![[Photo M3-169]](M3-169.jpg)
Courtesy of Hazel Montague
Written on the back - right (McMahon). Left. Syd (Monty) on the Bayrupert. July 15. 1926. Monty's hometown was Montreal so a goodbye by family and friends on board ship would have been likely.
In "North to Adventure", Monty's partner for the Port Burwell assignment was Corporal Henry George Nichols, "Big Nick" (p.40). Hazel never met Nick but she did get Port Burwell notes from him in the yearly exchange of letters. How does McMahon fit in? Was he headed for a different assignment? He is not mentioned in "North to Adventure". There are a couple of tall Mounties in later Burwell pictures about whom we will speculate.
In "North to Adventure" (p.38) Monty tells about going to training in Ottawa. Hazel has several pictures of that time at the training center called "Rockcliffe". Just near the end of the training period he was given a few days leave to go to Montreal to say good-bye to his family. "In mid-July, and after the last member of the draft had returned to Ottawa from his farewell leave, we were aboard the special train bound for Montreal and the [S.S. Bay Rupert].., a Hudson's Bay Company ship which had just been completed and was now on her maiden voyage. (p.39) (See Bay Rupert note).
So there were "other members of the draft". McMahon may be one of these. He is the only other visible Mountie in these pictures, although Monty says that Sgt. Nichols, his Port Burwell partner, was also on board (p.40). Could the men of M20 also be the "other members of the draft"