Ed was a circus elephant who was traveling with the Sells-Floto Circus in 1922 when he and his cohorts decided to stage a jailbreak. The resulting elephant hunt lasted about five weeks, from August 6th until September 14th, when Ed was finally captured.
We visited Cranbrook Ed, when Geocaching still had "challenges". We revisited him a few years later and still find his escapade amusing. There is a sign board explaining the "Escape" and a little history of how the name "Cranbrook Ed" came into being.
Cranbrook Ed
Charlie Ed was a small Asian elephant born in the wild in 1910. He was captured and became part of the Sells-Floto Circus in 1922, earning a living doing tricks. In the summer of 1926, the circus traveled to Cranbrook and on August 6th, fourteen elephants, including Charlie Ed, escaped the circus train into the surrounding forest and down the Canadian Pacific right-of-way. An unusual telegraph message was sent over the wires asking all trains heading east to keep a lookout for elephants on the tracks and report their location if seen. When the circus owners offered rewards for the capture of the unruly elephants, the first and only elephant hunt Cranbrook has ever seen was on, and the news spread around the world.
Most of the elephants were quickly re-captured - but Charlie Ed and another elephant, Myrtle, were still on the loose. Myrtle was found in mid-August but, because of her poor condition, had to be destroyed. Charlie Ed, however, remained at large until September 14th, when he was finally recovered near Jim Smith Lake, about six kilometres southwest of Cranbrook. His trainer reported that it was a joyful reunion and Charlie Ed was thinner but still in fine shape.
Charlie Ed was brought back into town where a celebration followed. He received a sumptuous breakfast before he was led through the streets of downtown Cranbrook, with one photo opportunity after another. To mark the occasion and make the young elephant an honourary citizen, Mayor T. M. Roberts re-christened Charlie Ed, while pouring champagne over his head, declaring his name henceforth to be Cranbrook Ed.
Cranbrook Ed was rededicated to the City of Cranbrook by His Worship, Mayor Scott Manjak, on October 29, 2009.