22 October 2007

North West Mounted Police Records

Complete files of about 4,500 men whose service with the North West Mounted Police
started between 1873 and 1904 will soon become available through the Library and Archives Canada website. That's a total of about 300,000 images. I'm told finishing touches are being put on an index with full name and proper archival reference information.

For those confused about Canada's various national police forces, according to Wikipedia, in 1920 the Royal North West Mounted Police (RNWMP, founded 1873) was merged with the Dominion Police (founded 1868) to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The former was originally named the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) and was given the "Royal" title in 1904. Much of the present-day organization's symbology has been inherited from its days as the NWMP, including the distinctive Red Serge uniform, paramilitary heritage, and mythos as a frontier force.

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