Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C), Italy and North West Europe, 1943-1945, Korean War and Cold War

‍Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C)

‍

Canadian Provost Corps

No. 11 Provost Company

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. PA-145015)

Pte. R.D. Ball driving and LCpl. James Ross in the turret of a Fox armoured car, on a Canadian provost patrol in Aurich Germany, 26 Aug 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206453)

Sign which reads "Bully Today - Beef Tomorrow" posted by the Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C) to boost sales of Victory Bonds during the Seventh Victory Loan campaign, Belgium, 11 October 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191650)

A member of the Canadian Provost Corps (C.P.C.) guarding the first German prisoners to be captured by Canadian soldiers in the Normandy beachhead, France, 6 June 1944.

No. 3 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3224526)

German prisoners and Italian escapees en route to prisoner-of-war camps, 8 April 1945.

‍

(Stuart Phillips Photo)

No. 1 Provost Company, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4169283)

Town of Zwischenahn - Town surrenders without a battle - Provost Corps, watching the towns people reading the proclamation, 1 May 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 224228)

Lance-Corporal Charlie Duggan, Canadian Provost Corps, directing traffic, 1 April 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225578)

Personnel of the Canadian Provost Corps outside "The Pop Inn", the new Navy, Army and Air Force Institute (NAAFI) canteen, Caen, France, 27 July 1944.

"Little Joe Series in Germany". Members of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade Group's Provost Corps receive an assignment from their sergeant. L/Cpl. George Monteith and Cecil McCormick and Sergeant Alex Webber, 13 March 1954.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3208538)

Canadian Provost Corps jeeps with various Allied officers, German officers, and Dutch civilians in the square at the time of discussion of food distribution to the Dutch population, 2 May 1945.

Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C) in the Second World War

According to an article written by LCol (Retired) James D. Lumsden, on the outbreak of the Second World War in Sep 1939, the Commissioner of the RCMP made a recommendation to the Minister of Justice that authority be granted to form a Provost Company from RCMP volunteers.  Approval was granted for the formation of No. 1 Provost Company (RCMP).  This Company would later provide Military Police support to 1 Canadian Infantry Division.

No. 1 Provost Company, RCMP, Ottawa, Dec 1939.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3734904)

As additional Canadian Army units were mobilized and moved to England, each was accompanied by its own Provost Company.  Additional Provosts were established with senior formations including the Canadian Military Headquarters (CMHQ) based in London, HQ No. 1 and HQ No. 2 of the Canadian Corps, and at Reinforcement Units.  In addition to the Provost companies, a Detention Barracks, a training depot and special investigation sections were also established.  In Canada, 18 Provost Companies were located in each of the Military Districts and Commands.  A-32, the Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C) Training Center was also established.

On 15 June 1940, Privy Council Order 67/3030 authorized the Canadian Provost Corps as the primary organization responsible for the development of all personnel assigned to police duties as their primary role in the war.  As the C Pro C developed, their duties grew to include the following:

1. Movement plans, including those in forward and rear units and in lines of communication areas;
2. Provision of advice on the capacity and adequacy of routes; the degree and type of traffic control required; and resources required and whether available resources were adequate.
3. Supervision and enforcement of discipline outside unit lines;
4. Operation of the formation Prisoner of War (PW) cage;
5. Movement of PW to PW camps in Canada;
6. Control of refugee movement;
7. Collection, control and disposal of stragglers;
8. Operation of Detention Barracks; and
9. Liaison with other civilian and MPs.

These duties were performed in Canada, the UK, Italy, Sicily, Northwest Europe and Asia.  The demand for MP support at home and abroad led to the expansion of the C Pro C to a strength of 6,120 personnel in 1945.

The C Pro C sent a detachment of 8 men (1 Sergeant, 1 Corporal and six Lance Corporals) with the Canadian Army Contingent (which included the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada), to Hong Kong in December 1941.  These soldiers fought until taken prisoner, three died while incarcerated as PW.

On 18 Aug 1942, 41 members of the C Pro C participated in Operation Jubilee, the Dieppe Raid.  They were tasked to provide control on the beach and to secure PW.  Only 22 of them returned to the UK, and of the 19, Lt Peter Oliver was killed in action (KIA) and 19 became PW.  25 were wounded (WIA).

The C Pro C played a significant role in the invasions of Sicily and Italy, ensuring road movement over extremely difficult terrain.  The end of the Italian campaign culminated in Operation Goldflake which saw the transfer of all Canadians in Italy to Northwest Europe in Feb and March 1945.

