b. 20/03/1947 Hamilton, Ontario. d. 15/11/2004 Surrey Memorial Hospital, British Columbia.
DATE OF CV ACTION: 26/09/1981 Fraser River, British Columbia.
Robert G Teather CV
He joined the Force in September 1967. While in the Force, he served in General Duty (North Vancouver Detachment and Surrey Detachment) as well as on the “E” Division Protective Security Unit and the ‘E’ Division Dive Team.
Bob was a trained Hostage Taker-Barricaded Person Negotiator and a Diving Instructor. It was through his persistence and dedication that the ‘E’ Division Dive Team was formally recognized in April 1977.
For his efforts, Cpl. Teather was awarded the Cross of Valour on the 25th of April 1983 by the Governor General of Canada.The Cross of Valour is the highest ranking of the Canadian Bravery Decorations and the only other higher bravery award is the Victoria Cross. Currently, there have been only 20 recipients of the Cross of Valour. Cpl. Robert Teather was the 13th recipient of this Medal and the first RCMP member to receive it.
Sadly, on the 15th of November 2004, Cpl. Robert Teather passed away at the Surrey Memorial Hospital of natural causes after a battle with diabetes.
CV CITATION:
On 26 September 1981, Cpl Robert Teather, a member of the Surrey Detachment Diving Team of the R.C.M.P., displayed conspicuous courage in rescuing two fishermen trapped in the overturned hull of a boat. In the dark hours of the morning the sixteen-metre Respond had collided with a freighter near the mouth of the Fraser River, in British Columbia and capsized with two crewmen stranded on board. Cpl Teather and a colleague arrived on the scene and an exploratory dive proved that only one could enter the hull at a time. Though inexperienced in this type of rescue, yet aware that the boat was sinking and that qualified help was miles away, Cpl Teather determined to go. Knowing that he had no back-up, unsure of the two seamen, he entered the companionway. With visibility inside limited to a few centimetres, he made his way into the engine-room. In an air pocket already fouled by diesel fumes he found the two men, one of them a non-swimmer and very frightened. After calming the latter and instructing him in the use of underwater breathing equipment, Cpl Teather took him on his back. Half-way to safety, the seaman panicked and knocked his rescuer’s mask off in the struggle, but Cpl Teather managed to force the victim to the surface where the other diver took over. Cpl Teather then returned to the engine-room and repeated the process with the other survivor. Had Cpl Teather not undertaken this exhausting and perilous rescue, the two fishermen would almost certainly have drowned or succumbed to asphyxiation.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN, BRITISH COLUMBIA.