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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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