​​The 27th Brigade Provost Detachment was formed in Hanover, West Germany.  This unit would later be renamed No. 4 Provost Platoon in November 1958.  In 1968, the unit would undergo a 3rd name change – 4 MP Platoon and would remain in place until it was stood down in 1992 with the withdrawal of Canadian Forces from Europe.

​​The seven members of the Canadian Provost Corps shown in the above photograph are believed to have been serving in Germany in the Early fifties at the time the photo was taken.

The inaugural issue of "Thunderbird Journal" is published as an official periodical of the Security Branch.  The Thunderbird Journal would remain in print for nearly 16 years. 

You can catch up on back issues of Thunderbird Journal here on the CMPA website.

​10 Service Detention Barracks (SDB) moves to Edmonton from Calgary, while SDBs in Winnipeg and Esquimalt were closed.  A fourth, 14 SDB, remained open in Valcartier. 

10 SDB would later be disbanded and closed on 30 September 1968.  However, 14 SDB was eventually relocated to Edmonton, and on 1 August 1980, was renamed Canadian Forces Service Prison and Detention Barracks (CFSPDB).  It remains in service to this day. 

​Cpl Farquharson and Cpl Worsnup of MP QL3 course 7403 become the first two female members of the Security Branch, and thus the first female MPs since unification.

​The CMPA’s co-Director of History and Heritage, LCol (Ret’d) Paul Thobo-Carlsen, is researching the history of CAF Military Police working dog programs from 1972 to present (after the RCAF Police Sentry Dog Program ended*) and is seeking relevant information and photos from anyone with knowledge of any of these locally-run K9 programs.

​To date, twelve MP handlers and eleven working dogs are known to have operated in support of MP operations from 1987 to present. These include:

​A significant amount of information is known about the three most recent MP K9 teams operating from 2006 onward.  However, much less is know about the earlier MP teams and the security dog programs in Germany.  

​Former supervisors or co-workers of dog handlers, or anyone with knowledge of one or more of these earlier programs, is requested to contact the CMPA.  Of particular interest are details on how these teams came into being, trained, operated and were supported at the MP unit and base levels.  Other historically relevant information includes photos of handlers and dogs, unit-level documentation (e.g. K9 SOPs, commendation letters, etc), newspaper articles related to MP K9 programs, stories about cases that K9 teams worked on, and amusing anecdotes.

​Any and all assistance is greatly appreciated to help shed light on an area of MP Branch history that has not been yet be well covered.

NOTE:  ​The recently published book by LCol (Ret’d’) A.J. Murtagh and Maj (Ret’d) A.W. Kendall (The History of the RCAF Police Sentry Dog Program: 1963-1972. Burnstown ON: Burnstown Publishing House, 2017) does an excellent job of telling the story of Canada’s only formal and sustained military working dog program.  If you're interested in purchasing a copy of this book, you can do so by visiting www.rcaf-sentrydogs.ca/order.html (website is not associated with the CMPA).

​The CMPA is working with the National Air Force Museum of Canada, at 8 Wing/CFB Trenton ON, to create a new exhibit showcasing the role of RCAF Air Force Police and CAF Military Police in securing the nuclear weapons used by Canada’s air force during the Cold War.

​The exhibit project lead is Lieutenant-Colonel (Ret’d) Paul Thobo-Carlsen, CMPA Co-Director of History & Heritage.  The project technical advisors are Major (Ret’d) Wayne Kendall, CMPA Director of Membership (Veterans) and a former AFP sentry dog handler, and Lieutenant-Colonel (Ret’d) Andy Murtagh, who organized and implemented the Sentry Dog Program while serving as a staff officer at RCAF 1 Air Division Headquarters, Metz, France.

​The exhibit will be implemented in two phases:

​The National Air Force Museum of Canada has established a specific trust fund to collect the money necessary to create a professional looking exhibit.  The money collected in this trust fund will be used only to build and maintain the AFP/MP exhibit, and donors will be provided charitable donation receipts for tax purposes.

