Bob Duncan was born in Stoney Creek on February 8, 1913 and spent most of his life in Southwestern Ontario.

In 1941, PC Duncan began serving with the OPP as a special constable to replace the officers who were serving for the duration of World War II. When the officers who were replaced returned, these special constable’s moved on to other employment. Duncan was fortunate enough to make the transition to police constable and had his badge number issued on March 15, 1943.

Duncan was in charge of the OPP office in Bowmanville, which came under the supervision of the Newcastle detachment.

On February 19, 1945, while he was on-duty, PC Duncan went to meet the Canadian National Railway eastbound train, where there was reason to believe his wife was returning from Toronto.

For some unknown reason he boarded the train when it arrived at Bowmanville. The next time anyone saw PC Duncan, he was lying at the side of the tracks near Port Hope. He was taken to Cobourg Hospital for treatment where he underwent emergency surgery but died of his injuries, two days later, on February 21, 1945.

There were many speculations into the death of the constable. Some believed he tried to jump off the moving train and had fallen, or that he could possibly have been pushed.

What was known was that his wife was not on the train and his injuries were found to be consistent with a fall from a moving train. The reason for his death is still a mystery and has never been solved.

PC Bob Duncan was survived by his wife and daughter.