Duty Done

Duty Done: Memories of Fairmont BarracksEdited by Donna Morse and Ric HallPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Toby A. Welch$19.95 ISBN 9781988783802 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have a lengthy, distinguished legacy in our country’s history. They were established in 1873, just six years after Canada was created. This phenomenal book delves into a slice of that RCMP history.  In 1914, a building was erected in the Cambie Corridor in Vancouver, BC. It served as a private boys school and then a military hospital before the Mounties took up residence there in 1920; they renamed it Fairmont Barracks. I’d wager they had no idea at that time that members of the RCMP would call the place home for the next 93 years.  Duty Done was clearly a labour of love for dozens of people. Beyond the Vancouver division of the RCMP Veterans’ Association, the list of people who devoted time and energy to ensure this book came to fruition is impressive.  You’ll find 28 chapters in this book, although they are called memories instead of chapters. Each of the 28 sections is a story from someone with ties to the Fairmont Barracks. The stories they share are diverse but…