On 6 June 1944, six sections of No. 4 Provost Company landed in Normandy, followed on 29 June by No. 13 Provost Company, and many others in the following days.  The C Pro C provided tremendous support in the battles across Northwest Europe leading the final unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945.

General H.D.G. Crerar, General Officer Commanding 1st Canadian Army, and Captain C.B. Newman, Assistant Provost Marshal, 4th Canadian Armoured Division, inspecting a company of the Canadian Provost Corps, Apeldoorn, Netherlands, 12 July 1945.   (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3409562)

123 C Pro C members died in the Service of Canada during the Second World War.  In 1946, the strength of the C Pro C was reduced to 117.

C Pro C, pistol inspection.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 36080698)

(City of Vancouver Archives Photo, AM1545-S3-: CVA 586-2711)

Military Police motorcyclist escorting a convoy in British Columbia, 1944.

(City of Vancouver Archives Photo, AM1545-S3-: CVA 586-2752)

Military Police motorcyclists escorting a convoy in Banff National Park, Alberta from British Columbia, 1944.

Canadian Provost Corps in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944.

BGen Hoffmeister inspecting C Pro C, Italy, ca 1943.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3613495)

BGen Hoffmeister inspecting C Pro C, Italy, ca 1943.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3607771)

Lance-Corporal D.G. Stackhouse, No. 1 Provost Company (RCMP), directing traffic, Campobasso, Italy, 21 October 1943.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3599872)

Corporal Joe Babcock (left) talking with Private Herb Thompson, both of the Canadian Provost Corps, at Provost Detachment Headquarters before starting his nightly motorcycle patrol of Taormina, Italy, December 1943.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3403723)

C Pro C, 5th Canadian Division, Orsogna, Italy, 27 Jan 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4166603)

Canadian Provost Corps in Normandy and NW Europe, 1944-1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3191650)

Members of the Canadian Provost Corps guarding the first German prisoners to be captured by Canadian soldiers in the Normandy beachhead, France, 6 June 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 5180133)

Canadian Provost Corps, London, 11 January 1943.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524618)

German Prisoners of War escorted by Canadian Provost Corps motorcyclists of the 1st Canadian Division, in the vicinity of Twello, Netherlands, 13 April 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3231487)

C Pro C members of No. 2 Provost Company on Norton 16H  motorcycles, Fleury-sur-Orne, France, 1944.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3299063)

Lance-Corporal A.A. Shaylor of No.2 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps, and members of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) assisting Belgian refugees to cross a Bailey Bridge over the Albert Canal, Belgium, 28 September 1944.

C Pro C on traffic control in France, 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No.4233791)

No. 4 Provost Coy, Bretteville-le-Rabet, France, 23 June 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396103)

Personnel of the Canadian Provost Corps outside "The Pop Inn", the new Navy, Army and Air Force Institute (NAAFI) canteen, Caen, France, 27 July 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225578)

Lance-Corporal Don Fife of No.2 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps, on a motorcycle en route to Falaise. Fresney-le-Puceau, France, 12 August 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3231574)

Personnel of No. 2 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps, on their motorcycles, Falaise, France, 13 Aug 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225470)

Lance-Corporal Bill Baggott sleeping on his motorcycle, Falaise, France, 14 August 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3225761)

Lance-Corporal Peter Chimilar, Canadian Provost Corps, placing a warning sign on the roadside, Hautmesnil, France, 14 August 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396210)

Cpl Ralph Wooden, Canadian Provost Corps talking with Polish refugees, St. Quentin, France, 16 August 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396219)

Corporal M.W. Musgrove and Sergeant E.O. Hanna, both of the Canadian Provost Corps, in the ruins of Falaise, France, 17 Aug 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3227266)

LCpl W.H. Harris of the C Pro C, Bourgtheroulde, France, 27 August 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396250)

Lance-Corporal P.L. Simpson of No.2 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps, in front of a poster which reads "I Guess Maybe Victory Bonds Are A Better Buy Than Cognac After All", at 2nd Candian Infantry Division Headquarters, Netherlands, 13 October 1944.  (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524455)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3529233)

Lance-Corporal Bill Cooksey, Canadian Provost Corps, directing traffic near Nijmegen, Netherlands, 9 January 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204004)

C Pro C motorcyclist in the lead of a Staghound armoured car, as General H.D.G. Crerar takes the salute at a parade of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on the first anniversary of D-Day, Utrecht, Netherlands, 6 June 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524773)

Private H.E. Easterbrook and Lance-Corporal T. Mudd, both of No. 5 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C), riding special grey horses at a Thanksgiving church service and parade, Groningen, Netherlands, 19 August 1945.

