NWMP officer’s unmarked Vancouver grave site honoured with new headstone

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – In an ongoing effort to honour the men and women who served Canada and remember the country’s past, a former Mountie who was hurt in the 1885 Rebellion/Resistance has been given a new gravestone by those who came after him.

Half a dozen former RCMP officers gathered at Mountain View Cemetery on Tuesday to unveil the headstone of Donald McRae. Previously unmarked, the plot of land was found by Donald Klancher, a former RCMP inspector.

“I felt with the contribution that he has made to the mounted police and to Canada that the grave deserved to be marked,” Klancher said.

A RCMP historian and collector of RCMP memorabilia, Klancher came across a medal belonging to McRae in 2000, but didn’t begin work on a new headstone until two years ago. He received the blessing of one of McRae’s living relatives and worked with the RCMP to have the marker made and installed.

“Mixed emotions. I’m very honoured that it finally came to fruition,” Klancher said.

McRae came from Scotland in 1878 and joined the North West Mounted Police in Toronto before being sent to the prairies to maintain order during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

 

When the rebellion/resistance broke out, his troop was sent to find a band of Cree fighters. During an encounter near the rural town of Frenchman Butte, north of Lloydminster, Sask. McRae was shot in the leg while lying prone with his own firearm. Because his leg was bent, the bullet went through his thigh and then through his calf.

In his notes, his inspector said McRae continued to fight and eventually had to be carried of the field against his will.

The injury would eventually end his career with the mounted police in 1887 and continue to cause him pain throughout his life, including his time as a customs officer in Vancouver.

McRae passed away in 1929 at the age of 68.

“I felt with the suffering that he put up with the rest of his life,” Klancher said. “That and his service at the time when he was wounded made it almost necessary that this be acknowledged.”

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today