327 / O.1820 Constable Dwight William Robinson earned both the Commissioner’s Commendation for bravery and the Medal of Bravery while working at Stettler, Alberta,

when without regard for his own safety he rushed into a burning building and saved the life of Miss Rita Anderson.

After arriving at a two-story building that had a fire burning at the rear of the structure, Constable Robinson used his police car’s loud hailer to alert the occupant of the house and learned from her that her apartment was at the end of a long corridor that could only be accessed by an enclosed staircase. He then told her to wait for him by the door of her apartment and he would come get her. Then braving the toxic fumes that were coming from burning plastics in the toy store on the ground floor, Cst. Robinson rushed up the stairs, found Miss Anderson and escorted her to safety.