Last of the Royal Engineers
The life & times of Phillip Jackman, RE
Philip Jackman passed away at the age of 92 on October 27, 1927, in the Murchison home. He was the last known living Royal Engineer of the Columbia Detachment. The Columbia Detachment of the Royal Engineers (also known as Sappers), was a British military contingent that played a major role in the settlement, development, and security of the fledgling Colony of British Columbia. Sent at the request of Governor James Douglas to help maintain order during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, the detachment was created by an act of British Parliament on 2 August 1858 and commanded by Col. Richard Moody.
*Header Image: Last of the Royal Engineers (above) Twelve surviving Royal Engineers who found New Westminster; back row; McBride, Howay, Keary, H. Bruce, J. Cox, centre; G. Turner, A. Cummins, Haynes, Butler, Archer, front; Jackman, Bonson, Wolfenden, Argyle, seated W. Hall, Mrs. James Keary. 13 Oct 1909
*Courtesy of New Westminster Museum and Archive (IHP1592)
Philip Jackman (1835-1927) was born in Devon, and came to B.C. as one of the Royal Engineers in 1859. He stayed on in New Westminster after the corps was disbanded in 1863. After trying his luck in the Cariboo, he returned and built the road to False Creek on a private contract.
For nine years he was New Westminster's one-man police force. With his wife Sara Ann Lovegrove, he homesteaded on a quarter-section (160 acres) in Langley district, ran a store, surveyed for the railway, and was at one time reeve. He was also a fisheries officer for 14 years. It was he who named the town of Aldergrove where Jackman Road (272nd St.) intersects the Fraser Highway.
*Phillip Jackman - circa 1910 Jackman is pictured here with Grandchildren Courtesy of Switzer Family of Edson, Alberta
Last of the Royal Engineers
In 1927 Philip Jackman passed away
And with him passed a legacy that can still be felt today
Victoria was sovereign
Britannia ruled the waves
And the dreams of an empire
Were borne on the sapper's spade
Here's to the last of those fine, gallant men
And sad, of their likes we shall not see again
Raise up your glass for all those we hold deer
For we've seen the last of the Royal Engineers
A boyish man from Devonshire, he skipped across the brine
With the corp. of the Royal Engineers in 1859
True men of sense & purpose, new frontiers to explore
They built a British Colony on the North Pacific shore
Here's to the last of those fine, gallant men
And sad, of their likes we shall not see again
Raise up your glass for all those we hold deer
For we've seen the last of the Royal Engineers
He'd built the roads & highway
He'd dredged the channels through
Kept peace in New Westminster, worked the CP Survey Crew
Homesteaded quarter section where he raised a family too
He'd marked his place in history when he passed at ninety-two
Here's to the last of those fine, gallant men
Sad, of their likes we shall not see again
Raise up your glass to all those we hold deer
For we've seen the last of the Royal Engineers
For years he'd watched the shadows
As around, the men he'd known
Death touched their lips with silence
He'd draped them one by one
He would drink a toast in silence
"To the builders of the west..
Long life to the hearts still beating
And peace to the ones at rest"
Here's to the last of those fine, gallant men
And sad, of their likes we shall not see again
Raise up your glass to all those we hold deer
We've seen the last of the Royal Engineers
Words & Music by Bruce Coughlan (SOCAN)