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Constable Richard MacKinley was a
policeman all his life. He first joined the force in Lieth, Scotland, at the age of
eighteen. He came to Canada in 1912, first to Ontario and then the following year he came
west. He was then a police officer in Port Coquitlam from 1913 to 1916. He was overseas
with the 47th Battalion until 1919 and was again Chief of Police at Port Coquitlam until
1926 when he left the force there to join the B.C. Provincial Police.
The next few years he served at Prince Rupert, Prince George, and McBride. Here he became
ill and spent twenty-two months at Tranquille. After his recovery, he rejoined the B.C.
Police and was stationed at Enderby until he retired in 1947.
MacKinley was a big, rough and tough man, who spoke with an accent. He was a well-liked
man and worked hard at his job. He did more than just patrol the town. He was involved in
fish and wildlife, deaths, births and marriages. He used to call it, "Hatch, match,
and dispatch". He was also an excellent marksman. He liked to hunt and fish and was a
member of the Masonic Lodge.
An interesting story that proves MacKinley as a good police officer goes as follows:
"One cold winter day MacKinley was routinely checking out houses to see if everyone
was all right, as part of his job. He went to one of his friends' house to see if they had
enough food to make it through the week. They said they did, but when MacKinley checked
the cupboards they were empty. In the morning MacKinley sent some food to the family and
they survived their hardships."
This story shows just how good of a man Constable MacKinley was.
Mr. MacKinley passed away at Shaughnessy Military Hospital in Vancouver on January first.
Kyle Wright
AlF School 1989