On the 23rd of May, 1873, the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was formed to maintain order in the new North West Territories following the transfer of lands from the Hudson’s Bay Company to Canada with the purpose of “the preservation of peace and the prevention of crime”. In 1920, they were superseded by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with the amalgamation of the Royal North-West Mounted Police and the Dominion Police into the new organization. Today, May 23rd, 2023, was the 150th Anniversary of the NWMP which is now our RCMP. To that end, a small ceremony was held at the RCMP National Memorial Cemetery, part of Beechwood Cemetery, to commemorate the event. To see all the pictures, CLICK HERE.
Normally a vigil is held around the RCMP Cenotaph starting at 0600 hrs until 1100 hrs with four serving or retired members standing vigil in half-hour shifts at cardinal points around the monument. After that, a memorial service would have been held. This year, however, the vigil part was omitted and just the small memorial ceremony was held with 12 RCMP veterans, a piper, bugler, singer, and two members to stand vigil during the ceremony. I don’t know why the vigil was omitted this year but suffice it to say that there will be a large ceremony on the 28th, complete with horses, members, and bands so maybe this was kept small for that reason.
Five wreaths were laid to honour the fallen on behalf of RCMP Veterans, Veterans Affairs Canada, the Government of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Beechwood National Cemetery of Canada. 
Ending the ceremony was a special presentation to Michel Pelletier, an RCMP veteran, by Mr. Nicolas McCarthy of Beechwood Cemetery, for Mr. Pelletier’s continued service and efforts on behalf of the RCMP National Memorial Cemetery and Beechwood Cemetery.
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