Vet of the Month: November, 2009
NWMP, Reg.#1683, Cst. Charles J. Lennox
NWMP, Reg.#1683, Cst. Charles J. Lennox
November is the month of the dead. Soldiers are immersed with death and veterans try to forget how close they came to meeting it. Loneliness is another ending of life because it can drive one to death's door.
In part one of our story, an old NWMP Vet joins the Force in November. His career ends in November. He disappeared and was found dead in an isolated cabin some years later.Part two contains a series of photos of unmarked graves -- deceased members of the Force and others who
died alone.
PART ONE
To begin, the exact date of NWMP Cst. Charles J. Lennox's birth is not known. But, we do know that he joined the NWMP on November 2, 1885 and that he served for about five years. After his short police service in 'K' and 'F' Div., he purchased his discharge on November 1, 1890. Little is known about his life afterwards excepting that he wanted to be alone.
Years later, his body was found. It appeared that he had lived
alone in an old wilderness cabin when he died unexpectedly on March 1, 1896. 
RIP
The Lennox gravesite location is on crown land leased today by Mr. Roy Scammell, Friend of the Force. To be more precice, his property is 5 miles south and 1.5 miles west of Cadogan, Alberta. Mr. Scammell has lived in the area since 1955 and he has leased the land where Cst. Lennox is buried for decades.
According to Mr. Scammell, the Lennox grave was once marked by a long-necked beer bottle turned upside down and pushed into the ground. He also believes that there was once a wooden cross on Cst. Lennox's grave. In 1981, a medal fence guard was erected by the Spences Historical Site Society to prevent damage to the grave by roaming livestock.
Mr. Scammel
recalled that years ago he found squared off pieces of
lumber near the Lennox grave. He thought the discovery of the lumber was
consistent with the existence of the old Lennox cabin. The cabin is also referred
to in a local Alberta History Book titled "A Treasury of Memories".
The specific excerpt is entitled, "A Cabin And A Grave'.: The excerpt states "...in 1891 NWMP records stated that regular patrols went out as far as Sounding Lake...". The Sounding Lake route was used by the NWMP for travel between Fort MacLeod and Battleford. There is little reason to doubt that other travellers used this preferred route across the plains as well. Wandering Indians, trappers and others probably passed through. One person at least must have chosen this area as a place to live, for in 1896, an Indian hunting at Sounding Lake discovered a cabin about seven miles north-west of the Lake. Nearby was a grave.
An investigation by Sergeant Mills revealed a carefully prepared grave on a ridge about 75 feet from the cabin. The headstone indicated that Charles Lennox, an ex-member of the NWMP was buried there. A note in the cabin said that a man, Adsik, had arrived at the Lake in October and left for Medicine Hat on April 10. Lennox had died March 1."
Access to the Lennox grave site is through private property. The landowner and Lessee, Mr. Roy Scammell can definitely be deemed a 'Friend of the Force.
by:
Insp. David A. Guy (Ret'd)
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
David A. Guy
Guy & Associates Ltd.
P.O. Box 360
Edgerton, Alberta
T0B 1K0
Bus: (780) 755-2502
Fax: (780) 755-2503
Cell: (780) 806-3416
E-Mail: daguy@wy-com.ca
*We appeciate having access Vet Jack White's records, for he provided us with the dates which are noted in this story. Thank You.
PART TWO
Vets and our Friends sometimes must travel far afield to find the location of a deceased member's grave. There are times when valid identification cannot be given to these forgotten souls.
These are photos of the final resting places of the lonely dead.
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RIP
J. J. (Joe) Healy