Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1875-1973, predominant 1921-1928 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
32.5 cm of textual records
34 photoprints : b&w ; 25 x 35 cm or smaller
1 negatives
2 audio cassettes
1 map
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
William Ettershank Buchanan, 1897-1974, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, came to Canada in 1912, and worked for the Edmonton Journal from 1913 to 1915. He joined the Royal North-West Mounted Police (RNWMP) in 1916 and was posted to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and Edmonton. He enlisted in the Canadian Field Artillery in 1918 and served in the UK. He joined the Alberta Provincial Police in 1919, and opened the first detachment at Smoky Lake, Alberta in 1920. He was a constable at Leduc from 1928-1933, and rejoined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) when the APP disbanded, serving in New Brunswick, Saskatoon and North Battleford. He also served in Calgary in 1935, around which time he was commissioned as a sub-inspector. He became an inspector in 1944. He retired to Calgary in 1951. He was dominion president of the RCMP Veterans Association in the early 1960s. He married Barbara Ellen Cromarty, 1898-ca. 1980, in 1921 and they had four children. Their son, William G., served as an RCMP superintendent in Winnipeg in the 1970s.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gift of William E. and William G. Buchanan, 1962-2008.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds consists of Smoky Lake detachment diaries (1921-1928), a recorded interview with William E. about his career (1973), a scrapbook regarding his police career (ca. 1910s-1950s), list of APP members (1932), and programs, invitations, newsclippings and certificates. Also consists of photographs of RNWMP, APP and RCMP personnel and veterans at Winnipeg, Calgary, Lac La Biche, Regina, Fort Pitt, Edmonton and Fort Macleod (1875-1973).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
The material is in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Digital content is available
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of records.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Archivist's note
June 2026 - photo extent updated. KK
Archivist's note
PC-98 not found during inventory (missing).