Canadian Provost Corps LCpl Eddie Halverson talking to LCpl Phil LaRoque (in the jeep), Nijmegen, Netherlands, 9 Jan 1945. (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206416)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3209592)

Lance-Corporal R.B. Wrightman of the Canadian Provost Corps, reading a sign which warns, "Don't Fraternize - Onyx Route Starts Here", Calcar, Germany, 26 February 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396317)

Lance-Corporal H.G. Roseborough of No. 8 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps, painting signs, 15 March 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3588776)

Lieutenant G. Murray Williams, HQ Company, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, riding a Matchless G3L, 350cc OHV, 1943 contract motorcycle, during the advance from Lembeck through Coesfeld, Germany, 30 March 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206421)

Two Corporals of the 2nd Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps, exchanging notes on the hood of their jeep in the Reichswald, Germany, 20 March 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206601)

Entrance gate sign at No.1 Canadian Field Punishment Camp (Canadian Army Miscellaneous Units), Vught, Netherlands, ca. 21-23 April 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3206606)

Prisoners drilling on the parade square at No.1 Canadian Field Punishment Camp (Canadian Army Miscellaneous Units), Vught, Netherlands, ca. 21-23 April 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4169283)

C Pro C Private on a motorcycle, Zwischennahn, Germany, 1 May 1945.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3211661)

Lance-Corporals J. Lang and P.C. Ajas of No.1 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps guarding German Biber mini-submarines, Ijmuiden, Netherlands, 25 May 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3563585)

Lieutenant-General G.G. Simonds, General Officer Commanding 2 Canadian Corps, talking with Sergeant R.M. Kingswell, No.13 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps, Oldenburg, Germany, 2 June 1945.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3204004)

General H.D.G. Crerar taking the salute at a parade of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on the first anniversary of D-Day, Utrecht, Netherlands, 6 June 1945.  C Pro C motorcyclist ahead of a Staghound Armoured Recce Vehicle.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3524773)

Private H.E. Easterbrook and Lance-Corporal T. Mudd, both of No. 5 Provost Company, Canadian Provost Corps (C.P.C.), riding special grey horses at a Thanksgiving church service and parade, Groningen, Netherlands, 19 August 1945.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4233664)

C Pro C, 9th Cdn Victory Loan Campaign, 1 Nov 1945, Oldenburg, Germany.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3518851)

Private Maurice Richard (right), Canadian Provost Corps, talking with students of the Khaki University of Canada, who ride in a jeep driven by Lance-Bombardier R.S. Hughes, Leavesden, England, 15 April 1946.

Frederick Walter Estabrooks, Canadian Army Provost Corps (C Pro C)

The author's uncle, Frederick Walter Estabrooks, served with the Canadian Provost Corps in Europe during the Second World War.

Frederick Walter Estabrooks

Frederick W. Estabrooks joined the Canadian Army at the age of 16 in Woodstock, New Brunswick late in 1942 and then did basic training in Fredericton before being posted to  Sydney, Cape Breton, where he served with a Coastal Defence unit manning searchlights.  He was sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia for course in mechanics.  In May 1943 he sailed to England on the Queen Mary along with 20,000 other Canadian troops and landed at Southampton.

In England, Frederick joined No. 11 Provost Company of the Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C) serving with the Military Police until the end of the war.  No. 11 Provost Company was part of the 1st Canadian Army HQ.  Frederick would have worn a red and blue diamond patch over his C Pro C shoulder flash.

Fred Estabrooks, C Pro C in England.  He is in the second row, fourth from the left.

(British Government Photo TR2832)

During his training in England in 1943 as a C Pro C Policeman, Frederick met some very interesting people.  On one occasion he spoke with 16-year old Princess Elizabeth while her father the King was inspecting Canadian troops.  This photo is of HRH Princess Elizabeth about two years later when she was serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, April 1945.  Her Majesty still drives her own vehicle on Sundays.

Frederick went ashore at Juno Beach on 11 June, the 5th day of the landings at Normandy, with two C Pro C sections, 26 motorcycles, and two jeeps on a landing barge.

(IWM Photo, BU 2246)

Frederick saw and spoke with Winston Churchill while patrolling routes for convoys through the Reichswald Forest in Germany.  This is a photo of Winston Churchill and American Generals on a balcony watching Allied vehicles crossing the Rhine River into Germany, 25 Mar 1945.

(IWM Photo)

Frederick spoke with General Harry Crerar, Commander of the Canadian Army, at a rest stop on one of the routes where Fred was directing traffic.  He was also in a group of Canadian troops addressed by General Bernard Montgomery in England and again later in Antwerp.  This is a photo of Canadian Lieutenant-General Guy Granville Simonds, British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, and Canadian General Henry Crerar at Allied Headquarters, Feb 1945 about the time Fred would have seen them.

