ROBERT SERVICE
by Julie Wills

Robert Service is just one of the renowned authors to have helped glamorize the Yukon by creating legends of the Klondike through his poetry. Much like Jack London, Service was not originally from the North. nor even from Canada. However, he did spend considerably more time here than his counterpart.
Service was born in England in 1874, but spent his childhood in Scotland. There he took his first job as a banker, following in his father's footsteps. Then in 1896, he left for Canada and made his way to British Columbia. Within a year and a half he headed to California and began weaving his way around through the western States for the next six years.
In late 1903, back in Canada and down on his luck, Service fell back on his experience working in banks and began a short career with the Canadian Bank of Commerce. Soon he was transferred to Whitehorse, which represented a promotion in those days since a strong mystique (due to the gold rush) surrounded the Yukon. After four years, Service was transferred to Dawson - Songs of Sourdough had just been published. Then in 1909 Ballads of a Cheechako appeared: a collection of poetry. it was composed entirely in Dawson.
Since reception to his first two works was favorable, Service decided to quit his job with the bank and live on the money his writings would hopefully provide. Over time Service published many more books, including Rhymes of a Rolling Stone in 1912.
In all, Service spent nine years in the Yukon and although he swore he would return someday, he never did. He left for France, where he settled down and served as a member of the volunteer ambulance unit during the First World War. He died in France in September 1958, at the age of 84.
Over the span of his literary career, 15 books were published, many of which reflect his experiences and flights of imagination while he was in the Yukon. These include, mentioning a few: Ballads of a Bohemian; BarRoom Ballads; Spell of the Yukon; Other Verses and Trail of '98.