True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: May, 2022
The RCMP National Memorial Cemetery at Beechwood. Ottawa
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
The month of May is special to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). On May 23rd, 1873, an Act was passed in Parliament for the creation of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), and this date is considered the official birthday of the Force. A few months later, on August 23rd, 1873, the Order-in-Council to establish the NWMP was signed.
From Canada’s earliest days, the Royal Family has played a prominent role in the history of the Force. After Confederation, whenever someone from the Royal Family visited Canada, the RCMP provided personal security to the Royal Family. In 1904, King Edward VII awarded the title of Royal to the NWMP, officially creating the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP). On May 22, 1868, the Dominion Police was created in response to the assassination of MP Thomas D’Arcy McGee and in 1920 legislation was passed for the Dominion Police to be absorbed by the RNWMP, and the name of the Force was officially changed from the RNWMP to the RCMP.
Down through the years since 1873, the majority of deceased members of the Force were often buried in cemeteries specially designated for the NWMP. These historic sites include the NWMP cemeteries in Fort Macleod, AB, in Battleford, SK, in Fort Walsh, SK, in Fort Steele, BC and Regina, SK. Over the past twenty years, and with the help of hundreds of volunteers, all of the graves in the NWMP cemeteries have been identified, inspected and photographed. The graves are listed in the database which can be accessed free through www.rcmpgraves.com.
In the year 2000, a group of RCMP Veterans in Ottawa began to consider the establishment of a special RCMP Cemetery at Beechwood. It was intended that the RCMP Memorial Cemetery at Beechwood would complement the other historic NWMP cemeteries across Canada. After several years of planning and fund-raising by volunteers, a site for the RCMP Memorial Cemetery was officially dedicated in 2004 in partnership with the Beechwood Cemetery Foundation, the RCMP Veterans’ Association and the RCMP. The RCMP Memorial Cemetery is exclusively reserved for RCMP members, and their families which reflects the close bond and the sense of family shared by members and embedded within the RCMP. The RCMP National Memorial Cemetery is directly across the way from the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Armed Forces. It can accomodate 5,000 gravesites and thousands of niches for cremated remains. All members of the RCMP from any part of Canada are eligible to be buried in the RCMP National Memorial Cemetery.
A brochure published by the RCMP states, “All serving, retired and former civilian and regular members of the RCMP and Public Servant employees (with 20 years of uninterrupted service with the RCMP), Special Constables as well as members of their families are eligible for burial in the RCMP National Cemetery.” So far, about 550 deceased members of the RCMP have been buried in the RCMP Memorial Cemetery.
The Beechwood Foundation is responsible for landscaping, the supervision of enhancement projects and the ongoing maintenance of the RCMP Memorial Cemetery. Exciting plans are underway by the RCMP Veterans’ Association and the Beechood Foundation to expand and enhance the RCMP National Memorial Cemetery. In the center of the cemetery already stands a tall, unique monument depicting an RCMP member. The statute is dedicated to the lives of all the approximate 243 deceased RCMP who died on duty. At present, a special pathway exists which is dedicated to the past Commissioners of the RCMP, and soon another pathway will be constructed with plaques depicting the history of the RCMP.
Beechwood Cemetery and the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) were both created in 1873. Prior to the establishment of the RCMP National Memorial Cemetery in 2004, Beechwood Cemetery was the final resting place of over 240 deceased members of the RCMP including past Commissioner Sir James MacBrien, and Commissioner Clifford Walter Harvison. Other deceased RCMP buried at Beechwood include the Father of Canadian Fingerprints, Thomas Alfred Foster, as well as WWI Veterans Constable Mark Edward Radbourne and Constable William Kirby both of whom served overseas with the C.E.F.
All Canadians can be proud of the newly established RCMP National Memorial Cemetery at Beechwood in Ottawa. Since 1873, members of the RCMP have contributed to building Canada and its history. Today, the RCMP National Memorial Cemetery exists as a proud testament to the RCMP’s legacy.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
May 23, 2022
