Murray Grant Carpenter

Divisions Served: “B,” “F”

Medals & Honours: Long Service Medal with Clasp and 2 Stars, 125th Anniversary Confederation of Canada Medal, Diamond Jubilee Medal, Crossed Pistols and Rifles for Marksmanship

Pillar Location: Pillar IX, Row 35, Column A

Story: 

Murray Grant Carpenter, Regimental #19323, was born in Oakville, NB on February 28, 1938. He enrolled in the RCMP at the Fredericton detachment, J-Division in 1956 at the age of 18, departing shortly thereafter by train to undergo training at “Depot” Division. While attending “Depot” and undergoing equestrian training, Murray was to have an incident that would for evermore affect his relationship with horses. During a mounted exercise performing consecutive jumps with Nero, his horse with whom he had some difficulty, Murray fell off and broke his nose. Unmoved by this, the training staff yelled “Carpenter who the hell told you to dismount? Get back on that horse and ride ‘til I tell you to dismount.” Murray obligingly got back on his mount and completed the exercise with a bloody and broken nose until he was ordered to dismount.

After completing Depot, Murray was stationed in B-Division at detachments in St. John’s, Harbor Breton, Harbor Grace, Gander, Nain, Stephenville, and Corner Brook. It was while in Gander that Murray had occasion to meet Johnny Cash and Yuri Gagarin for whom he was an escort. But it was in Harbor Breton where Murray’s life was to change when he met a young teacher named Ada Strickland. The two married in 1961 soon welcoming their first born, Lianne and following a short posting to Nain, their second child Maureen. In Nain Murray would go on patrol for weeks at a time via dog team, snow mobile, and coastal patrol boat. Following Nain, Murray was stationed in Stephenville where the Carpenter clan grew by two more – Michael and Jeffrey.

In 1971, Murray was transferred to F-Division in Yorkton, SK where he was later promoted to Corporal. Transferred to Regina in 1977, Murray was promoted to Sergeant and assumed the newly created position of Crime Prevention Coordinator. A skilled networker and communicator, Murray strengthened and developed this position through workshops, and an enhanced community presence. It was while in Regina, that Murray, amongst many others, was involved with the security detail for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s visit as well as the Rick Hanson Man in Motion tour. In 1988, Murray was stationed to Carnduff, SK, as the detachment commander, the position from which he retired in 1991.

Murray frequently took his children to the RCMP Museum at Depot. At every visit, Murray would stand looking at his nemesis Nero, now mounted in a glass display case, and cuss at him. Any time Nero’s name was mentioned, Murray would mutter ‘sonofabitch’ under his breath. Despite this long-lasting enmity towards one horse in particular, Murray did participate in the March West re-enactment where he rode in period uniform with other RCMP members for several days.

If there was one constant in Murray’s life, aside from uniformed service, it was his commitment to Scouts Canada and his high degree of community involvement; not at all surprising considering that as a young teenager Murray was a dedicated Boy Scout achieving the Queen’s Scout award. While in Nain, Murray was pivotal in forming an Inuit Scout troop. In Yorkton he was heavily involved with Scouts as a leader and then later as a District Commissioner. Murray attended two Scout Jamborees as sub-camp staff and one Jamboree as a Sub-Camp Chief. In addition to this, Murray also found time to be an active member of the Lions Club in Yorkton and the Optimist Club in McLean.

This dedication to community and others continued after Murray’s retirement when he was hired as the Secretary Manager of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #001 in Regina. Later, he would work at the Legion Dominion office for several years as a pension advocate followed by employment with the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires where Murray worked security at several sites, eventually becoming an instructor helping to train and develop new hires. Throughout this period he remained continuously active with the Legion in one form or another for 21 years. It was while volunteering with the Legion that he helped establish a Museum displaying military and RCMP memorabilia. The Legion Branch #001 Regina’s Library is named in his honour.

Murray Grant Carpenter was the recipient of the Canada 125 Medal, the Diamond Jubilee Medal, RCMP Long Service Medal with clasp and 2 stars, Saskatchewan Order of Merit Medal and the Commissionaires Long Service Medal. He also earned the crossed pistols and rifles for marksmanship while in the RCMP.