TEATHER, R.G. ((Robert G. (Bob) Teather))
The Gallery
The Nameplates
Pillar Location: Pillar: 05 - V, Row:19, Column:D
Troop Number and Year: TR. 18 1967/68
Pillar Location: Pillar V - Sec V
Troop Number and Year: Tr. 18 1967/68
The Stories
Corporal Robert G. (Bob) Teather served with the RCMP for thirty years. His career began on the 14th of October 1967 when he left his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, was sworn in at “O” Division HQ in Toronto before heading west to Depot Division in Regina, for Basic Recruit Training. Upon graduation, in 1968, he was posted to “E” Division’s North Vancouver Detachment. There he worked general duty but began focusing on two areas of special interest which would affect his personal life, his professional life, while laying the foundational groundwork for an elite, specialized RCMP response capacity.
First, he met a young lady, Miss Susan Ashworth whom he would marry in May of 1971. Second, it had become apparent to Bob that the RCMP needed an underwater Dive Team. Underwater was a crime scene just the same as on land. He was a scuba diver from age 14 and decided to further his education in the scuba field. It took him several years to convince Ottawa of the need for a Dive Team on the west coast.
In 1974 Bob was transferred to Vancouver, promoted to Corporal, and given the resources needed to form a Dive Team. From a handful of divers using their own equipment and working on their days off, that initial “E” Division Dive Team was formally recognized in 1977. Bob Teather was the driving force and thanks to those early contributions, the RCMP now has a national, specialized unit known as Underwater Recovery Teams, on call, across Canada.
In 1980, Bob was transferred to Surrey Detachment. In the early morning hours of September 26th, 1981, the Dive Team (Corporals Tim Kain and Bob Teather) performed an underwater rescue and Bob became the first member of the RCMP to receive Canada's highest award for bravery: He was awarded The Cross of Valour on April 25th, 1983 & invested on June 24th 1983 for his actions as described by the Office of the Governor General:
On 26 September 1981, Cpl Robert Teather, a member of the Surrey Detachment Diving Team of the R.C.M.P., displayed conspicuous courage in rescuing two fishermen trapped in the overturned hull of a boat. In the dark hours of the morning the sixteen-metre Respond had collided with a freighter near the mouth of the Fraser River, in British Columbia and capsized with two crewmen stranded on board. Cpl Teather and a colleague arrived on the scene and an exploratory dive proved that only one could enter the hull at a time. Though inexperienced in this type of rescue, yet aware that the boat was sinking and that qualified help was miles away, Cpl Teather determined to go. Knowing that he had no back-up, unsure of the two seamen, he entered the companionway. With visibility inside limited to a few centimetres, he made his way into the engine-room. In an air pocket already fouled by diesel fumes he found the two men, one of them a non-swimmer and very frightened. After calming the latter and instructing him in the use of underwater breathing equipment, Cpl Teather took him on his back. Half-way to safety, the seaman panicked and knocked his rescuer's mask off in the struggle, but Cpl Teather managed to force the victim to the surface where the other diver took over. Cpl Teather then returned to the engine-room and repeated the process with the other survivor. Had Cpl Teather not undertaken this exhausting and perilous rescue, the two fishermen would almost certainly have drowned or succumbed to asphyxiation.
Not mentioned in the official text, but something that sheds a bit of light on “Cpl Teather the person”: There was a dog aboard the sinking, fishing boat! After bringing the two men to the surface, Bob wanted to go back down to rescue the dog. However, Senior officials overruled, stating the dog's life is not worth his own, as Bob could have been trapped in the vessel. The next day when the ship was towed ashore, that four-legged seadog had somehow managed to stay alive and came out of the ship, much to the delight of Bob and all present. Bob’s partner Reg # 26483, Cpl. Tim Kain received the Medal of Bravery.
Shortly after that significant event, Bob was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and much to his regret, he had to give up scuba diving. He was subsequently transferred back to Vancouver and continued making contributions, not only to the “diving world” but also on a broader scale. He did so up to and into retirement. He traversed Canada and the United States, lecturing and sharing his experiences with police officers, doctors, firefighters, and others, on diving techniques, underwater crime scene photography, ice diving procedures etc. He authored a book, “The Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations”. The International Association of Dive Rescue Specialists established an award to recognize individuals who make remarkable contributions to the safety of public safety divers and named it the ROBERT G. TEATHER AWARD. He also wrote other books about his life in the RCMP and his experiences on night shift, day shift and in training, titled “Scarlet Tunic, “Scarlet Tunic Volume 2”, and “Mountie Makers”.
During his service Bob also served as a shift supervisor, Hostage Taker-Barricaded Person Negotiator, and was an active participant with the RCMP Employee Assistance Program. And it was perhaps in this latter role that Bob-the-Man truly stands out. A member who knew him well, Reg. # 35868, S/Sgt Douglas F. Gambicourt, M.O.M Rtd, first met Bob in 1980 when he was transferred to Surrey. Two years later, in 1982, a young Constable Gambicourt was certified as an open water scuba diver and joined URT in 1983. He remained with URT for 33 years, becoming the Division URT Coordinator, following in his Mentor’s (Bob’s) footsteps. Doug knew and personally experienced Bob as being: “a compassionate and caring individual. His humor unique.”
In 2002, 11 years after Bob’s heroic recovery, Doug’s team was tasked with an eerily similar capsizing of a fishing vessel in the same area of the Fraser River. This incident took the lives of all 7 onboard. As the primary diver Doug went down into the vessel to search for a missing child. He recalls: “Conditions at the time were not even close to the bad conditions Bob faced and he only had air on his back, whilst I was on surfaced supplied air. I had never experienced fear like this, entering an overturned boat with a multitude of entrapments & entanglements. I did locate a young child…. I struggled with my emotions all night and the next day my first call was to Bob. He provided words of comfort and compassion that I so desperately needed. On another occasion while in the hospital for two weeks with a personal illness, Bob came to visit almost everyday despite my encouragement to take care of his own health.”
On Remembrance Day, November 11th 2004, Bob was checked into the Surrey Memorial Hospital and passed away four days later at the age of 57, on the 15th day of November 2004, after a long battle with diabetes.
In the words of S/Sgt Gambicourt, M.O.M: “If not for Bob’s determination and commitment to the Public Safety Diving Field, our RCMP Underwater Recovery Team would not enjoy the recognition it has today. But he does disagree with a quote from one of Bob’s lectures: “There are no heroes in this business”. Not true Bob! you are our Hero”.
In 2013 the Dept of Fisheries & Oceans launched their third Canadian Coast Guard HERO CLASS Patrol Vessel & christened her: CCGS CORPORAL TEATHER C.V.
CORPORAL ROBERT G. TEATHER: A PILLAR OF THE FORCE.
Divisions Served: E Division (BC)
Medals and Honours: Cross of Valour, Queen’s Jubilee Medal, Commissioner’s Commendation, RCMP Long Service Medal & clasp
Pillar Location: Pillar V - Sec V
Regimental Number: 26112
Training Division: Depot
Troop Number and Year: Tr. 18 1967/68
Home Town: Hamilton, Ontario
Engagement Date: Jan 08, 1947
Regimental Number: #26112
Troop Number and Year: TR. 18 1967/68