Stuart Wood
Encyclopedia
Stuart Taylor Wood, CMG
(October 17, 1889 – January 4, 1966) served as the ninth Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
, from March 6, 1938 to April 30, 1951.
, served in the North-West Mounted Police from 1885 to 1915 and was Acting Commissioner of the Force.
Wood attended the Royal Military College of Canada
in Kingston, Ontario
where he graduated in 1912. Shortly after he secured a commission in the RNW Mounted Police.
Wood himself served in World War I
as a lieutenant in the cavalry in France
and Belgium
. He served in the Yukon upon returning to Canada in 1919 as Justice of the Peace, Coroner, Sheriff, Game Inspector and Customs Officer.
Band, (later disbanded by Commissioner Inkster in 1994). He established the first RCMP scientific laboratory and museum in Regina, Saskatchewan
.
Wood also established a horse breeding station at Fort Walsh. He improved wireless communication and broadcasting and instituted a preventive policing program for youth. He negotiated provincial policing contracts for Newfoundland
and British Columbia
. Under his leadership the RCMP force grew gradually and scientific methods of crime detection improved enhancing law enforcement and crime prevention. Wood retired from the RCMP in 1951 and died in 1966. He was buried in Regina, Saskatchewan
.
, which was a Government of Canada
top secret
plan to identify and detain communist
sympathizers during the height of the Cold War
.
In October 2010, a joint CBC/Radio-Canada investigation revealed that information gathered under PROFUNC have most probably been used during the 1970 October Crisis
, when Canada invoked the War Measures Act
and suspended civil liberties in Canada.
. Zachary's third daughter, Anne, married Robert C. Wood, a U.S. Regular Army surgeon, who served the Union during the Civil War, though their two sons served the Confederacy. One of their sons, John Taylor Wood
, had been an officer in the U.S. Navy, but with the outbreak of the Civil War resigned, later joining the Confederate Marine Corps, and later served as an office in the famed ironclad Virginia/Merrimac during her encounter with the USS Monitor. He afterwards became a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army. After the war John Taylor Wood relocated to Canada.
Wood's two sons, Constable
s John Taylor Wood
and Herschel Taylor Wood, also served on the Force. His son Herschel was killed on duty in 1950. Both Herschel and his father are buried in the RCMP Depot in Regina. Wood's son John retired from the RCMP as Superintendent in 1988.
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(October 17, 1889 – January 4, 1966) served as the ninth Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Commissioner is the highest rank of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police , and of its predecessor agencies, the North-West Mounted Police and the Royal Northwest Mounted Police . The Commissioner reports directly to the Minister of Public Safety.The Commissioner of RCMP is the Principal Commander of...
, from March 6, 1938 to April 30, 1951.
Early life and career
Born in Napanee, Ontario, Wood's father, Zachary Taylor WoodZachary Taylor Wood
Zachary Taylor Wood, CMG was acting Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police and Commissioner of the Yukon Territory of Canada.-Early life:Born in Annapolis Naval Academy in 1860, where his father John Taylor Wood was stationed...
, served in the North-West Mounted Police from 1885 to 1915 and was Acting Commissioner of the Force.
Wood attended the Royal Military College of Canada
Royal Military College of Canada
The Royal Military College of Canada, RMC, or RMCC , is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, and is a degree-granting university. RMC was established in 1876. RMC is the only federal institution in Canada with degree granting powers...
in Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
where he graduated in 1912. Shortly after he secured a commission in the RNW Mounted Police.
Wood himself served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a lieutenant in the cavalry in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. He served in the Yukon upon returning to Canada in 1919 as Justice of the Peace, Coroner, Sheriff, Game Inspector and Customs Officer.
Reforms
When Wood became an Acting Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioner he initiated many changes. Through 1945 and 1946 he established a system of registration for aliens, and dealt with espionage cases. In the North, he recruited new policing detachments. He organized a permanent Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
Band, (later disbanded by Commissioner Inkster in 1994). He established the first RCMP scientific laboratory and museum in Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
.
Wood also established a horse breeding station at Fort Walsh. He improved wireless communication and broadcasting and instituted a preventive policing program for youth. He negotiated provincial policing contracts for Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Under his leadership the RCMP force grew gradually and scientific methods of crime detection improved enhancing law enforcement and crime prevention. Wood retired from the RCMP in 1951 and died in 1966. He was buried in Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
.
PROFUNC
In the 1950s Wood was responsible for compiling a "blacklist" called PROFUNCPROFUNC
PROFUNC , which stands for "PROminent FUNCtionaries of the communist party", was a Government of Canada top secret plan to identify and intern Canadian communists and crypto-communists during the height of the Cold War.-History:...
, which was a Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
top secret
Classified information
Classified information is sensitive information to which access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of persons. A formal security clearance is required to handle classified documents or access classified data. The clearance process requires a satisfactory background investigation...
plan to identify and detain communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
sympathizers during the height of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
In October 2010, a joint CBC/Radio-Canada investigation revealed that information gathered under PROFUNC have most probably been used during the 1970 October Crisis
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
, when Canada invoked the War Measures Act
War Measures Act
The War Measures Act was a Canadian statute that allowed the government to assume sweeping emergency powers in the event of "war, invasion or insurrection, real or apprehended"...
and suspended civil liberties in Canada.
Personal life
Wood was the great-great grandson of U.S. President Zachary TaylorZachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...
. Zachary's third daughter, Anne, married Robert C. Wood, a U.S. Regular Army surgeon, who served the Union during the Civil War, though their two sons served the Confederacy. One of their sons, John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood was an officer in the United States Navy who became a "leading Confederate naval hero" as a captain in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, had been an officer in the U.S. Navy, but with the outbreak of the Civil War resigned, later joining the Confederate Marine Corps, and later served as an office in the famed ironclad Virginia/Merrimac during her encounter with the USS Monitor. He afterwards became a lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army. After the war John Taylor Wood relocated to Canada.
Wood's two sons, Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
s John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood
John Taylor Wood was an officer in the United States Navy who became a "leading Confederate naval hero" as a captain in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
and Herschel Taylor Wood, also served on the Force. His son Herschel was killed on duty in 1950. Both Herschel and his father are buried in the RCMP Depot in Regina. Wood's son John retired from the RCMP as Superintendent in 1988.