Aylesworth Bowen Perry, C.M.G. (August 21, 1860 – February 14, 1956) served as the sixth Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, from August 1, 1900, to March 31, 1923. Early life Aylesworth Perry was born at Violet, near Napanee, Ontario, on August 21, 1860. His father William Perry was a Justice of the Peace, deputy-reeve, and member of the Lennox and Addington County Council. William Perry operated a flour mill and sawmill on Mill Creek in Violet and approximately half of his acres was under cultivation. William Perry married Eleanor Fraser in 1848. Eleanor Fraser was the daughter of Isaac Fraser, a magistrate, a militia colonel, and a onetime member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada. He attended high school in Napanee in 1876. He was educated as part of the first class at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, student #13, one of the "Old Eighteen." Since cadets received their numbers based on their standings in the entrance examinations, he was 13 of 18. At fifteen, he was one of the youngest students at RMC. He graduated at the top of his class receiving the Governor-General's gold and silver medals. He received a commission and was gazetted as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers of the Imperial British Army. A serious accident prevented him from attending the convocation ceremonies. The Commandant of Royal Military College of Canada secured a six-month healing period before Perry reported to the Royal Engineers in England. Career He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers. When the Royal Engineer's medical staff determined that Perry's leg was not yet properly healed, his commanding officer advised him to return to Canada. He subsequently resigned his commission. He worked as a surveyor in what is now northern Ontario. From 1881 to 1882 Perry worked with the Geological Survey of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario, as a librarian. On January 24, 1882, he was appointed an inspector in the North-West Mounted Police. During the North-West Rebellion of 1885, he was appointed a major in the Canadian Militia, and received command of the second section of the Alberta Field Force. He led a march from Calgary, Alberta, to Edmonton, Alberta. While crossing the Red Deer River, he nearly died landing a tow rope attached to the raft carrying a field gun. Following the rebellion, he was appointed superintendent of the Prince Albert district,