K.W. Phillips was an aircraft maintenance engineer in the RCMP Air Division stationed in Ottawa.
Initially, William Hoare left Ottawa for Herschel Island to act for the Anglican Church as a missionary. He returned after five years and married Catherine Cowan, who had been training to be a nurse in Ottawa. In 1920 they traveled to Aklavik, where they were to establish an Anglican mission. The couple remained in the north until 1931, with William Hoare eventually working for the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (R.C.M.P.) until 1931, when they returned to Ottawa.
Poole Field was a trader, trapper and prospector in the Yukon and Nahanni Butte region. He was born near Regina in approximately 1880. He joined the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (RNWMP) as a young man and transferred to the Yukon during the gold rush in the late 1890s. After three years, Field left the RNWMP and went to Alaska for about five years. He returned to the Yukon and during this time, he met and married Mary Atkinson (nee Lafferty). Field made at least one trip into the Nahanni region in 1905 but returned to the Yukon. Mary and Poole moved to the Nahanni Butte region in approximately 1914 after coming into the possession of a letter written by Martin Jorgenson claiming he had found gold. In 1915 or 1916, Field and his companions found the remains of Jorgenson at his burned cabin near Virginia Falls. According to Dick Turner, author of the book "Nahanni", Field spoke Cree and Slavey fluently and was an excellent woodsman. In approximately 1924, Field began operating as an independent trader and ran a store at Trout Lake for three years before returning to Nahanni Butte where he operated an independent trading post from 1928 to about 1935. In the 1940s, Field worked as a river pilot during the summer and trapped during the winter seasons.
Mark Murray de Weerdt was born in Cologne, Germany in 1928, but was a Belgian national at birth by virtue of his parent’s nationality. His family emigrated to Belgium in 1933 and then moved to Scotland in 1935 where Mark de Weerdt spent most of his childhood. After immigrating to Canada in 1949 with his parents and siblings, he completed his post-secondary education in British Columbia. His early career included stints with both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the federal justice department in Ottawa. He married Anne Hadwen in 1956 with whom he had four sons. Anne studied occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
Mark de Weerdt relocated to Yellowknife in 1958, just two years after completing his law degree from the University of British Columbia. Upon his arrival, he discovered that he was one of only two lawyers in town. He undertook to complete the unfinished work of the Honourable John Parker, who had recently been appointed as a judge of the Territorial Court. In due course, Mark de Weerdt was sworn in by Justice J.H. Sissons. He later accepted the appointment to the position of Crown Attorney for the Northwest Territories and Agent for the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Canada. As a member of Judge Sissons' circuit court, Mark de Weerdt journeyed to the remote communities of the Northwest Territories. These trips into small villages, provided him with a glimpse into the daily lives of the indigenous population, and the opportunity participate in cases involving both affiliates of northern Canada’s diverse aboriginal population and non-aboriginal residents.
In addition to the Crown work, Mark de Weerdt assumed a growing case load of other work, including document preparation and advisory services. He left his own legal firm in 1971 to become Magistrate and Juvenile Court Judge for the NWT. He held that position until 1973. In 1974 he joined the Legal Division of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia in Vancouver where he remained until 1976. He rejoined the federal justice department’s Vancouver office in 1976 and remained with federal Department of Justice in Vancouver until 1981,
Mark de Weerdt returned to the Northwest Territories in 1981 when he was appointed as a Judge in the Supreme Court for the Northwest Territories. During his time on the Supreme Court, Mark de Weerdt presided over many cases including the first degree murder trial that followed the Giant Mine explosion that resulted in the deaths of nine men. He remained in that position until his retirement in 1996. At that time he and his wife Anne returned to Vancouver, British Columbia.
Mark de Weerdt died in September of 2003.
Cyril Nordheimer Kenny "Nordie" Kirk was born September 16, 1911 in Toronto, Ontario. Having joined the RCMP in 1934, Nordie Kirk was Sub-Inspector (1943) and Inspector (1944) aboard the Hudson Bay Company supply ship the R.M.S. "Nascopie" on its annual resupply trips in the Eastern Arctic. Inspector Kirk's responsibilities included inspecting northern RCMP detachments and their personnel, and acting as Coroner in criminal investigations in the Eastern Arctic. Communities visited during these times included Churchill, Southampton Island, Chesterfield Inlet, Lake Harbour, Pangnirtung, Clyde River, Pond Inlet, Arctic Bay and Fort Ross.
In May 1945 Nordie married Leona Esima Marie Shank-Boileau (b. September 23, 1917, Cache Bay, ON) in Ottawa Ontario. In June 1945 they traveled the Mackenzie river aboard the S.S. Distributor to Aklavik, where Nordie Kirk became the Officer in Charge of the RCMP Sub-Division there from July 1945 to July 1948.
As Officer in Charge, OC Kirk carried out patrols in Aklavik, Arctic Red River (now Tsiigehtchic), Fort McPherson, Tuktoyaktuk, Herchel Island, and Old Crow. Many duties were performed on behalf of other federal government departments such as registrar of vital statistics, mining recorder, customs collector and distribution of government allowances. Besides conducting investigations and reports, detachment duties such as hauling ice for water, splitting wood for stoves, fishing for dog food, painting buildings, and maintaining boats and motors occupied Nordie's time. Leona, as the wife of an RCMP officer, met and entertained a wide variety of people from all walks of life. Visiting the Anglican Mission, Signals Corp. gatherings and parties at Peffer’s Store/Restaurant were social highlights in Aklavik.In July 1946, Leona's sister Cpl. (Canadian Women’s Army Corp.) Yvette Boileau (now Park) visited them for a month. In 1947 Leona was flown to Ottawa via Norman Wells, Edmonton, and Toronto for the birth of their child Brian in Ottawa, ON.
