(Better picture to come)George Bossange came to Canada from his native France in 1883. He was small of stature and worked hard to become a Mountie.
Following the North West Rebellion, he was in and out of the force a couple of times, including once when he returned to France to try his hand at farming, but always returned to the Mounted Police.
On June 21st, 1919, he left the home of a local farmer in the Spirit River area whom he had been interviewing. It was pouring rain. Both he and his horse were found dead later that night. It was obvious that the pair had been struck by lightning and died instantly.
Bossange was 56 years old at the time and is the second oldest officer killed in the line of duty. No one else in the history of the force had been killed by lighting, in spite of the fact that the Mounties had been patrolling the prairies on horseback since 1874.
It is interesting to note that the two oldest Mounties on the Honour Roll are both buried in Union Cemetery.