NWMP Service Files Online

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with their iconic red tunic, their legendary courage and perseverance, have been an integral part of Canadian popular culture for well over a century.

LAC have just put online the full surviving service file on each of the more than 4,000 men who served with the North West Mounted Police (NWMP), the RCMP's forerunner, between 1873 and 1904. Included you will find official forms, letters of recommendation for enlistment, personal correspondence, clippings and other information about the individual, sometimes long after he took his discharge from the Mounted Police. If one of these men was a relative you've found a gem to include in your family history, one any genealogist would treasure, a remarkable window on his life.

These are part of a major new LAC online exhibition, not yet publicized, Without Fear, Favour or Affection: The Men of the North West Mounted Police. To get a more rounded picture of life in the force have a look at the sections Signing Up," "On the Job," "Serving the Nation"