Charles Edward Rivett-Carnac (August 31, 1901 – July 18, 1980) was a

Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police The commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police () is the professional head of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). The commissioner exercises control and management of the RCMP under the direction of the minister of public safety. The ...

Biography

Early life

A descendant of Sir James Rivett-Carnac, Rivett-Carnac, was born in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, Sussex,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and soon after his birth, was taken by his father to

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in India. He lived there until he returned to England at the age of six and spent his early childhood living with an aunt and uncle. He attended St Cyprian's School and when he was 14 went on to

Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational independent school in the British public school tradition, for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, in the town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England. The College's headmaster is Tom Lawson. Over ...

as a boarder. A year later he was moved again to live with a different aunt in London, where he went to a local grammar school. Rivett-Carnac did not enjoy school, and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

loaned money off a friend to learn to drive so that he could join the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

as an ambulance driver. At the age of 16, he joined the French Ambulance Corps and served on the front line.

India

After the war, he joined his father, who was Deputy Inspector General of the Indian Imperial Police in India. Here Rivett-Carnac was in charge of the Assam Sawmills and Timber Company forest operations for the

Tezpur Tezpur () is a city and urban agglomeration in Sonitpur district, Assam state, India. Tezpur is located on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, northeast of Guwahati, and is the largest of the north bank cities with a population exceeding 100, ...

area of India. Working in the elephant camps of the jungle took its toll on Rivett-Carnac, and he began to suffer from

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. He soon left the jungle and worked as an assistant manager for the Bisra Stone Lime Company. A few months later, due to his poor health he was sent to work at the head office in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

where medical facilities were more readily available.

Canada

In 1923 he emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

with only thirty-five dollars in his pocket and joined the "Mounties" on July 25. He spent many years working in the North of Canada, and he steadily rose through the ranks to become the 11th Commissioner of the force, a post he held from April 1, 1959 to March 31, 1960. In 1945 while Rivett-Carnac was in charge of Intelligence at headquarters, he was heavily involved in the famous

Igor Gouzenko Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko (russian: Игорь Сергеевич Гузенко ; January 26, 1919 – June 25, 1982) was a cipher clerk for the Soviet embassy to Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, and a lieutenant of the GRU (Main Intelligence Direct ...

case. He was also Vice-President of

INTERPOL The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

Publications

*''Pursuit in the Wilderness'' (1967).

References

* 1901 births 1980 deaths Royal Canadian Mounted Police commissioners People from Eastbourne People educated at St Cyprian's School British emigrants to Canada Charles {{law-enforcement-bio-stub