Thomas Seller Wallace

Last updated
Thomas Sellar Wallace
Born1896
Banffshire, Scotland
Died8 October 1935 (age 39)
Banff, Alberta, Canada
Buried
Union Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Canada
Service/branch British Army
Alberta Provincial Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Years of service1914-1918 British Army
1921-1932 Alberta Provincial Police
1932-1935 Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Rank Serjeant (British Army)
Sergeant (RCMP)
Unit1/6 Battalion, Gordon Highlanders
Battles/wars World War I
Awards
Known forInvolvement in 1935 Royal Canadian Mounted Police Killings

Thomas Sellar Wallace, MM (1896 October 8, 1935) was a British-born Canadian police officer who was killed in the 1935 Royal Canadian Mounted Police Killings. On 8 October 1935, Wallace was shot in the chest by one of the fugitives in the incident on the outskirts of Banff, Alberta, succumbing to his wounds later that day. He had previously earned a distinguished service record in the British Army during World War I. He emigrated to Canada and joined the Alberta Provincial Police after the war in 1921, before it was amalgamated with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police by 1932 and had been a law enforcement officer in Alberta for 14 years before his death.

Contents

Early life and World War I

Wallace was born in Banffshire, Scotland and enlisted in the British Army prior to the First World War. Assigned to the 1/6 Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, he saw action in the initial campaigns of the war including the Battle of Mons as an "old contemptible" of the British Expeditionary Force. He was awarded a Military Medal for his distinguished service as a sniper and left the army as a Serjeant. [1]

Police career

After the First World War, Thomas emigrated to Canada and joined the Alberta Provincial Police in 1921. The force itself was relatively new after having been formed in 1917 to replace the paramilitary North-West Mounted Police which had just relinquished policing duties in Alberta. [2] He was posted across Alberta throughout his career with the APP was noted as an effective policeman winning the Byron Trophy for being the best shot with a revolver in the entire force.

The force was amalgamated with the RCMP in 1932 as a cost-cutting measure during the Great Depression. At the time of the amalgamation, Wallace was an APP Sergeant serving as a drill instructor stationed in Lethbridge. He was allowed retained his rank in the newly formed Alberta detachment of the RCMP after additional training in Regina. [3]

Death and funeral

On 7 October 1935, Wallace had been dispatched with fellow British born RCMP officer Constable George "Scotty" Harrison while in dressed in plain clothed. They were to assist with the capture of three fugitive Doukhobors identified as John Kalmakoff, Joseph Posnikoff, and Peter Woiken. They had been suspected of killing Constable William Wainwright of the Benito police force and RCMP Constable John Shaw. They joined with uniformed RCMP officers G.E Combes and Gray Campbell in an unmarked police vehicle.

On 8 October, the perpetrators had robbed a vehicle driven by C.T Scott. Scott had his money and wristwatch stolen by the disoriented fugitives. They bizarrely informed him that they would return his wristwatch if he did not inform the police and continued to follow his vehicle westward as it drove towards Banff. As the two vehicles arrived in Banff, Scott stopped his vehicle before an RCMP checkpoint near the eastern gate of Banff National Park and informed the uniformed Campbell that the men in the vehicle following him had just robbed him. [4]

As Wallace and Harrison approached the vehicle, two shots through the windshield were fired by its occupants, hitting both officers. The officers continued to engage the fugitives but had been mortally wounded. Harrison had been shot in the neck, and managed to shoot out the headlights of the vehicle before losing consciousness. Wallace fired his service revolver until he was low on ammunition and collapsed from his wounds. [5] Combes was able to shoot Woiken, killing him instantly while the remaining two perpetrators were tracked down by a combined force of RCMP officers and enraged civilians. Kalmakoff and Posnikoff were both and ultimately shot and morally wounded by civilian William Neish. [6]

Wallace was transported to Calgary for medical attention after the shooting where he died of his wounds, with his wife Helen at his side. His partner Harrison also died of his wounds on the same day. At the time of his death, Wallace had been a police officer for 14 years in Alberta. His long years of service were recognized in his massive funeral procession led by the Calgary Highlanders' Pipes and Drums band. He was buried with full masonic and military honours at Calgary's Union Cemetery. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Canadian Mounted Police</span> Federal police service

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also delivers police services under contract to 11 provinces and territories, over 150 municipalities, and 600 Indigenous communities. The RCMP is commonly known as the Mounties in English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wop May</span> Canadian flying ace (1896–1952)

Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May, was a Canadian flying ace in the First World War and a leading post-war aviator. He was the final Allied pilot to be pursued by Manfred von Richthofen before the German ace was shot down on the Western Front in 1918. After the war, May returned to Canada, pioneering the role of a bush pilot while working for Canadian Airways in Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonton Police Service</span> Municipal police force in Alberta, Canada

The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is the municipal police force for the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The current chief of the EPS is Dale McFee. McFee is the second highest paid police chief in Canada with an annual salary of $357,000 (2023), following Vancouver's police chief Adam Palmer, who in 2022 was paid $493,932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calgary Police Service</span> Municipal police service of Calgary, Canada

