Local History Spotlight: The Gull Lake Kid Who Ended Up Guarding Churchill and Roosevelt

Most people who grew up picking rocks east of Gull Lake didn’t expect to one day stand guard over Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. But Gordon Johnston did.

Born in 1921 and raised on the Johnston dairy farm on the south edge of town, Gordon spent his childhood between school, chores, and long days helping his dad move horses and machinery out to the “East Place.” He graduated from Gull Lake School in 1941 with one goal he’d carried since junior high—joining the RCMP.

He made it in that fall. And from there, his life took turns no one in town could have predicted.

From Gull Lake to Wartime Ottawa

Barely out of training, Gordon was sent to Ottawa during one of the most significant wartime meetings in Canadian history. His assignment: security duty for Churchill, Roosevelt, and Mackenzie King.

Not bad for a farm kid from the School Quarter.

The Yukon Years

A short relief posting to Whitehorse turned into five years in the Yukon — years that shaped him as much as Gull Lake had.

He helped repair a rundown rink near the barracks, then ended up managing the Whitehorse Merchants, a team that drew crowds of up to 2,000 people. He also helped form a basketball league that included U.S. soldiers — some of them former Harlem Globetrotters.

But the North also tested him in ways few people ever experience.

During a historic cold snap at Snag, Yukon, the thermometer broke at -88°F, a temperature Gordon later described as “I think a world record.” In the middle of that cold, he was called from a hockey game to help search for two escaped prisoners near the Alaska Highway.

On another winter patrol, he and a partner were returning to Whitehorse when their patrol car failed in –66°F (–54°C) weather. His partner couldn’t continue. Gordon located a trapper’s cabin, built a fire, and waited until it was warm enough for his partner to survive. Then he set out alone.

He walked 25 miles through the night to Whitehorse to get help — and not a single vehicle passed him on the road.

He returned with an army vehicle, rescued his partner, and brought the patrol car back to Whitehorse. That long night finally ended safely. The escaped prisoners, meanwhile, were found later in Whitehorse—a separate end to the call that had first sent him out into the cold.

A Career of Service

After returning south, Gordon married Grace Gordon of Gull Lake in 1951 and continued his RCMP career through postings in East Coulee, Pincher Creek, and Edmonton. He eventually became a Staff Sergeant overseeing 13 detachments and more than 120 members across northern Alberta—including Fort McMurray during the early oil sands years.

He retired from the RCMP in 1968, then served another 16 years with Alberta Agriculture. Forty‑four years of public service in total.

Why His Story Still Matters

Gordon Johnston’s life is a reminder of something true about small towns: big stories start in quiet places.

He never forgot where he came from. And in his own words:

“I can only say I have enjoyed my career and Gull Lake for its many contributions to my life.”

A Gull Lake beginning. A national story. And a legacy worth remembering.

Gull Lake Events

Source: Gull Lake Memories: A History of the Town of Gull Lake.