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COMMISSIONER TW. 8. PARSONS RETIRES

Veteran Police Head Completes Thirty-five Years’ Service
in the British Columbia Provincial Police

WHEN HE RETIRED on pen-_ serving with the. lst City of Lon- In the latter year he packed his
sion on the Ist of October, British don Artillery in 1899-1900, and belongings and sailed for South
Columbia lost—in the person of with the 1st Bedfordshires from Africa, where he entered the fa-
Commissioner T. W. S. Parsons, 1900 to 1904. mous South African Constabulary.
O.B.E.—one of its pioneer police
officers and one who was very
largely instrumental in the stream-
lining of the Force and its re-
organization along virtually mili-
tary lines.

In his 35 years in the Provincial
Police, the tall, deeply bronzed com-
missioner with the guardsman-like
bearing came, to know the whole
yast territory of British Columbia
like the back of his hand.

Small wonder that he did, for he
has travelled over and around it by
almost every means of transporta-
tion—afoot or on horseback, by
dog team and on snowshoes, by car
and train, steamer and small Police
Launch, and, latterly, by air.

He knew the Northern Interior
of the province when there was
scarcely any white settlement, and
no white women at all; when out-
breaks of lawlessness called for the
single-handed exercise of courage,
determination and tact, with no
superior authority to turn to for
assistance.

VeLpt EXPERIENCE

In his work then, young Parsons
benefited from earlier police ex-
perience, but the frozen northland
was a far cry from the hot African
veldt where he had gained that ex-
perience maintaining law and order
among 30,000 black men.

From his early youth, Commis-
sioner Parsons has lived a life of
adventure. He was born at Old
Charlton, England; educated at pri-
vate schools in Hertfordshire, then
articled to a firm of architects and
estate agents—much too dull an
occupation for a lad of his propen-
sities. In the volunteer movement : ™
of that day he found an outlet, Commissioner T. W. S. Parsons, O.B.E.

EIGHTEENTH EDITION Page Five