Kenneth Perkin

Divisions Served: “A,” “O,” “HQ”

Pillar Location: This Nameplate has not yet been mounted onto the Pillars, but will be on display in the Centre in the interim.

Story: 

The Pleasures of being a Police Officer

After finishing High School I applied for, and was accepted, as a Police Cadet in the Staffordshire County Police, England, serving for two years, 1954-56.  During this period I was presented with a Chief Constable’s Commendation (CCC) for locating and identifying a youth who was later convicted of a crime for Grievous Bodily Harm.  On presentation I was informed that I was the first Cadet ever to receive this honour.

I followed this by serving as a Police Constable in the same Force, for two years, 1956-58, during which I was awarded a second (CCC) for singularly arresting two airmen I caught committing a midnight break and enter crime.

I migrated to Canada 1958 and applied to join the RCMP.

1959: Joined the RCMP, ‘N’ Division.  During Training – rode escort for H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and the Israeli Ambassador.

Transferred to ‘A’ Div.

1962:  Transferred to Security & Intelligence. (S&I).

1965:  Transferred to Lisbon, Portugal, as Visa Control Officer (VCO).  Learned Portuguese.

1966:  Transferred to Madrid, Spain, to open the Visa Control Office.  Learned Spanish.

 1967 Became VCO to both Spain and Portugal.

1968: Promoted to Corporal.

1970:  Transferred to Visa Control Office, London, England.  Whilst here I took the opportunity to see the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London and accepted an invitation to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip attending.

1971:  Transferred to ‘O’ Division (S&I).

1973:  Temporary duty as translator in Panama and Honduras for the VCO Kingston, Jamaica.

1973/4:  Temporary duty as VCO in Santiago, Chile, following the military coup of 11 Sep 1973.

1974:  Transferred to Buenos Aires, Argentina, as VCO, arriving on the day of death of dictator Juan Peron. His wife took power and one had to accept the ensuing political violence on the streets, bombings, shootings, lack of commodities and foods. A state of emergency was declared 6^th November until the military coup d’etat in 1976 and a state of siege and martial law were implemented.  In Buenos Aires I was also VCO for, and travelled to, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay.

1975:  Met and translated for RCMP Commissioner Maurice Nadon in Bogata, Columbia, and  accompanied him to Lima, Peru, to Santiago, Chile and to Buenos Aires where he attended an Interpol meeting.  Promoted to Sergeant and to S/Sgt ten days later.  In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, met the UK ‘Great Train Robber’ fugitive – Ronnie Biggs.  British police  were already aware of his locale.  In Asuncion, Paraguay, I met a survivor of the Jewish Death Camps of WWll.  She had seen Josef Mengele, the Nazi also known as the Angel of Death, identifying him as he entered her shop and, on seeing her tattoo, he immediately left her store.  He had fled to South America after the defeat of Hitler in 1945.

1977: Transferred to Beirut, Lebanon, as Liaison Officer, covering and travelling to Bahrain, Egypt,  Iran, Iraq (no travel), Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Turkey  and the United Arab Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Quwain.  Learned Arabic.  During my posting in Beirut, following the war there, one had to accept the daily shootings and dangers in and around the city;  watching rockets and tracer bullets fired from Muslim areas into the Christian areas; 10 years old boys ‘guarding’ the Palestine Liberation Organization house with rifles;  deciding which route to take to safely cross ‘the green line’ which separated the Christian east-side of the city from the Muslim west-side;  sleeping on the floor to avoid bullets fired indiscriminately at buildings; undescribable piles of rubbish swarming with huge rats day and night.  On one occasion I was able to contact the local head of the PLO to request the Palestinians stop shelling a Lebanese Army base as our Ambassador, and two other Ambassadors, at the golf club were caught in the crossfire.  It stopped.  In Muscat, Oman, I had an interesting experience with our Director, Supt. George Fleming, being flown, by my contacts in their helicopter, to a meeting they were having under a palm tree in a wadi with area officials who arrived on camels with their briefcases.

1979:  I was able, very lightly, to assist John Sheardown, (the Canadian Immigration Officer in Teheran), in covering his hiding of the US Embassy personnel who had escaped the Iranian seizure of their embassy.  On their departure from Tehran we had the pleasure of hosting John and Zena in Beirut on their way back to Canada.

1980:  My wife and I took the opportunity and pleasure of travelling back to Canada, flying via London to Washington, D.C., aboard the SST Concorde airliner.

1980:  Transferred to ‘HQ’ Foreign Service Directorate – responsible for and visited, on duty, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

1982:  Transferred to Lisbon covering Spain and Yugoslavia with temp. duties in Austria and Italy.  During this assignment one of the highlights of my career was at the Interpol Conference held in Torremolinos, Spain, where I again met so many of my former contacts from around the world renewing the bonds of friendship which are still held today.

1984:  Retired from RCMP at which time I had the highest total number of years of service outside Canada – 14 years, 10 months.

1984:  Joined CSIS Foreign Service.  A very interesting and fortunate career during which I developed deep interests in travel to other countries, their cultures, ways of life and new experiences;  history and ancient archeology.  Consequently my wife and I have, to 2020, visited 137 foreign countries to which some I was not permitted to travel to during my career.  We still maintain those friendships with people we met during my career, hosting them here in Canada and visiting them in their countries.