Vet of the Month - January 2009
The following story is a memorial to two deceased members; Reg. # 4152 Cst. Joseph Russell and Reg. #869 & 0.145 Inspector Murray Henry Edward Hayne. These two members are buried side by side at Cape Fullerton, Nunavut at the site of the original RCMP detachment.
The story was brought to light by Corporal Keith Derksen of RCMP 'HQ' and his friend Cpl. Pete Garvey who is presently the NCO i/c Chesterfield Inlet Detachment, Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut. Background to this story has also been researched by Vet. Jack White of Kamloops, BC.
Jack records that on July 5, 1905, Cst. Joseph Russell asked Reg.#4173 Cst. Andrew Stothert to go canoeing at Cape Fullerton. The two members set out paddling among ice floes when, for some reason, Cst. Russell stood up, throwing both members into the frigid water.
Cst. Russell and Cst. Stothert were poor swimmers, but they began kicking to shore using paddles for buoyancy. Some native boys on shore saw Cst. Russell sink, however, Cst. Stothert made it safely to shore.
The body of Cst. Russell was found 3 hours later by Reg. #869 S/Sgt. M. E. H. Hayne who was in charge of Fullerton Detachment, Hudson Bay. S/Sgt. Hayne later became an Inspector.
The story of Inspector Hayne begins this way. On June 1, 1895, S/Sgt Hayne was among the first members of a small troop led by Reg. #79 Supt. Charles Constantine to the Yukon. The group patrolled from Regina, SK to Seattle and then via the steamer "Excelsior" to Juneau, Alaska arriving on June 26, 1895.
On July 1, 1895 the group departed Fort Cudahy with guides and seven packs of 800 pounds of supplies. By November, they established Fort Constantine by erecting 9 buildings, including one 75 feet (22 meters) in length.
In 1899, S/Sgt Hayne authored a book entitled "Pioneers of the Klondyke". A year later, he found himself in the midst of the South African War and he was taken prisoner by the Boers.
Over the years, S/Sgt Hayne served in the following Divisions: 'F', 'Depot','K','E','K','M' and the South African War. When he returned to Canada, he was posted again to 'F' Div. and finally north to 'G' Division.
Inspector Hayne died on April 18, 1906. Sadly, he received his Commission to Inspector on August 1, 1906 -- which was 106 days after his death. He did not know that he had been promoted to Inspector as 'HQ' was unaware of his death due to the lack of communication.
Cst. Russell and Inspector Hayne are the only two members buried at Cape Fullerton, Nunavut.
Corporal Keith Derksen and Cpl. Pete Garvey collaborated on the photographs for this story which they kindly sent to me. Cpl. Derksen says:
"Here are a few photos taken by Cpl. Pete Garvey of Chesterfield Inlet. The photos were taken in the summer of 2008 at Cape Fullerton, Nunavut which was the original location of the RCMP Detachment. Cape Fullerton Detachment was opened in 1903 and closed in 1922 when the RCMP moved it to Chesterfield Inlet. One photo is of the original Cape Fullerton Detachment.
There are also some photos of the graves of our two members -- Cst. Russell and Inspector Hayne. As you can see, one of the grave stones had been broken, but the year before several other members were able to replace it with a new one.
The man standing in the middle of the two stones is the local priest from Chesterfield Inlet. We have a GPS location on the graves should you ever want them also."
Corporal Pete Garvey adds: " Joe, I was made aware of your website through Cpl. Derksen of Ottawa. I was told that Cpl. Derksen has provided you a copy of the photos of the grave site of Cst. J. Russell and Inspector M.H.E. Hayne.
The headstone of M.H.E. Hayne has his rank identified incorrectly, it shows his rank as S/Sgt but it should actually be Inspector. I will attempt to have this corrected this summer of 2009. I have the GPS location of the site as well."
I sincerely thank and acknowledge each member who helped with this story and memorial -- Vet Jack White, Cpl. Keith Derksen and Cpl. Pete Garvey. Thank you.
Buffalo Joe Healy
Reg. # 23685