Yukon who is who

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George Pearkes (1888 - 1984)
	
George Pearkes was born in Hertfordshire, England to parents Louise and George Pearkes. He and his brother immigrated to Alberta in 1906 and settled near Red Deer.((“George Pearkes.” //Wikipedia,// 2020 website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pearkes)) George joined the Royal North-West Mounted Police in 1911 and served for five years, stationed in Whitehorse and as an assistant to the immigration officer at the summit of the White Pass in the summer of 1914. In January 1915, he escorted a prisoner to Dawson on the Overland stage and soon after received his discharge from the police.((Michael Gates, "Two Yukoners were awarded the Victoria Cross." //Yukon News// (Whitehorse), 1 May 2015.))  
	
Pearkes enlisted to serve in the First World War in 1915. He joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force 2nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles. In September 1916, he transferred to the 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles. He was an acting major during the Battle of Passchendaele. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions while wounded in the thigh and facing many difficulties. His reports were invaluable in holding the position he and his men captured. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel during the war and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Military Cross.((“George Pearkes.” //Wikipedia,// 2020 website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pearkes))

Ater the war Pearkes was appointed to Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and was stationed as a staff officer in Winnipeg and Calgary during the 1920s and 1930s. During the Second World War, Pearkes was in command of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. In November 1941, he took temporary command of the expanding Canadian Corps. In August, he returned to Canada and became General Officer Commanding in Chief Pacific Command and oversaw defences on Canada’s West Coast. In 1944, he was instrumental in suppressing the Terrace Mutiny when it was announced that conscripts would be deployed overseas. Pearkes was critical of the decision and, when it was clear that Canada was not deploying troops in the Pacific, he retired.((“George Pearkes.” //Wikipedia,// 2020 website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Pearkes))
	
Pearkes entered federal politics as a Progressive Conservative in 1945 and was elected four times to the House of Commons (1945, 1953, 1957 and 1958). Pearkes served as Minister of National Defence in Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s Cabinet from 1957 until 1960. In 1961, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, a position he held until 1968. He died in Victoria, British Columbia.((“National Defence and the Canadian Forces.” http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/gal/vcg-gcv/bio/pearkes-gr-eng.asp))