William Parker

William Parker was born on August 15th in the year 1853. He was born to Reverend Henry Parker and Anne Parker. Throughout his whole life, Parker had been involved with the military and different Forces that were involved in notorious conflicts. He was one of the original 300 men that joined as a Sub-Constable in 1874 in London, Ontario. Parker also served within the Police Force for almost 39 years.

He served in many locations, some of which include Battleford, Fort MacLeod, Fort Saskatchewan, Shool Lake, Swan River, Winnipeg, Fort Qu’appelle and Medicine Hat. Parker may have been most notably at the signing of Treaty Six at Fort Carlton and Fort Pitt and later at the Treaty Seven signing at Blackfoot Crossing. These events in retrospect have put him at the location of possibly one of the most berating treaties to ever exist against the Indigenous people.

William Parker was in addition, also part of the Steele’s Scouts during the 1885 Northwest Rebellion that had faced against the Cree warriors. He was also at present at the Almighty Voice Incident as part of the 100-member crew sent out to find the Almighty Voice. Parker even took a leave of absence from his duty on the Police Force to join Strathcona’s Horse in the South African Boer War.

Parker was an early member of the Battleford Police Force, and as a result him, his brother Harry, and his other brother Julius played major role in the development of Battleford. His brothers were also major players in the community as Harry became a Sheriff at Battleford, and his brother Julius who was a Sub-Constable, later became a Revered under the name Dyke Parker.

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Throughout Parker’s life on the Force, and his involvement in many historical events, specifically those conflicts fought against the Indigenous, his feelings towards the Indigenous have always been clear. He had always thought negatively about them, and his feelings were made clear in his letters to his family.

As Parker had such an eventful and fascinating history, his later years in Medicine saw him become a very popular storyteller. He passed away on the 16th of May 1945 and is currently buried at the Hillside Cemetery at Medicine Hat, Alberta alongside his wife who only passed away 6 months after he did.