True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: January, 2021
Reg.#5862, Constable William Douglas and Baby Leslie
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
There are no shortage of mysteries when one digs into the history of the RCMP, and this is another one that deserves our attention.
It all began a week or so ago. I received a kind note from Ms. Sharon Davison who is the granddaughter of Constable William Douglas, and she asked for some historical background about her grandfather. I was able to help Ms. Davison, but, before the nub of Ms. Davison's problem is fully revealed, one should know a little about the life and times of her grandfather. After all, the mystery is partly his doing, and he may be the sole person who can provide the right answer.
William Douglas immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1913, and he made his way to Regina, SK. Rumours of WWI were circulating, so William Douglas signed up for a two year commitment with the Royal North West Mounted Police (RNWMP). It was August 18th, 1914.
After completing a stint at 'Depot' Division for Basic Recruit Training, William Douglas was transferred to 'K' Division (Alberta), and by this time WWI was well underway. After two years, William Douglas decided to leave the RNWMP and he enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in April, 1916. But, bad luck faced William Douglas, and he was demobilized in 1917 as Medically Unfit. It was all due to a lime infection which caused injuries to his eyes. He rejoined the RNWMP in August, 1918, but only for a short while.
That fall, a Calvary Unit of the CSEF (Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force) was formed in Saskatchewan called B Squadron, consisting of RNWMP and civilians. William Douglas became part of B Squadron and he was subsequently sent across Canada by train and ultimately to Vladivostok, Siberia.
War was over, and upon returning to Regina in 1919, William Douglas was demobilized, and once again he signed on with the RNWMP. He was posted to 'Depot' Division, and it was while he and his wife were living at 'Depot' Division that the mystery in the life of William Douglas arose. William Douglas and his wife started a family.
Around 1925, William Douglas' wife gave birth to two babies at 'Depot' Division, but tragedy struck and one of the babies only lived for three months. The baby was buried in the 'Depot' Cemetery. Ms. Davison wrote, "My mother, being the youngest in her family, said there was a sibling who died but she did not know the gender of the baby -- my Mom doesn't know if the Douglas baby was a boy or a girl. Mom did, however, know the baby's name was 'Leslie'. As I said, I don't know whether the baby was a boy or a girl or the cause of death, and Joe, that's where I need your help? I am the first in my mother's family to find Leslie in the 'Depot' Cemetery and the baby's tombstone. I plan to arrange for flowers to be put at the baby's gravesite in the near future. I would like to learn the gender of Leslie, and in the meantime, my research had not provided me with the answer to the mystery. Was baby Leslie a boy or girl? After my grandparents were transferred to Vancouver Island, they never made it back to Regina to visit Leslie's grave site."
William Douglas served at 'Depot' until late 1926. At some point in early 1927, he was transferred briefly to Fort MacLeod, AB.
After Fort Macleod, William was transferred again to the Gatehouse Detachment at Dockyard (DND) in Esquimalt. He remained in Esquimalt until November, 1946 at which time he retired. He was 59 years of age.
William Douglas died in 1957. He was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Burnaby, BC.
I replied to Ms. Davison by suggesting that the Chaplain might be able to help us, I wrote, "The Chaplain at ‘Depot’ is responsible for deaths and burials as well as the Cemetery. He has a Register listing all the burials going back many, many years. I have made use of the Register for research a few times when I visited the Cemetery at ’Depot’. Due to the pandemic, ‘Depot’ is closed except for emergency duties, so let’s wait on this mystery for a few months. I believe the 'Depot' Cemetery Register will reveal the gender of baby Leslie, or I hope it will." In the meantime, the mystery of baby Leslie's gender remains unsolved.
I would like to sincerely thank Ms. Davison for her kind messages and for her expressions of love of her grandfather Constable William Douglas. Let us hope she will soon learn more about baby Leslie.
The end.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
January 23, 2021
