RCMP Museum ~ Musée de la GRC

Gold Diggers and War

By 1896 a new challenge appeared for the Mounted Police. After Tagish Charlie and George Carmack discovered gold in August, the Klondike Gold Rush was on. Inspector Charles Constantine, however, had been dispatched to the Yukon in 1895 to establish a Force presence and reinforce Canadian authority over the territory. The Force was in place before the hordes of enthusiastic miners came north, and by the height of the gold rush in 1898, the Yukon NWMP contingent had grown from 19 men to 285, as law and order faced severe challenge in the frenzy of discovery.
More Gold Rush info.

As the gold rush receded, the new century brought forth different challenges for the Force. With the South African War in 1899, over two hundred members were granted leave to serve with Canadian contingents overseas. These men formed the nucleus of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, commanded by Commissioner L.W. Herchmer, and others enlisted with Lord Strathcona's Horse with Superintendent S.B. Steel in command. The force continued its tradition of military service in the First World War, seeing action in Siberia, France and Belgium in 1918. In the Second World War, personnel in the RCMP's marine and air services were transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force, and 125 officers and men were organized into No. 1 Provost Company, RCMP, 1st Canadian Division. The Company landed in England in 1939 and later saw duty in the Dieppe Raid, Italy and north west Europe. RCMP members continue to serve in times of need through United Nations Peacekeeping efforts, lending their police assistance and expertise to nations around the world.