(Eisenhower Library Photo)

He saw General McNaughton and General Eisenhower about the same time.  This photo of General Eisenhower was taken in France late in 1944.

(Author Photo)  

Frederick's personal side-arm was a Browning 9-mm semi-automatic pistol.  This one is on display in the New Brunswick Military History Museum, 5 Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown, New Brunswick.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3613098)

Harley-Davidson Type WLC 1942 motorcycle, ca 1943.  At this time he was still serving with No. 11 Provost Company attached to 1st Canadian Army Headquarters.  He rode a Harley Davidson 40/41 low clearance motorcycle which he felt was too low.

Fred described using a number of different military motorcycles during his service as a policeman and dispatch rider during the war, and this led the author to investigate what they were.  A number of useful photos of Canadian military motorcycles in service during the Second World War can be found on the Library and Archives Canada website, and a few of them are included here.

Canadian military motorcycles have been in use with various elements of the Canadian Forces since at least 1908.  For specific and detailed information on the subject of the Canadian use of military motorcycles, the author highly recommends the 2010 book put together by author Clive M. Law.  He has compiled an impressive history on the subject with the title "Military Motorcycles in Canada", Service Publications, Box 33071, Ottawa, Ontario.  Clive recently passed away, but his son is keeping his stories alive, through his website at www.servicepub.com.

(Author Photo)

Harley-Davidson Type WLC motorcycle, Canadian War Museum.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3613093)

Matchless G3L 1942 motorcycle.  Frederick later he rode Matchless motorcycles.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3392467)

Norton motorcycle,  RCAF Station Rockcliffe, Ontario, 7 Dec 1942.

(Author Photo)

Norton 16H motorcycle, Canadian War Museum.

(Author Photo)

Post-war Triumph motorcycle, 532176, on display in the New Brunswick Military History Museum (NBMHM), 5 Canadian Division Support Base (5 CDSB) Gagetown, New Brunswick.

(Author Photo)

Triumph TRW motorcycle, Canadian War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

In the fall of 1944, Frederick was at Rouen, France with No. 4 Provost Company riding Norton and Triumph motorcycles.

While Frederick was directing traffic in the battles North of Caen in France, he lost his motorcycle to shell fire.  He was then attached to the No. 3 Provost Company with the 3rd Canadian Division, which wore a red diamond patch on their uniforms.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4164905)

Canadian armour and infantry observing the aerial bombing of German positions from a forming up point (FUP) in preparation for continued heavy fighting through Normandy on the Caen-Falaise Road, France, 8 Aug 1944.

Frederick was in the vicinity of the unfortunate Allied bombing of the Polish Armoured forces serving under the Canadian Corps when they suffered tremendous casualties.  He counted more than 200 ambulances on one of the roads he was traffic controlling, and on at least one occasion had to use his pistol to order an officer’s staff car off the road to make way for the ambulances.  His supervisor, Sergeant-Major Ray Chambers took note and approved.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3396244)

German Second World War 8.8-cm FlaK 37 AA Gun captured near near Bayeux, France, 26 Aug 1944, being examined by Canadian soldiers.

On 14 November 1944 a shell hit close enough to Frederick to destroy his motorcycle and blow him up over the cab of an oncoming truck near Nijmegen in the Netherlands.  He bounced off the hood of the cab on the truck and landed in a water-filled ditch on the other side.  The German 8.8-cm shell fragments took a chunk out of his right arm and pieces went through the calf of his left leg, leaving his legs black and blue for months.  He was sent to the Casualty Clearing Post at Cenocky sur Mer, and then to the 6th Brigade General Hospital in Antwerp for five weeks to convalesce about the time of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 through to March 1945.

Following his recovery he was sent to No. 4 Provost Company with the 3rd Division in Antwerp, which wore a light blue rectangle patch on their shoulders, and then to No. 13 Provost Company with II Corps, with the dark blue diamond patch.  He was on traffic control duty and served as the Company Dispatch Driver in a Willys Jeep, moving up to Apeldoorn in the Netherlands and then across the border into Germany.  He passed through Goch and on to Bad Zwishenheim over the next three to four weeks, where he was serving when the war ended on 8 May 1945.  He then volunteered for duty in the Pacific War with Japan.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3941707)

Things to do when the war ended... Canadians visit two famous old Danish castles, Fredriksborg and Kronborg.  The two C Pro C members on the left and one on the right possibly serving with the Perth Regiment took plenty of pictures while visiting the castle. Shown here with their cameras are: L/Cpl Arthur Heard of St. Marys, Ontario; L/Cpl John Wallis, D'arcy, Saskatchewan; Tpr Lorne Vanelta, Abbotsford, British Columbia. Note the fine architecture in the backgound, 20 Nov 1945.

