Wilfred S. Petkau

Medals and Honours: Long Service Medal, Government of Canada 35 Year Dedicated Service

Pillar Location: Pillar VI, Row 6, Column C

While attending high school in Rush Lake, Sask and having met a couple of RCMP members I decided this would be a good career for me.  I engaged into the Force in September 1954. All my training took place in Ottawa, which at that time included 6 months of riding horses.  After training, I was transferred to Edmonton and then Lethbridge, fall of 1955.  While in Lethbridge I met, Elaine Politeski, who became my wife in October 1957.  After our marriage, we were transferred to Burnaby, B.C.  I spent the remainder of my service in the Lower Mainland area, retiring from the Force on October 5, 1981, holding the rank of Staff Sergeant.

Of the 27 years in the Force, twenty of those years were spent working in plain clothes in the criminal investigation units, including 21/2 years with the Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit in Vancouver.  This unit was comprised of police officers from various different police units in the Vancouver area and was responsible for investigating mainly organized crime. When I retired in 1981 I was in charge of the General Investigation Section, Coquitlam Detachment.

After retirement my wife and I moved to Kelowna, B.C., where I took employment as an investigator with the Unemployment Insurance Commission, working for them from 1981 until the end of 1992. I have been totally retired since that time.

Highlight of my career was given the honour of presenting my grandson his badge when he graduated from the RCMP Academy in Regina on Nov 11, 2019