Donations to the trust fund may be made by cheque to the “National Air Force Museum of Canada.” Please ensure all cheques are clearly annotated with “Attn: Air Force Police Exhibit Trust Fund” to ensure they are appropriately directed.  Donation cheques should be mailed to:

  Executive Director
  National Air Force Museum of Canada
  220 RCAF Road
  Astra, ON
  K0K 3W0

Any former AFP or MP sentry dog handlers who wish to donate related artifacts in support of this exhibit should contact the CMPA (cmpa.apmc@gmail.com) with the details of all items for consideration.  Any artifacts subsequently accepted into the NAFMC collection will also be eligible for income tax receipts.

The Military Police Branch celebrates its 75th Anniversary.  While celebratory events are held at locations throughout Canada, the centre of gravity was in Ottawa, where numerous events, including a Casino Night, Golf Day, the return of Thunderbird Challenge, and a Gala Dinner at the Canadian War Museum were held throughout the week to celebrate this auspicious anniversary. 

The Security Branch flag was formally approved by the Chief of Defence Staff. 

​Peter and Marilyn Clark donate an original oil painting of Lieutenant Peter Seddon Oliver to the Canadian Forces Military Police Academy, Borden, ON, on August 2, 2017. 

Lieutenant Peter Oliver of the Canadian Provost Corps was killed on 19 August 1942 during the amphibious landing at Dieppe, France.  In honour of his sacrifice, the “Oliver Trophy” is awarded to the most outstanding MP QL3 candidate of every year.

​Canadian Forces Military Police Group (CF MP Gp) was established, with Captain (Navy) Steve Moore, Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM), assuming command.

The CF MP Gp was established to group Military Police units that did not otherwise belong to the environmental commands (Army, Navy and Air Force) or operational commands (Canada Command, Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, Canadian Operational Support Command, and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command). 

This new CF Formation comprised the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS), the Military Police Security Service (MPSS), the Canadian Forces Service Prison and Detention Barracks (CFSPDB), and Canadian Forces Military Police Academy (CFMPA).

​

​Canadian Forces Military Police Group (CF MP Gp) was established, with Captain (Navy) Steve Moore, Canadian Forces Provost Marshal (CFPM), assuming command.

The CF MP Gp was established to group Military Police units that did not otherwise belong to the environmental commands (Army, Navy and Air Force) or operational commands (Canada Command, Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, Canadian Operational Support Command, and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command). 

This new CF Formation comprised the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS), the Military Police Security Service (MPSS), the Canadian Forces Service Prison and Detention Barracks (CFSPDB), and Canadian Forces Military Police Academy (CFMPA).

​

WO Claude Gauthier, MMM CD, will be posthumously awarded the Quebec Medal of the National Assembly in recognition of his contribution during the Tehran hostage taking incident of 1979.  Canadian embassy staff, including MP security guards, were instrumental in the safe passage and repatriation of several American Embassy personnel.

​The medal will be presented to Claude’s widow, Murielle Moreau, on by members of the Quebec National Assembly at the Don Bosco Youth Leadership Centre in Montreal on 13 November 2017.  A delegation of Canadian UN veterans will take part. 

The Security Branch is re-dedicated by the Chief of Defence Staff as a separate and distinct organization within the Canadian Armed Forces. 

Prior to this date, Military Police and Intelligence shared the same Branch.

The first Canadian Provost Corps (C Pro C) training depot was formed in Aldershot, U.K. 

​Over a six-week period, transferees from other Canadian army corps were trained in motorcycle riding, military law, report writing, traffic control, map and compass, and police procedures.

​41 members of No. 2 Provost Company participate in a raid on Dieppe, France. 

18 Military Police were taken prisoner of war by German forces during the raid, and one, Lieutenant Peter Oliver, was killed in action on 19 August 1942.  ​In honour of his sacrifice, the “Oliver Trophy” is awarded to the most outstanding MP QL3 candidate of every year.

The MP Branch takes a massive step towards data automation as the first operational Security and Military Police Information System (SAMPIS) terminals begin rolling out to MP at CFSU (Ottawa), CFNIS, and CFPM HQ.  A training system is also deployed to CFMPA. 

​This initial deployment would last until September 2001.  SAMPIS would continue to roll out to all remaining MP units between September 2001 and July 2003.

A contingent from 4 MP Platoon (CFB Lahr, Germany) becomes the first Canadian MP team to participate in the annual Nijmegen March in the Netherlands.  This event, which was initiated in 1909, has seen Canadian involvement since 1952.  Canada sends teams every year to commemorate the liberation of the Netherlands by Allied Forces during WW II.

