Northern Service

Steven R. Hewitt is an assistant professor of history at the University
of Saskatchewan.

This mildly entertaining book traces the career of Mounted Policeman
Stan Byer, who joined the force in 1940 and for 15 years served in
northern Manitoba and the Arctic. Written by Byer’s son, Doug, the
book consists largely of anecdotes. We learn about Byer’s attempts to
get into the military, his rounding up of escaped German prisoners of
war, his trip on the famous RCMP ship the St. Roch, his meeting with
Prince Philip, and his encounters with drunks and knife-wielding
assailants. Unfortunately, the anecdotes are generally unsupported by
detail or depth. The reader is left with no clear sense of the
day-to-day realities of policing.