Ric Hall: RCMP Trivia

For this week, Ric Hall has sent to us some RCMP trivia and question for our readers.

According to the July 1936 RCMP Quarterly – “A new departure in training is being tested this summer, sixty recruits, from “Depot” having been attached to “F” and “K” Divisions, for tuition in police duties. It is anticipated that this will result in better trained personnel being available before final transfer is made for duty purposes to the various Provinces.”

I wonder how long that lasted?

The divisions across the Force, as we now know them, have changed the areas they represent many times over. “A”, “B”, “C” “D”, “E” and “F” Divisions originate from the March West, the Force consisting of 300 men, exclusive of officers. Each of the six divisions was to have fifty men.

Divisional letters were assigned by the Commissioners and sometimes reassigned by their successors, as some members may recall in the 1980s when Commissioner Simmonds decided to drop “A” Division and have the letter “O” cover all of Ontario and “C” for all of Quebec. The following Commissioner changed it right back.

Now, here’s a look at the evolution of each of the Force’s current divisions and where their headquarters have been located over the years. “Depot” Division has remained the one constant….the one division to remain at the same location over the history of the Force.

Headquarters (HQ) Division

1874: Fort Ellice

1875: Swan River

1876: Fort Macleod

1878: Fort Walsh

1883: Regina

1920: Ottawa

Photograph of the old RCMP Headquarters in Ottawa (Source of photo – Bill Sedler’s Photo Collection).

“A” Division

1874: March West

1874: Fort Edmonton

1875: Fort Walsh

1920: Western Ontario with headquarters in Ottawa

1947-53: absorbed by A Division
1954: reinstated as a division
1987: lost divisional status

“B” Division

1874: March West

1874: located at Fort Macleod
1876-77: located at Fort Walsh
1880-81: moved to Qu’Appelle
1882: moved to Regina
1888: located in Wood Mountain
1891-94: moves back to Regina
1895-97: designation B is not in use
1898-1937: located in Dawson
1938-48: designation B is not in use
1949: Newfoundland & Labrador with headquarters in St. John’s

June 1900 – Photograph of “B” Division (Dawson) NWMP Officers. Right side: Insp. Scarth, Supt. Primrose, Sergt. Major Fost, Lieut McLean; Left: Insp. Starnes, Col. Hemmins, Dr. Thompson (Source of photo – RCMP Historical Collections Unit – “Depot” Division).

“C” Division

1874: March West

1874: located at Fort Macleod
1886: moved to Battleford
1920: located in Brandon
1924-31: designation not in use
1932: Quebec with headquarters in Montreal

“D” Division

1874: March West

1874: located at Fort Dufferin
1876-77: moved to Fort Macleod
1878-79: moved to Shoal Lake
1880: located in Battleford
1886: moves back to Fort Macleod
1887-89: located at Fort Steele
1889: moves back to Fort Macleod
1919: Manitoba with headquarters in Winnipeg

“Depot” Division

1885: established in Regina
1988: Division designation discontinued and was called the “RCMP Training Academy”
1995: divisional status reinstated

“E” Division

1874: March West

1874: located in Swan River
1876-77: moved to Fort Walsh
1878-79: moved to Battleford
1880-81: back to Fort Walsh
1882: moves to Calgary
1919: British Columbia with headquarters in Vancouver
1950: headquarters moved to Victoria
1977: division splits into two districts:ED1 – Lower Mainland – headquarters in Vancouver of BC & ED2 – for the rest of the province with headquarters in Victoria – Commanding Officer in charge of both districts
1982: British Columbia became a single division again with the headquarters in Vancouver

2013 – Headquarters moved from Vancouver to Surrey, BC

2013 – Photograph of the new “E” Division Headquarters complex in Surrey, BC.

“F” Division

1874: March West

1874: located at Fort Macleod
1876: moved to Fort Calgary
1878-81: located at Fort Walsh
1881-85: designation not in use
1885: located at Prince Albert
1932: Saskatchewan with headquarters in Regina

Photograph of RNWMP members at Prince Alberta Post viewing their 7-pounder artillery piece (Source of photo – RCMP Historical Collection – “Depot” Division).

“G” Division

1885: established in Edmonton
1886: moved to Fort Saskatchewan
1910: Northwest Territories and Yukon with headquarters in Edmonton
1933-73: headquarters moved to Ottawa
1974: headquarters moved to Yellowknife

May 24, 1900 – Photograph of Victoria Day celebrations with the NWMP members firing a cannon at Fort Herchmer while Dawson residents looked on (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

“H” Division

1885: established at Fort Macleod
1895-97: designation not in use
1898-99: located in Tagish
1900-03: moved to Whitehorse
1910-20: designation not in use
1920-23: located in Vancouver
1924-31: designation not in use
1932: Nova Scotia with headquarters in Halifax

Photograph of NWMP members at Tagish Detachment in the Yukon.

“J” Division

1932: New Brunswick with headquarters in Fredericton

Photograph of old RCMP “J” Division Headquarters building.

“K” Division

1885: established in Battleford
1887: moved to Lethbridge
1932: Alberta with headquarters in Edmonton

Photograph of “K” Division RNWMP members taken in Lethbridge Alberta (Source of photo – Ric Hall’s Photo Collection).

“L” Division

1932: Prince Edward Island with headquarters in Charlottetown

Photograph of the RCMP “L” Division Headquarters building.

“M” Division

1904: established in Fullerton
1908: moved to Churchill
1915-16: located in Fort Nelson
1919: designation not in use
1924: located in Macleod
1931: designation not in use
1974: Yukon with headquarters in Whitehorse

“N” Division

1905: Lesser Slave Lake

1908: Athabasca

1916: Peace River

1919: not in use

1920: Rockcliffe

1987: Discontinued and became the Canadian Police College

1920 – Photograph of the first RCMP members stationed to Ottawa. Their first temporary accommodations in Ottawa was in the Landsdowne Park. In this photograph, these first 160 members were on parade for inspection.

“O” Division

1920: Southern Ontario with headquarters in Toronto
1992: moved to London

Photograph of the old RCMP “O” Division headquarters building at 225 Jarvis Street in Toronto.

“P” Division

1966: Penhold, AB – temporary training division

1969: Discontinued

“R” Division

1915: Regina

1916: Discontinued

“V” Division

1999: Nunavut with headquarters in Iqaluit

Photograph of the new “V” Division headquarters in Iqaluit.

Trivia Question: Many members trained at “N” Division, Rockcliffe, opposed to “Depot” Division or did their second part of training at “N”….when did “N” Division come into existence and when did it cease to be “N” Division?

Please forward your comments about the trivia question to Ric Hall at rshall69@shaw.ca