Notice of Passing
Lois Frances PILOT
(née Alsford)
Second Man Award Recipient
June 24, 1942 – August 12, 2025
Spouse of Robert “Bob” Pilot,, Cpl. (Ret’d), Reg. #17873
Remembered with respect and gratitude for her service.
The Second Man Award – an honorary, silver brooch with the RCMP’s crest, and a certificate of appreciation from the RCMP Commissioner was created in 2010.
The award was established to honour the often unrecognized support RCMP spouses provided to the RCMP from the 1900s onwards. 468 of the awards were initially approved for presentation when the Second Man Award was created. Each of the recipients were recognized for the unique challenges and hardships they endured while on post, often living in inadequate housing and with growing families of their own to tend to.
During this period of the Force’s history, women often performed a range of duties in support of police operations, from answering phones, to searching female prisoners, and providing prisoner meals. Their homes often served as the accommodations for visiting RCMP senior officers, judges, doctors and nurses to whom they also provided meals and entertainment.
The contributions are chronicled in the 2004 book, “When the Second Man was a Woman,” by Ruth Lee-Knight, the inspiration behind the Second Man Award.