Calgary Police Service (CPS) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Montreal Police Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winnipeg Police Service</span> Canadian police force

The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in Canada</span> Overview of law enforcement in Canada

Law enforcement in Canada is the responsibility of police services, special constabularies, and civil law enforcement agencies, which are operated by every level of government, some private and Crown corporations, and First Nations. In contrast to the United States or Mexico, and with the exception of the Unité permanente anticorruption in Quebec and the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia, there are no organizations dedicated exclusively to the investigation of criminal activity in Canada. Criminal investigations are instead conducted by police services, which maintain specialized criminal investigation units in addition to their mandate for emergency response and general community safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Controversies surrounding the Royal Canadian Mounted Police</span> List of controversial events (1920 - present) that involve the RCMP

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has a history dating back to 1873 and has been involved in several high-profile controversies.

Darren Varley (1973–1999) was a man from Alberta, Canada who died after a scuffle with police in a jail cell in Alberta after he was arrested for drunkenness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Sheriffs Branch</span> Canadian law enforcement agency

The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is a provincial law enforcement agency overseen by the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services of the province of Alberta, Canada. Under the authority of the Peace Officer Act, Alberta Sheriffs are provincial peace officers with jurisdiction over the province of Alberta. The premier of Alberta has the authority to grant emergency police powers to all Alberta sheriffs during major emergencies within the province. The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is the largest sheriff service in Canada.

The Edmonton Institution is a maximum security federal institution located in the northeastern part of Edmonton, Alberta. It is operated by Correctional Service of Canada. It is part of the Prairie Regions institutions, the Regional Headquarters is located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alberta Provincial Police</span> Canadian police force from 1917–1932

The Alberta Provincial Police (APP) was the provincial police service for the province of Alberta, Canada, from 1917 to 1932. The APP was formed as a result of the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP) leaving the prairie provinces during the First World War due to a lack of sufficient resources in light of its increased responsibilities for national security and reluctance to again enforce Prohibition law recently put into effect by the Alberta government after its experience doing so during territorial times. The RNWMP was replaced by the newly created Alberta Provincial Police on March 1, 1917, which remained responsible for provincial policing until 1932, when it was eliminated as a cost-cutting measure during the Great Depression. The APP was known for its tumultuous beginning, battles against rum-runners and bootleggers during prohibition in Canada and the United States, as well as its remarkable efficiency and professionalism which endeared the force to Albertans.

The Mayerthorpe tragedy occurred on March 3, 2005, on the farm of James Roszko, approximately 11 km (6.8 mi) north of Rochfort Bridge near the town of Mayerthorpe in the Canadian province of Alberta.

The 1935 Royal Canadian Mounted Police Killings were a series of murders of three Royal Canadian Mounted Police and one local constable from 5–8 October 1935. They began with the murders of Benito Constable William Wainwright and RCMP Constable John Shaw near Pelly, Saskatchewan, by three Doukhobor men who had been in the custody of the officers. This led to a shootout which killed two additional RCMP officers in Banff, Alberta, and the death of perpetrator Joseph Posnikoff. The remaining two perpetrators were shot by Banff Park Game Warden William Neish, as they were pursued by a combined posse of RCMP officers and armed civilian volunteers.

The 2017 Edmonton attack was a stabbing and vehicle-ramming attack that occurred in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on September 30, 2017. Edmonton police constable Mike Chernyk was hit and stabbed by 30-year-old Abdulahi Sharif, who then struck four pedestrians with a rental truck during a police chase. Chernyk and all four injured pedestrians survived and were hospitalized. The incident was investigated as a possible Islamist terrorist attack, with police confirming the presence of an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant flag in the van that rammed the police officer. Sharif was convicted of eleven criminal charges including five counts of attempted murder, but was not charged with terrorism-related offenses.

The 1991 New Zealand bravery awards were announced via a Special Honours List dated 19 December 1991. Twelve of the 33 recipients were recognised for acts of bravery during the Aramoana Massacre on 13 November 1990.

The 2019 Northern British Columbia homicides were a spree killing that took place on the Alaska Highway and Stewart–Cassiar Highway in British Columbia, Canada, between July 14–19, 2019. Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky are believed to have killed Lucas Fowler and Chynna Deese, before killing Leonard Dyck within a six-day time frame.

The police in Canada's ranks differ according to the different police forces and depend on different laws at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels.

References

  1. "Medal card of Wallace, T S Corps: Gordon Highlanders Regiment No: 265178date =". UK National Archives. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  2. Johnsrude, Larry (18 June 2007). "Provincial police history saved". Edmonton Journal . Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
  3. Sucha, Don. "Sergeant Thomas Wallace". University of Calgary. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  4. "G.C. Harrison" (PDF). Edmonton RCMP Veterans. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  5. Taylor, Scott. "Winnipeg Police Service History - Murder on the Prairies". Winnipeg Police Service. Winnipeg Police Service History and Museum. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  6. "A story of interest from 1935 involving Banff Park Warden, Bill Neish". National Park Warden Alumni Society. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2015./
  7. "Sergeant T.S Wallace" (PDF). Edmonton RCMP Veterans. Retrieved 6 July 2015.