True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: August 2013
Reg.#11322, Sergeant Frank Claude Douglas. WWI
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
With respect to the horrors of war, it has been said that some men had wished that they had never been born. Over the years, the dreadful sentiments of fear, death, loneliness and scars have been expressed by thousands of men who went overseas for WWI.
It seems that little or nothing has ever been said or written that could bring comfort to WWI Veterans primarily because of the misery they suffered and the destruction which they witnessed. Not a single Veteran's mind, heart or life was spared from demoralizing dreams for the remainder of his or her life.
Hundreds of men of the RCMP also volunteered to go overseas. Many did not come home but are buried in cemeteries across Europe.
Our Vet of the Month, Frank Claude Douglas was one of the few fortunates to survive WWI and to return home again.
Frank Douglas was a WWI Veteran long befoe he joined the Force. Mr Douglas was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1889. He spent his early years around horses -- he listed his occupation as a Horse Teamster on his Attestation Papers.
His skills around horses were enough to give him higher priority for the business of war. According to his Attestation Papers, Mr Douglas was a single man and living with his mother when he joined the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force (C. E. F.) on September 23, 1914. He was promoted to Sergeant in the Manitoba Regiment once he reached the battlefield.
Sergeant Douglas' War Record was as fascinating as his actions were brave, consistent and unfailing. He was Awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, in part for '...three and one half years on active service with the battalion in France, during which time he has taken part in every section in which the battalion has been engaged excepting one, when he was on leave' (documents 2 & 3 above).
As well, Sergeant Douglas was mentioned in Dispatches and this particular nomination marked an unusual high degree of continuous dedication in spite of being present in the vicinity of enemy fire.
Sergeant Douglas survived WWI. He returned to his home province in 1916 and joined the Manitoba Provincial Police (MPP). In1932, the MPP was absorbed and Sergeant Douglas and many of his colleagues were taken on strength by the RCMP. After a long career in law enforcement in the Winnipeg area, he retired from the Force in 1936.
Sergeant Douglas died in Winnipeg in 1955. He was also buried in his home town of Winnipeg, MB.
Like so many others who went overseas to WWI, Sergeant Frank Douglas is not forgotten. R. I. P.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
August 23, 2013
