Kenn Barker

RCMP chaplain Rev. Allan Higgs with once-lost, 50-year-old Karsh photo.

A once-lost photograph by master photographer Yousuf Karsh of Anglican chaplain William Cole blessing an officer in the RCMP chapel in Regina, will soon hang in a prominent place in the RCMP training academy.

The photograph was found covered in layers of dust in old storage space in the officers' mess, says a report in the Saskatchewan Anglican.

It was found by Inspector Dale Sheehan, who said he "knew there was something special about this - it was majestic." The inspector immediately called the Anglican chaplain, Rev. Allan Higgs, to come and see it.

A retired RCMP staff sergeant, Ken Barker, recognized the photo as Mr. Karsh's work. For years Mr. Barker had researched the history of the RCMP chapel, the oldest building in Regina. He said he had been looking for the photograph for six years.

Mr. Barker said he started to look for the photo after he found reports of Mr. Karsh's visits in an old chaplain's record and later found an article about a visit Mr. Karsh made to the RCMP building. Maclean's magazine had commissioned Mr. Karsh to do 18 photo essays from December 1952 to January 1954. The find at the depot was one of four photos that appeared in a February 1953 article, Portrait from the Plains.