Robert James Cocks

Medals & Honours: Commissioner’s Certificate of Appreciation, Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers

Brick Location: Section 8

Story: 

Bob and Yvonne Cocks, Regina, SK
I was born 12 miles north of the American border. My hometown was Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, located 2 ½ miles from Manitoba. My father had a hardware store. The parents of two friends of mine had a farm south of town just north of the North Dakota border. It was commonly known that the NWMP had camped along the creek that ran through their property on the March West. As teenagers we walked along the banks of this creek many times when hunting. I never thought about it until later years but this was ground where French, MacLeod, Steele, Walsh and the other “Originals” touched foot. The significance of this extraordinary event – the March West – was close to home!

I retired in 1998 as a Civil Engineer with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Transportation. Wanting to keep active, I volunteered on the March West Re-enactment. The three years that I participated led to a whole new direction in my life. I met many RCMP Members along the route as well as many Veterans during this time. I joined the Friends of the RCMP Heritage Centre (then the RCMP Museum), became a member of the Board of Directors, and was invited to become a member of the Regina Division of the RCMP Veterans’ Association as an Associate Member. Through my involvement with the Vets and the Friends, Bob Smart, President of the Friends, presented me with the Governor General Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers at a Friends’ Annual General Meeting on March 21, 2018.

My wife, Yvonne was born in Hamilton, Victoria, Australia and came to Canada in 1969 as a nurse and midwife after working six months in Scotland. We were married in Australia in December 1971. Yvonne was invited to join the Regina Ladies Auxiliary to the RCMP Veterans’ Association. She greatly appreciated the kindness shown by these wonderful ladies during the course of several years, but withdrew because of ill health. The Ladies Auxiliary still keep in contact.

When relatives or friends are visiting from Australia, we are very proud to make the RCMP Heritage Centre one of the first places to visit. Our guests get a glimpse of both the history and the present day through exhibits and tours.

The Pillars of the Force Initiative will have a different meaning for different people. In a broad sense, it is a way, for Yvonne and me, to show our appreciation for what the Force represents; but what it really comes down to is a way to personally say “Thank you” for the enjoyment our involvement with the Vets and Friends has meant to us in retirement. Whether on formal occasions such as meeting Princess Anne on June 3, 2007 at the opening of the Princess Royal Walk, or on informal occasions such as meeting Vets at Chappy’s restaurant every Saturday morning for breakfast, this involvement has made retirement “fun”.  The “Pillars” offers us a means to say “Thanks” by having our names on a brick at, and in support of, this magnificent facility, the RCMP Heritage Centre. Once word spreads, there are no doubt many other ordinary citizens such as us that will want to express their support as well.

Our connection with the RCMP through the Friends and the RCMP Veterans’ Association opened a whole new world for us. We are thankful to be allowed to be part of this RCMP community. There isn’t a finer group of people. We have made many life-long friends.

We are proud to be able to show our support for the “Pillars Project” and the Force in general by having our names on a brick on the Princess Royal Walk.