Military Police in WW1 in Québec

[Robert Bergeron]

I am not going to write a long essay.

All i am going to say is that during WW1 my grandfather's job was to escort draft dodgers and deserters from Sherbrooke Québec to the brig or military prison in Montréal .

All the travel was done by train and the prisonners were handcuffed to the policeman.

There is a similar scene in an american film with Jack Nicolson where two SP ( Shore Patrol or Military Police ) escort him to the Navy prison in Porthsmouth.

In WW1 draft dodgers were emprisoned and deserters were shot . My grandfather was 18 at the time but measured over 6'2'' and was around 230 lbs so he fit the bill.

He told me his stories when i was his plumber's apprentice in the 70's . That was his trade after the war until his death in 1979.

Fascinating. He did not like escorting fellows to the brig and / or to the gallows. 60 years after the fact it still bawdered him.

Any one else with similar family stories before they get lost to time?


Robert