Eugene "Dean" Hadley: Author of "What A Life" The Transit of the R.C.M. St Roch Across the Northwest Passage, 1940-1942
Eugene “Dean” Hadley Was born and grew up in Western Canada, moving relatively frequently through a number of small towns. He Joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at the age of eighteen and volunteered for the (Arctic) Division as Radio Operator and Detachment Clerk aboard the R. C. M. Police Schooner “St. Roch. He was transferred to the “St. Roch” in April of 1940.
In July the “St. Roch” was loaded with supplies for Arctic Detachments and with eighteen months’ supplies proceeded North. At Dutch Harbor, sealed orders were opened directing the ship to deliver supplies to the Arctic Detachments and then proceed through the North-West Passage to the East Coast. Because of ice conditions the journey took three summers and two winters to complete. Each member of the eight man crew was awarded the Polar Medal (Arctic) by King George VI of England on his 1943 New Year’s honors list.
In 1992, on the fiftieth anniversary of the completion of the voyage, a bronze commemorative plaque was mounted in front of the R. C. M. Police Detachment at Cambridge Bay. A new film, containing parts of the older one was commissioned. That film, produced by Cine Nova, .was named “Mission North West Passage” explained how the patrol came to be and has appeared on the History Channel several times.
Listen to a historical perspective on his recollection of events, on a perilous mission through the Northwest Passage.
Earth Frenzy Radio Episode: March 31, 2010
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