Corporal Eleanor Hodder is posted to Military Security Guard Unit (MSGU) London, England, making her the first female in MP Branch history to serve at an Embassy. 

The 3rd annual Thunderbird Challenge competition commenced at 17 Wing Winnipeg.  MP from all Air Command bases competed in several combat-themed events over the course of 4 days.

Thunderbird Challenge was an annual event that ran from 1993 - 1999 in Winnipeg.  Over the years, MP from across the Branch competed against each other in pistol, rifle, and physical fitness events.  Not only did this event demonstrate the capabilities of our members, it forged lasting bonds of camaraderie and esprit de corps.

Although Thunderbird Challenge came to an end in 1999, a special one-time only version of the competition was held in Ottawa in 2015 as part of the MP Branch's 75th Anniversary.

​“Once, there was a sea monster which greatly troubled the Nootka, for it would wait at the mouth of the river for children to swim when it would catch and eat them.  The Nootka did not know what to do for their children had to learn to swim if they were to catch Whale.  So they asked Thunderbird and he told them to make belts of the whale skin and put it on a brave child.  This child had then to swim out towards the sea monster and when he was swallowed, to shout “snake in belly” when the belt would kill the sea monster.  “For” said Thunderbird, “I have turned the magic of the double-headed serpent into the skin of the whale and it shall turn the poison against the sea monster”.  From that day on, the children of this child that slew the sea monster bore the crest of Thunderbird upon their canoes and his image shows where the shores are safe to the Nootka, to this day”.

(As published in The Thunderbird Journal, Winter 1984)

​“When the Sun has his longest trail to cover, then must we consider what we must do to prepare to put out to sea and hunt whale.  At these times do we rejoice as sons of Thunderbird, that we can come together and talk of these things and seek his counsel.  For he is wise and has hunted whale since before the world began and is able to kill the double-headed serpent who can turn canoes to stone so that they sink.  Then at the end of this counsel shall be a great Potlatch and a great giving of gifts and shall each chief give all his substance so that none invited are offended by a small gift.  For from the wisdom of Thunderbird, shall we go out on the great waters and bring back whale, whose skin shall be made into a belt and whose flesh shall make us rich and whose bone shall be our treasure”.

(As published in The Thunderbird Journal, Fall 1984)

​“The Mink is the son of the Sun and lives at Qalogwis.  He is foolish, amorous and full of curiosity.  He killed his friend Land Otter because he coveted his wife and Frog-Woman disliked him because he has a long face, small eyes and smells.  He is very greedy and fond of sea eggs.  He steals clams from the houses of the women by the shore and when they complain, he turns them into starfish.  Yes, Mink is greedy and covetous, but most of all he is foolish.  One day he thought he would carry the Sun in his father’s place.  So, arising early and before his father, he took the shining ball out to make the day, but he could not carry it and dropped it on the earth between Bella-Bella and Bella Coola where it set the forests on fire.  Then were all men and animals greatly afraid for they thought the whole world would burn.  They called out to Thunderbird who sent Tsona, his cousin.  He put on his magic garment and there was thunder, lightning and a great hailstorm which out the fire.  Even today, when the forests burn, Thunderbird will protect his people and spread his cloak and bring the rain.  For his cloak is the clouds, which bring the rain in season”.

(As published in The Thunderbird Journal, Spring 1984)

​“There once was a woman named Gauo who had four grandsons.  Each of these grandsons began one of the four great Tsimshian tribes that we know today and men have wondered why they should have done so and where they received their crests of the Thunderbird as Thunderbird-World-Shaker, Thunderbird-Whale-Killer, Thunderbird-at-End-of-World and Thunderbird-Spirit-Corner.  This came to pass when Gauo’s father could find no husband for her and he call all men and leaders of the animals about him.  One by one he asked the men to marry his daughter but they would not.  Then he went to more and more powerful animals, each of whom told him what they could do, but would not marry his daughter.  Finally, a stroke of lightning came down from heaven and Thunderbird appeared in the guise of the handsomest and strongest of men and he took Gauo with him to heaven and they had many children.  But Gauo wished her kind to return to earth so she besought Thunderbird who permitted four grand-sons to return and these are the forebears of the Tsimshian today”.

​(As published in The Thunderbird Journal, Winter 1983)