True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month: November, 2024
Royal North West Mounted Police (RNWMP) Volunteers Killed in WWI
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
Down through time and tradition, November is the calendar month set aside to honour the brave. To begin, November 1st – All Saints Day – is the day to recall the meritorious conduct of thousands of saints and martyrs who bravely sacrificed their lives for their faith. Many of them suffered a grizzly death; by boiling oil, by beheading, stoning or by crucifixion. In early times, Saint Apollonia died a torturous death after having her teeth violently pulled out.
On November 2nd each year, All Souls Day, one pauses with a wider scope to recall the past lives of cherished family; uniquely brave mothers and fathers who accepted the responsibility of raising their family and for devoting their lives to their children. They have now gone to their reward.
November 11th is a most special day for the nation's brave. Canadians recall the sacrifices made by its men and women under arms. One recalls the men and women who died or who received injuries during a military conflict. Hundreds of RCMP volunteered for WWI and WWII. This short story is about some former RNWMP who volunteered for war, and who were killed on the battlefields far from home. One honours them as the bravest of the brave. They are buried in cemeteries all across Europe.
Reg.#5951, Frederick Thomas Epps was born in England in 1899. He joined the Royal North West Mounted Police (RNWMP) in 1914 at the age of 15 years. After one year of police service in Alberta, Epp volunteered and enlisted for WWI with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). He was killed in action in 1916 at Courcelette, in the Battle of the Somme. Frederick Epp died at 17. He was buried in the Pozieres Memorial British Cemetery, France.
Reg.#5149, Constable Herbert Spray Fisher was born in Nottingham, England in 1888. He joined the RNWMP in 1910. Fisher served in the Force for three years prior to being dismissed from the RNWMP for discipline matters. In 1914, he joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), and he was sent overseas. Fisher was shot and killed in 1918 at the age of 20. He was buried in the Etaples Military Cemetery in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.
Very little is known about the early life of Reg.#6359, Constable Louis Samuel La Croix except that he was born in 1897, and that he joined the RNWMP at the age of 17 years. In 1915, he left the RNWMP to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). He too was sent overseas. La Croix was killed at the age of 20. He was buried in the Nine Elms Military Cemetery in northern France.
Reg.#5656, Constable Laurence Charles Drake Eliot was born in England in June, 1895. He joined the RNWMP in 1913, but he resigned a year later to enlist with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). He was killed on the battlefield at the age of 20, but his body was never recovered. Eliot's name is etched on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.
Reg.#5396, Constable Frederick John Lush was born in 1896 in Hampshire, England. He joined the RNWMP at the age of 16. After Basic Recruit Training in Regina, Lush was posted to Prince Albert, SK. In 1914, Lush resigned from the RNWMP to enlist for WWI. He returned to England, where he engaged with the Imperial Reserves. In 1916, Lush was killed during the Battle of the Somme. He was 20 years of age. Lush was buried in the Contay British Cemetery in Contay, France.
Reg.#6527, Constable William Hole Toder died at the age of 20. He joined the RNWMP in 1916, but he too resigned to enlist with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Toder was assigned Service #2233307. Toder was killed during the Battle of the Somme. He was buried in the Vis-En-Artois British Cemetery, Haucourt, France.
Reg.#6031, Constable Robert Granville Letcher was born in Springhill, NS in 1895. It was Letcher's dream to be a police officer. He joined the RNWMP in Regina, SK in 1914, but at the outbreak of WWI, Letcher was among the very first to enlist with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). He was assigned Service # 414792. In 1914, he was shipped overseas, where he was killed in action on the fields of France in 1916. His body was never recovered. Letcher's name is etched on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. He died at the age of 21.
In 1912, Inspector C. H. West, a Medical Doctor with the Force, traveled to England to engage young men into the RNWMP. West was successful, and about 30 recruits were hired in England. The group left Liverpool, and they arrived in Montreal on August 12th, 1912 aboard the SS Lake Manitoba. After their arrival in Montreal, the recruits all reported to 'Depot' Division for Basic Recruit Training. Among the newly hired recruits was Reg.#5430, Constable George Edward Hirst. At the outbreak of WWI in 1914, Hirst was allowed a free discharge from the RNWMP to enlist with the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). Hirst was killed in action in France. He was 24 years of age. He was buried in the Triepval Memorial Cemetery in Somme, France.
Fearless courage in addition to compassion, confidence, heroism and protecting others are all essential qualities of bravery. These traits well describe the young, innocent Canadians who volunteered for war, were killed, and who are now buried in cemeteries on foreign soil. The last, hopeful frontier of one's deceased family and friends is heaven. Heaven, Home of the Brave.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
November 6th, 2024
