Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police obituary card index and Notices - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1867 to 2007.

These records include Royal Canadian Mounted Police death records found in Royal Canadian Mounted Police publications, including an index to some of the obituaries.

This collection is a memorial to those Royal Canadian Mounted Police who died while in service. Secondly, it is a collection of publications sent to living officers to inform them of the deaths of fellow officers.

The index was created by a retired officer, Norman G. Wilson, who wished to make the obituaries more accessible to family members and researchers.

These publications and the accompanying index only include the records of those officers whose deaths were reported to the publications.

Among records of Canadian governmental officials are the personnel files of more than 40,000 former members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Structured along military lines, this organization was established as the North West Mounted Police in 1873 to bring law and order to the region between the Red River Valley of the North and the Rocky Mountains.

Although they have sometimes been involved in military actions, such as helping to suppress the North West Rebellion of 1885, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police members now comprise the national police force of Canada. They also contract with provinces other than Quebec and Ontario to provide police protection on a provincial level.


 * 1876–1971 Deaths of Royal Canadian Mounted Police killed while on duty, taken from S.W. Horrell's The Pictoral History of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Toronto, Ontario: McGraw–Hill Ryerson, 1973).


 * 1919–1997 Scarlet and Gold (Royal Canadian Mounted Police Veterans' Association) publication including an historical honor roll of officers killed while on duty and more current obituaries. Honor roll contains deaths prior to 1919.


 * 1933–2007 Digital images of an obituary card index for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and digital images of the obituary sections of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police publications the index refers to.


 * 1976–1994 Pony Express: Staff Relations Branch Newsletter.

For a list of record categories currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Records may include the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Age at death
 * Date and place of birth
 * Residence at time of death
 * Brief description of service

How to Use the Record
To begin your search, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of ancestor
 * Approximate year and place of death
 * Newspaper publication

Search This Collection
To search the collection image by image, select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒ Select the appropriate "Publication, Years and Volume" which will take you to the images.

Look at the images one by one comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination.

General Information About These Records
Scarlet and Gold and the Pictoral History of of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are lists of officers killed while in the line of duty. These lists are in chronological order. Some obituaries are included in these records.

The obituary card index is arranged alphabetically by surname. This index covers the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly beginning with Volume 1, July 1933. Not all deaths are covered by this publication. If the Quarterly was not advised of a death, no obituary was printed.

Surnames in the index are followed by given name or initials and possibly nicknames. The second column holds the regimental number for the individual. Regimental numbers may be preceded by the following letters:


 * O=Officer Number
 * R=Reserve Constable
 * S=Special Constable
 * M=Marine Member
 * C=Civilian Member

The third column lists the rank of the officer when he or she took their discharge, or when then died in service.

The final two columns indicate the Volume and Issue number of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Quarterly where an obituary was printed. Use these numbers to access the digital images found within this collection.

The following abbreviations may be found on an index card:


 * CST = Constable
 * CPL = Corporal
 * SGT = Sergeant
 * S/SGT = Staff Sergeant
 * S/M = Sergeant Major
 * INSP = Inspector
 * C/S/M = Corps Sergeant Major
 * SPL = Special
 * S/S/M = Staff Sergeant Major
 * SUPT = Superintendent
 * VET = Veterinarian
 * ASST = Assistant
 * COMM'R = Commissioner
 * C/M = Civilian Member
 * R/ = Reserve
 * M/ = Marine
 * HON = Honorary

Related Websites

 * Saskatchewan Genealogical Society This society has a copy of the obituaries on file and an explanation about how the file index was created.
 * Library Canada Archives describes this collection and other places where more information about Royal Canadian Mounted Police may be found.
 * North West Mounted Police (NWMP) - Personnel Records, 1873-1904
 * RCMP Graves

Related Wiki Articles

 * Canada
 * Canada Military Records

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
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Citation for This Collection
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