True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: May, 2023
Officer O.392, Assistant Commissioner Edward H. Stevenson Canadian Provost Corps. WWII. MBE
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
Edward Hammond Stevenson was born in Grand Forks, BC on February 20, 1913. He was too young to volunteer for WWI, but the time would come some day in the future when he would volunteer for WWII. Edward Stevenson led a full life of dedication and commitment. He would go on to serve honourably in the RCMP for many years, and he also made a huge personal and professional commitment to Canada’s war effort as a soldier during WWII.
Edward Stevenson first joined the Force at Vancouver, BC in June, 1934. He was 21 years of age. After several months of Basic Recruit Training at 'Depot' Division in Regina, Stevenson was posted to Rockcliffe near Ottawa for additional training. In the wind, there were rumours of war, so Stevenson took his discharge from the RCMP in June, 1938. He may have wanted to get married, but at the time he did not have the qualifying years of RCMP service for matrimony. Over the next few months, he pondered how he could best serve his country especially if Canada eventually went to war. In his mind, the question was would he join the Canadian Army off the street, or would he return to the RCMP? Ironically, as it turned out, Stevenson did both -- he made personal sacrifices during WWII to the Canadian Army as well as to the RCMP No 1 Provost Corps.
While living briefly in Winnipeg, Stevenson decided that he would rejoin the RCMP and he did so in September, 1939. At the time, Stevenson learned that RCMP Commissioner S. T. Wood had presented a plan to the Canadian government offering RCMP volunteers to form the No. 1 Provost Corps which would be embedded within the Canadian Army. The plan was approved principally because there was a need for well trained police officers which only the RCMP could provide, and at the same time, hundreds of RCMP members had made it known that they too wanted to go to Europe to fight for Canada. Immediately, Stevenson volunteered for the No. 1 Provost Corps (RCMP). As Service # C42041, he went on to serve in the Canadian Army between November 1939 to February 1946. Eventually, he held the rank of Major. Stevenson is listed on the Roll Call among the RCMP Provost Corps in The Quarterly, January 1940. V(7) (3) pps. 275 & 276.
After the war, Stevenson re-engaged in the Force, and he served in many places across Canada including Regina, Rockcliffe, Saskatchewan, Ottawa, British Columbia, Washington, DC, and Newfoundland. In 1970 at the age of 57, Stevenson retired as the Commanding Officer of Nova Scotia. Years later after the war, Stevenson recounted his experiences at Dieppe on that fateful day, August 19, 1942. He was the last member of the RCMP to participate in the WWII evacuation at Dunkirk, and the invasions at Dieppe and on D-Day. Captain Edward Hammond Stevenson commanded the Dieppe detachment of No. 2 Provost Company, a military police unit that was to help direct troops and keep the beach orderly during Operation Jubilee. His full story about D-Day was published in the July/August 2022 edition of the Canadian Legion magazine.
The Stevenson name is well known and highly respected throughout the RCMP. His wife was Gladys May Stevenson, and their daughter was Wendy Susan Stevenson. Edward Stevenson’s father was also in the Force. Reg.#3701, Constable Hammond Johnston Stevenson served for 20 years with the NWMP, the RNWMP and the RCMP. Down through the years, other family members also joined the Force. His son was Reg.#19880, Staff Sergeant B. E. Stevenson who served in the RCMP from 1955 to 1993. His daughter was C/579, H. Stevenson, a Civilian Member of the RCMP who served from 1969 to 1971, and Edward's grandson was Reg.#42391, Constable G. A. Stevenson who served with the RCMP for over 25 years in Nova Scotia.
After the war, Edward Stevenson was highly honoured. He was awarded the 1939-45 Star, the France & Germany Star, the Defence Medal, and the CVSM & Clasp. He also became a Member of the British Empire (MBE), and he was invested as a Serving Brother of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. In 2021, the Stevenson family received the Dieppe Bar to accompany his Canadian Volunteer Service Medal (CVSM).
It can be said of Edward Hammond Stevenson that he deserves the praise of all Canadians. After a full life of dedication and commitment to Canada, Edward Hammond died peacefully at Cloverdale, BC on December 29th, 1997. He was 84 years of age. He was buried in the Langley Lawn Cemetery, Langley, BC. He is remembered.
and history researcher Merle Armstrong. RCMP Veterans. London, ON
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
April 23, 2023
