Sgt. William Perrin

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William Perrin was awarded the Red River Rebellion Medal (1870) and the North-West Rebellion Medal (Saskatchewan 1885). Born in Dublin, Ireland of Huguenot Irish lineage, Perrin was a British soldier in the 60th Kings Royal Rifle Corps. Sent to Canada in 1865 to help provide a garrison against American ambitions in British North America, the regiment was assigned to the 1870 Imperial Expeditionary Force under the command of Col. Garnet Wolseley. The "Wolseley Expedition" was dispatched by the John A. MacDonald government to Red River in order to restore the authority of the Crown in the face of the Provisional Government established by Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion, and to counter American expansionist sentiments in the U.S. northern border states.

Later, Perrin joined the North West Mounted Police where he served at Medicine Hat, Regina and Fort Walsh near Maple Creek. During his posting at Fort Walsh, Perrin was among the members of the force who dealt peacefully with the famous Sioux Chief Sitting Bull, in the years following the Battle of the Little Bighorn. In 1885, he served in the police action during the North-West Rebellion in Saskatchewan.

William Perrin retired from the force with the rank of Sergeant in 1899 and relocated to Winnipeg with his family. He was married to Sarah Lytle Perrin of Raphoe, Ireland and together they had four children, John (J. D. Perrin), Marshall, Helen and Kathleen.