(DND Photo, AFP Post war)

AFP, West Germany, ca 1955/

C Pro C post war

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4235508)

C Pro C directing traffic at Camp Gagetown, ca 1965.

The business of Canadian Military Policemen and women serving overseas continued long after the end of the Second World War.  This author had the privilege of serving with 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group, which included 4 MP Platoon, in Lahr, Germany.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4822883)

4 MP Pl Cpl Tex Long directing traffic in a small town in NE Germany during Ex Certain Wacht, 20 Jan 1977.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4822876)

4 CMBG MP Platoon, Cpl Long, MP directing traffic, Ex Certain Wacht, NE Germany, 20 Jan 1977.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4822899)

Fallex 78, 4 MP Pl Cpl Gariepy watches an attack of the 1 R22er during Ex Blaue Donau held north of Donauworth, Germany, Sep 1978.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4822898)

4 CMBG MP Platoon, Cpl Lefebvre, Flotzheim, Germany, Ex Blue Donau, Sep 1978.

‍

RCAF Women's Division (WD) Service Police (SP)

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3582225)

RCAF WD SP course No. 1, 2 July 1942.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3583291)

RCAF Women's Division (WD) Service Police (SP), 29 May 1944.

Canadian Military Police during the Cold War

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3585183)

RCAF Police Equipment, 21 June 1955.

 (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 3585182)

RCAF Air Force Police, 21 June 1955.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4453891)

Provost Marshall's Conference, Jan 1961.

Back Row standing, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Front Row seated, 1, 2. LCol J. Dowsett, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. LCol R.I. Luker, 9, 10.

(LCol J. Dowsett and LCol R.I. Luker served as the Colonel Commandants at the Canadian Forces School of Intelligence and Security (CFSIS).

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4118623)

MP on duty at NORAD HQ, CFB North Bay, Ontario, 1968.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4118624)

MP on duty at NORAD entrance to underground facilities, CFB North Bay, Ontario, 1968.

(CMP Virtual Museum Photo)

Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Police sailor, Second World War.

In the days of sail, ship's discipline was the responsibility of the Boatswain's Mate, and later, the Ship's Corporal or the Master At Arms. He and his assistants, nicknamed "Crushers" brought defaulters to justice and supervised punishments. In the late 1800s the British Royal Navy created a permanent Naval Police establishment manned by Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers. Between 1910 and 1920, Canadian Naval Police were appointed on board major RCN ships such as Niobe and Rainbow.

Throughout much of the Second World War the Royal Canadian Navy did not have a single police branch as did the Army and Air Force. Policing on shore was carried out under a number of organizations such as the Naval Permanent Patrol, Naval Shore Patrol Service, Naval Provost Marshals Corps and the Shore Patrol. The physical security of dockyards and installations was the responsibility of the RCMP and later, Special Constables of the Canadian Corps Of Commissionaires.

On board ship, discipline and policing duties were generally the responsibility of the Master-At-Arms (MAA), or in the absence of a MAA, a Regulating Petty Officer (RPO). The Master At Arms, known as "Jaunty" was an appointment held by a Chief Petty Officer, who acted under the direction of the First Lieutenant. If men were required for Shore Patrol duty, "volunteers" were selected, Shore Patrol was a duty that was generally despised.

About 1944 a Naval Shore Patrol was established, with a proper rank and promotional system. This was disbanded after the war, to be reintroduced in 1952 with the establishment of a permanent Naval Provost Marshal department.

The Regulating Branch was the basis of disciplinary and preventive policing on board ships in the Royal Canadian Navy. In addition to discipline, Regulators were responsible for issuing stores, general administration, and mail. In each of the two major Royal Canadian Navy Commands, Halifax on the East Coast and Esquimalt on the West Coast, a permanent full time patrol force was organised. These were staffed by members of the Boatswain Trade under the authority of a Naval Provost Marshal on the Flag Officer's staff. If the situation dictated, additional patrolmen might be levied from ships in port. RCN ships in foreign ports contributed volunteers for Shore Patrols, these included men from the Regulating Branch as well as other trades.

(Accession No. 1997.28.615)

Upon Unification, members of the Boatswain Trade, some Regulators and other Officers and Ratings responsible for discipline and policing became part of the Canadian Forces Security Branch.  (Canadian Military Police Virtual Museum)

Present day badge of the Military Police.

‍