In July 1948 Nordie was posted to the RCMP Sub-Division in Dauphin, MB, and the family moved from Aklavik, ending their time in the North. C.N.K. "Nordie" Kirk continued a successful career in the RCMP, achieving the rank of Assistant Commissioner. He retired from the RCMP in 1969 with 35 years maximum service, and had a second career for ten years in the Federal civil service. He died on May 26, 1981 in Ottawa. Leona Kirk remained active in several service and recreation clubs in the Ottawa region, including the Ottawa Ladies Curling Club, the Eastern Ontario Ladies Curling Association, the RCMP Veterans Association and the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club until her death in Ottawa on June 29, 2006.
John D. Nicholson was born in Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1863. In 1885, he joined the North West Mounted Police and was stationed in Regina. Following his initial training, he was sent to Edmonton. As a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Officer, he was stationed in a number of locations including Battleford and Fort McLeod. In 1916, his station with the RCMP was taken over by the newly formed Alberta Provincial Police, whom he served with until his retirement in 1927. In 1929, his attention was directed toward the mineral surveying and prospecting industry in northern Canada and he accepted the position of Field Manager with the Mineral Belt Locators Syndicate. Following the discovery of pitchblende in the Great Bear Lake area in 1931, John Nicholson organized the Camsell River Mineral Syndicate. Using a large fishing boat and barge, he transported goods to and from prospecting camps and occasionally sold his services for information concerning possible discoveries. In 1934 W.G. "Bill" Stewart took a half interest in another barge and joined Nicholson in his transport and prospecting endeavors. He continued to work in the Great Bear Lake region until the discovery of gold near the Yellowknife River attracted him to Yellowknife. With the onset of World War II in 1939, John Nicholson rejoined the RCMP.
In 1953, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Corporal Clare J. Dent was the N.C.O. I/C at the Baker Lake detachment. He later became the Superintendent in charge of "G" Division, Criminal Investigation Branch.
B.C. "Bart" Hawkins was born at Harrow, Ontario on June 30, 1933. He joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on January 14, 1952. Following training in Ottawa and Regina, he was posted to Vegreville, Alberta. While in Vegreville, he applied for northern duty and was transferred to Yellowknife on May 22, 1954. In December 1956, he was transferred to Port Radium as I/C (in charge) where he remained until July 1957.
On July 17, 1957, he married Catherine Marshall, who had been a nurse at the Yellowknife hospital. Following his marriage to Catherine, he was transferred as a married Constable to Fort Simpson, where he served from July 1957 until his transfer to Fort Liard in June 1958. In August 1958, Mr. Hawkins was posted to Hay River where his wife was ill in the Hay River Hospital. Following the death of his wife, he was granted compassionate transfer to Regina, Saskatchewan in order to better care for his infant son, Bruce Carlisle.
On September 17, 1960, he married Jean Baker and was subsequently transferred to several RCMP detachments in Saskatchewan. On december 26, 1961 his second son, Bradley Drew was born. He was promoted to Corporal in October 1962 and on May 12, 1964 returned to the NWT with a posting in Arctic Red River as I/C. Following the closure of the school in the fall of 1964, he was transferred to Fort Normanas I/C. He was transferred to Whitehorse, Yukon in July 1966, to Aklavik as I/C in April 1967, and returned to Whitehorse in June 1970. While in Whitehorse, he was promoted to Sergeant.
On July 17, 1971, he departed the north for Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba as I/C. He was subsequently transferred to Winnipeg General Investigation Section as second I/C. In August 1975, he was transferred to Brandon Sub Division West Section NCO and promoted to Staff Seargent. He remained in Brandon until his retirement from the RCMP on October 31, 1983. He accepted the position of Chief of Police of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council Police Force, which he held until his retirement in December 1988.
The North-West Mounted Police (the precursor of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) formed in 1873 to control Canada's newly acquired western lands. Their work was confined to the Prairies for the first quarter century because that was where most of the white population was to be found. It was the discovery of gold in the Yukon that led to the movement north of Edmonton. In 1897, the North-West Mounted Police made its first patrol "north of sixty." From Dawson City, the patrols extended northwards to the Mackenzie Delta. Eventually police posts were established at Fort McPherson in 1903, Arctic Red River in 1926, and Aklavik in 1927. The Arctic Red River Post closed in 1969. In 1920, the North-West Mounted Police was amalgamated with the Dominion Police Force to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The duties of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in the Northwest Territories extended far beyond normal police work. Police work was limited for most of the time to registering firearms, arbitrating disputes about trap lines, and routine patrols of the district. On behalf of the Federal Government, the police issued licenses for many trading activities and collected the fees. These included trapping, hunting, trading and trafficking, trading post and timber licenses. The police also administered the income tax and fur export tax, collecting the revenues and issuing receipts. The records of births, marriages and deaths were collected and marriage licenses issued by the police. While on patrol they checked for cases of destitution or illness and made the necessary arrangements. They controlled the use of liquor permits in the Territories and issued licenses for radio receiving sets. Any government department, which operated in the Territories, used the RCMP as its local agents. In addition, they were expected to assist any northern research project. They recorded earthquakes, the prevalence of biting insects and the number of wild animals in their area. Explorers and scientists visiting the Arctic were also able to call for their assistance.