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"hr RBA 12 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, August 10, 1999 "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" S WAS POINTED out in last month's article, James MacBrien was born in Prince Albert in 1878. Upon graduation from Port Perry High School in 1896. He obtained his first 4 as a bank clerk at the Western Bank in Port Perry. This is now the eastern- most section of Brock's store on Queen Street. The manager of the bank at that time was H. G. Hutcheson. He remained at the bank for a year and then, seeking adventure and travel, he signed up to join the North West Mounted Police. The Boer War broke out in South Africa in October 1899. MacBrien, returned to Ontario and joined the '34th Ontario Regiment in Oshawa so that he could be assigned to the African conflict. Along with other members of the regiment he became a member of the South African Constabulary and served there until the conclusion of the Boer War and returned to Canada in 1906. His accomplishments in that conflict had earned him sufficient merit to become an officer in the Royal Canadian Dragoons. He was awarded a trip to Australia for further officer training. ~Atthe conclusion of his courses, he attended Staff College in England 'and was promoted to Captain. - During his brief stay in Canada prior to his training in Australia, he took time to return to Port Perry and marry his childhood sweetheart, Nellie Louise Ross, daughter of Aaron Ross, grain merchant and owner of the grain eleva- tor at the waterfront in Port Perry. Ross also had owned the store next door to the Western Bank where MacBrien had worked as a young man. Nellie had worked in her father's store. In that location she would no doubt have caught an occasional glance of the young man working next door who Major General Sir James H. MacBrien. would later become her husband. At the outbreak of World War in 1914, MacBrien was promoted to the rank of major and attached to the British War office and went to France with the First Canadian Contingent. During that horrible conflict, his experience, determination and courage earned him numerous awards including the D. S. O. and bar (Distinguished Service Order), C. M. G.(Commander of the Order of St Michael and St. George), C. B. (Commander of the Bath), The Legion of Honour and the D. S. C. (Distinguished Service Cross) Along with these awards his rise through the ranks was unprecedented PLS RE The Western Bank where MacBrien was first employed. Beside it is the Ross Store where Ross's daughter worked. She later married MacBrien. The stores are now part of and spectacular. In October 1916 he was promoted to General in charge of the 4th Division of the Canadian Regiment. In January 1918 he became a brigadier. MacBrien returned to Canada in 1920, and at the age of 42, became the youngest ever Chief of General Staff. He was the youngest to hold that office among all the nations who had partici- pated in the 1914 - 1918 conflict. His chief responsibility at this time was to re-organize the reduction of all divisions of the armed forces to a peace time level. In this he clashed publicly with the chief of Naval Staff, Rear- Admiral Walter Hose. MacBrien played a leading role in the creation of the Ministry of National Defence which came into being in January 1923. An indication of MacBrien's energy, dedication and desire to fully under- stand the changing nature of the mili- tary was to be seen in 1926 when at the age of 48 he enrolled in the pilot's course at Camp Borden and became a fully qualified military pilot. Later, his daughter Julia became one of Canada's first women aviators. Unfortunately his life was not without tragedy. His wife Nellie died in 1921. He later married Emily Harbridge of New York. After much conflict and bickering between MacBrien and the government of Mackenzie King, MacBrien resigned in 1927 and returned to Port Perry. Nevertheless, even to this day, Major General MacBrien's command is the longest in the history of the office of Chief of General Staff. In 1930, Arthur Meighen's conser- vatives defeated Mackenzie Kings Liberals and they approached MacBrien to become the head of the R.C.M.P. He immediately accepted and took on the responsibility with enthusiasm. His major role at that time was to amalgamate the separate divisions of the police in the five western provinces. Another duty was to expand the R.C.M.P. to include coastal patrol duties in its mandate. This was at a time when rum-runners and others were active during prohibition. This division which MacBrien organised later became the Canadian Coast Guard. Another of his accomplishments was to oversee the mechanisation of the R.C.M.P. and by 1936 he had introduced 500 motorized vehicles into the force and reduced the saddle horses from over 1,000 to 226. A further indication of MacBrien's dedication to his post became obvious in 1935, when, in a three week period he flew over 11,000 miles in order to visit every single R.C.M.P. station between Hudson Bay and Herschel Island in the Beaufort Sea near the Alaskan border. The Canadian government, recog- nizing MacBrien's accomplishments, put forward his name for a knighthood. In June 1935, he was knighted by King George V on the occasion of the monar- ch's 70th birthday. During his notable career, he never forgot his roots and frequently came R.M.C. in Kingston. After his The extraordinary career of Port Perry born and raised, James MacBrien home to Port Perry, some times privately to visit his relatives and sometimes to attend public gatherings. One such event was the dedication of the new Memorial Library in May 1935. On this occasion he flew in directly from Ottawa by sea plane and landed on Lake Scugog. Also at that ceremony was an old Port Perry High School friend of his, Dr. HA. Bruce, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Ontario. MacBrien's brother, Captain William A. H. MacBrien, was Bruce's aide de camp. Dr. Bruce had served as Inspector- General of the Canadian Medical Corps in 1916 and in that capacity had fre- quently worked with MacBrien. Dr Bruce paid glowing tribute to Major General James MacBrien's accomplishments. The two were given an honour guard from the MacBrien's old regiment, the 34th, and the regi- mental band serenaded the audience. MacBrien's death came unexpectedly only three years later on March 10,1938, while he was still in office as Commissioner of the R.C.M.P. To honour him, an immense and majestic funeral took place in Toronto. His flag-draped coffin, mounted on a . horse drawn gun carriage made its way ' to St Paul's Church on Bloor Street and then to Union Station where, in the 4 great hall of the building, a farewell ceremony took place before his remains were transported to Ottawa for a mili- tary burial. At Union Station, thousands stood silently as a bugler sounded the Last Post and Reveille and then military bands accompanied a mass choir which sang "Rock of Ages." At the time of his death, MacBrien's son William was an officer in the R.C.AF., and sons James and Michael were cadets at release from the R.C.AF.in 1945, son James prac- ticed law briefly in Port Perry. The accom- plishments of the MacBrien family are attainments in which Scugog Township resi- dents can take pride as part of their heritage. James H. MacBrien's energy, leadership and achievement are inspirational models for all Canadians. James MacBrien, son of Maj. General James A. MacBrien The MacBrien family plot will be included in a Cemetery Walk at the Pine Grove Cemetery in Prince Albert on Sunday, Sept. 19. The walk is organized by the Lake Scugog Historical Society with. Paul Arculus as tour guide. - IF YOU HAVE ANY OLD PHOTOGRAPHS OF PORT PERRY AND AREA YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE - GIVE PETER A CALL AT 905-985-7383