George Arthur French

Who was George Arthur French?

Major-General Sir George Arthur French, KCMG served as the first Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, from October 18, 1873, to July 21, 1876.

George Arthur French was born at Roscommon, Ireland. He was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and commissioned in the Royal Artillery in 1860.

In 1871, at the request of the Canadian government, he was sent to Canada as a military inspector, eventually becoming head of the School of Gunnery at Kingston, Ontario.

French was appointed to organize the North-West Mounted Police on its creation in 1873, and the next year he led the force on its famous march to the foothills of the Rockies.

French resigned in 1876 and returned to duty in the British Army, eventually attaining the rank of major-general. The organizational skills developed in Canada were used to establish local defence forces in India and Australia. In September 1883 he was appointed Commandant of the Queensland Local Forces with the local rank of colonel, and arrived in the colony on January 4, 1884.