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Terrace Review — Wednesday, June 19,1991 B15

Thomas Parsons: Instrumental in streamlining provincial police:

operations.

Heritage Park archive photo

A letter received at city hall and
sent on to Heritage Park director
Mamie Kerby ignited not only a
spark but more like a flame of
curiosity, The lady who wrote the
letter asked for information about
Thomas Parsons, who lived in
Terrace in 1913.

It took a bit of digging locally
and at the provincial archives, but
it was well worth it. Terrace’s
first policeman has a rich history.

Thomas William Stamer Par-
sons was a pioneer police officer
and one who was largely instru-
mental in streamlining the police
force during his 35 years with the
provincial police. The tall, deeply
bronzed commissioner came to
know the whole vast territory of
B.C. Young Parsons benefited
from earlier police experience,
but the frozen northland was a far
cry from the hot African: veld,
where he had gained experience,
maintaining law and order among
30,000 black men.

From his early youth Commis-
sioner Parsons lived a life. of ad-

venture. He was born at Old
Charleton, England, educated at
private schools in Hertfordshire,
then articled to a firm as an
architect and a state agent, much
too dull an occupation for a lad
of his propensity. He served with
the 1st City of London Artillery
from 1899 to 1900 and with the
1st Bedfordshire from 1900 to
1904. In the latter year he packed
his belongings and sailed for
South Africa, where he entered
the famous South African consta-
bulary. He was to serve with the
South African police for the full
five years.

It was there that he got his first
hankéring to see Canada, and so
he came. Most of his time in
Canada was spent in the Cana-
dian division of the constabulary
under Canadian officers.

Ten days after his discharge in
1909 Mr. Parsons returned to
England, but after life on the
wide African veld and the vast —
countryside of Canada, the old
country offered no excitement,

AS THINGS ONCE WERE

Reports from Terrace’s Heritage Park

by Alie Toop

and he emigrated to Canada. For

a short time he tried his hand at

‘ranching in Black Fields, Alberta,

then continued west to B.C. On
March 23, 1912 he joined the
B.C. police force at Prince Rupert
as a special constable. His first
post was at Kitselas on the
Skeena River at a time when
there was plenty of work for the
law with construction of the
Grand Trunk Pacific railway. The
following year, 1913, he moved
to Terrace and in 1914 was trans-
ferred in-the rank of Chief Con-
stable to take charge of the newly
opened station at Fort St. John.
Police officers in the outposts
have to work entirely on their own,
make their own decisions and
reporting results to headquarters
after. In those days it took some-
times four months to receive a
reply. Mr. Parsons’ Peace River
beat was a huge one, embracing

- all of northern British Columbia

west of the Rocky Mountains. It
was all new territory with more
miles than people, no schools,
few white men and no white
women, the last outpost of the
west. He put in three years there,
adding to an already big store-
house of experience before being
transferred in the fall of 1917 as
Deputy Inspector for the central
interior, with headquarters in
Kamloops. In succession there-
after, he was in charge at Prince
George, the Districts of Omineca,
Peace River, Fort George and of
Prince Rupert, and of the whole
northern territory to Rivers Inlet.

In the latter appointment he had
jurisdiction over an area of
220,000 square miles, which he
claims to have walked around
religiously every week. Mr. Par-
sons remained at Prince Rupert
until 1924, when on re-organiz-
ation of the force, he was brought
to Victoria and placed in charge
of a division, comprising
Vancouver Island. In succeeding
years and as titles of appoint-
ments changed, he became Super- |
intendent, Assistant Commis-
sioner, Deputy Commissioner,
and in 1939 on retirement of

_ Colonel McMullen, Commission-

er. For many years, long before
he joined the police, there had
been talk of a uniform for the

Thomas Parsons served in Tetrace in 1913 as the area's first police constable during construction
of the Grand Trunk Railway. He is shown here by the newly built police station, a building still
standing at the corner of Kalum and Lakelse, now occupied by the offices of the Ksan House

Society.

Heritage Park archive photo

force. Mr. Parsons was given the
job of designing it. In 1924 a
uniform of definite style and
material was approved. That was
also the year of the big re-organ-
ization by Mr. Parsons in which
he systematized administrative
methods and instituted the divi-
sion district detachment plan,
which became standard through-
out the force. Out of this re-or-
ganization grew the present sys-
tem of policing municipalities
under contract. It was the first
experiment of its kind in Canada,
and because of its success, it was
copied south of the border by the
Connecticut State Police.

British Columbia pioneered in .
Canada too with the use of radio |
in police work.

Mr. Parsons, upon retirement
from the provincial police, took
up the post of administrator of
Queen Alexandra Solarium. He
had wide interests outside or
allied to his police work, He was
a member of the Boy Scouts’
Provincial Council, past president
of the Canadian Club of Victoria
and the Pacific Coast Interna-
tional Assn. of Law Enforcement
Officers. He was the executive
member for British Columbia of
the Chief Constables Assn. of
Canada. As inspector of jails, he
had much to do with the rehabili-
tation of delinquent youth.

In 1943 he received the OBE
from the King and was made a
serving Brother of the Order of
the Hospital of St. John of
Jerusalem. In 1946 he was made
an officer of the Order of St.
John. He brought to his new task
a fine executive ability and a
warm heart.

Mr. Parsons died in July, 1960.

Plans for Terrace’s first police
station were drawn up in 1911.
Weare very fortunate at Heritage
Park to have a copy of the orig- -
inal plans hanging in the hotel.
The station was one of nearly
100 provincial police buildings
built throughout the province, to
provide living quarters fora
constable and cells for wrong-
doers.

These buildings were built at a
cost of about $400 each. Ter-
race’s very first policeman was
Constable Thomas Parsons. The
year before he came to Terrace
he had been dispatched to Kit-
selas. While stationed in Kitselas
he often came to Terrace and
stayed in the Terrace Hotel. The
old original Terrace Hotel register
shows Thomas Parsons to have
been here on March 23 and 31,
on. April 9, 12, 17 and 23, on
June 16 and 26, on July 2 and
16, on August 1, 6 and 27, on
September 1, 10, 15 and 19, on
October 10, 17, 24, 27 and 31, on
Nov. 7, 14 and 28, on December
5, 12 and 29, 1912; January 12,
1913, February 6 and 16, and on
Sunday, March 2, and Thursday,
March 13. The last entry was
Wednesday, March 19, 1913. We
can assume from that, that he
started in Terrace in March,
1913.

Terrace was only established in
1912 with a small store, a few
dwellings, the Terrace Hotel and
a police station. We also know
that in 1912 Thomas Parsons was
the Best Man at the wedding of
Bill Noonan and Annie Lever.

Oldtimers still living today tell
us that Constable Parsons was a
very likeable man, with a good
sense of humour. People trusted
and respected him.

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