Seven of the new veterans headstones are lined up in the Field of Honour in Union Cemetery. Two headstones are in Holy Cross Cemetery and one is in a family plot in Union Cemetery.
The military service of 10 veterans buried in Fort Macleod was recognized with special headstones.
Thanks to the research of Yvonne Sugimoto, The Last Post Fund was able to place commemorative headstones recognizing military service in two cemeteries.
“It’s really quite exciting to be able to have these men recognized,” Sugimoto said.
The Last Post Fund in September notified Sugimoto that it was now putting headstones on the graves of people who served with the North West Mounted Police piror to 1904.
“They were part of the military in Canada,” Sugimoto said.
Sugimoto uses several sources for her research, including obituaries, the death register, military records and newspapers.
There are many unmarked graves across Canada, for a variety of reasons.
Some veterans died as single men with no family to ensure their service is noted.
In some cases, families couldn’t afford a headstone, and some wooden markers have deteriorated from the elements.
Sugimoto submitted the names of 10 men who served with the North West Mounted Police and who are buried in the Union and Holy Cross cemeteries in Fort Macleod.
The Last Post Fund is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that no veteran at the time of death is denied a dignified funeral, burial and headstone for lack of insufficient needs.
The primary mandate of the Last Post Fund is to deliver the funeral and burial program on behalf of Veterans Affairs Canada. The Last Post Fund is supported by Veterans Affairs Canada and by donations across Canada.
The headstones were installed Wednesday in Fort Macleod’s two cemeteries.
Seven of the headstones are in the Field of Honour in Union Cemetery, two are in Holy Cross Cemetery and one is with the veteran’s grave in the family plot in Union Cemetery.
“Some of these guys died 140 years ago,” Sugimoto said.
The North West Mounted Police veterans who receive headstones were:
Capt. William Winder, who commanded C Troop of the NWMP when it came west, and signed Treaty No. 7 in 1887. He retired in 1890 with a gratuity of $700 and formed the Winder Ranch Company at Trout Creek, with 100 head of horses and cattle.
Winder died in 1895 at the age of 44.
Ellis Challis Miller was a constable in the NWMP and later was in charge of the office work for I.G. Baker & Co. in Macleod before moving to Dominion Express Co. at Fort Steele, B.C. He died in 1923.
Lance Corporal Thomas Hugh Dinnis served in the NWMP from 1891-’94. He died in Macleod in 1898 at the age of 30.
Const. James John (Jim) Brown, originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, was a shoemaker prior to enlisting and came west with the NWMP. Brown died in 1901 at the age of 40.
Brenton Haliburton (Doc) Robertson was born in 1854 Halifax, Nova Scotia. He served with the 66th Regiment, Princess Louise Fusillers before enlisting with the NWMP in 1882 and serving at Depot, Lethbridge and Fort Macleod. Robertson, who received the North West Medal for service in the Riel Rebellion and rose to the rank of sergeant, died in 1911 at the age of 56.
Sgt. Frederick Cochrane Roby joined the NWMP at Fort Walsh and served 24 years at Battleford, Lethbridge, Fort Macleod and Kootenay, B.C. Roby, who received the North West Medal for service in the Riel Rebellion, died in 1917 at the age of 58 in Fort Macleod.
Const. Daniel Horan served in the NWMP from 1878-’81 and later was a town councillor in Macleod. He died in Macleod in 1907 at the age of 59.
William S. Wilson served as a sub-constable and constable in the NWMP from 1878-’79 before leaving the force with a land grant for 160 acres. He died in 1888 at the age of 38.
Const. Edward Larkin was born in Ontario in 1846 and died in High River in 1931 at the age of 85. Larkin joined the NWMP in 1874. When he died, Larkin was reported to be the last surviving member of the original detachment at Macleod.
Const. Andrew (Andy) Grogan, who was a cook and drove a water cart on the NWMP’s historic March West in 1874, died in 1890 at the age of 55. Prior to joining the NWMP Grogan, who immigrated to Canada from Britain, served in the King’s Own Borderers. Grogan joined the NWMP at Winnipeg, and after leaving the force, homesteaded in the Macleod area.
Yvonne Sugimoto’s work in Fort Macleod is not yet complete.
“There are more to come,” Sugimoto said.
