March 7, 1943 - July 30, 2008
Mr. Nielsen was born
in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1943. In 1956 his family immigrated to Canada
and settled in Toronto. From the age of 13 onward Mr.Nielsen received his
education in Canada. He left High School following Grade 12 and joined The
Canadian Armed Forces.
He served a three year contract as an Infantryman in the 2nd Battalion, The Canadian Guards. This included a tour of duty in Cyprus. As well, he successfully completed a Junior Non commissioned Officer Course, served on The Battalion Rifle Team and completed a Battalion Machine Gunners Course. He was 'Honourably Discharged' in June of 1966. He was awarded 'The Cyprus Medal' and 'The Peacekeeper Medal' as a result of his service.
In January of 1967 he joined the Centre of Forensic Sciences as a Firearms Examiner Trainee. He completed the two year training period which preceded carrying out the duties of a Firearms Examiner. He proceeded steadily through the various steps leading to becoming a Senior Examiner.
In December of 1981 he was appointed Head of the Firearms Section, a post he held until he resigned as part of a Government 80 point retirement factor in November of 1996.
In March of 1997 he took up employment with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as a Firearms Examiner in their Orlando Laboratory. He resigned that position in November of 1998, and returned to his former employer at The Centre of Forensic Sciences as a Senior Examiner. His 90 point retirement factor was effective on 31 August 2001 and he took it on that date.
During his service with
The Centre of Forensic Sciences Mr.Nielsen was awarded the 'Director's Award',
for outstanding service in 1977.
He was also created a 'Distinguished Member' of The Association of Firearms
and ToolMark Examiners in 1980, an organization of which he is still a member
in good standing.
During the years following his arrival in Canada Mr.Nielsen always had a strong interest in firearms in general and military rifles in particular. He has collected all types of firearms though and present has a collection of some fifty firearms of various makes and models. He shoots all his firearms and for the rarer models loads ammunition for them which is not available commercially.
He has also accumulated an extensive library over the years which reflect his interests in history, as well as that of firearms.
He has authored articles on many types of firearms for various firearms publications in North America, as well as Europe.
For several years he also acted as a Firearms Expert with the Film Industry in Toronto and assisted with weapons handling in many feature films, as well as numerous television productions.
As a result of the thousands of cases he completed during his tenure at The Centre of Forensic Sciences he took part in three television productions in the Forensic Science 'Exhibit A' series, which are currently televised in North America.
During his career Mr.Nielsen has testified at all levels of Court in Canada, The United States and Bermuda.
He was also asked to testify,
and did, in front of The Parliamentary Committee on Gun Control in 1995. You
can read the transcript regarding Bill C-68, An Act respecting firearms and
other weapons, here.
Diagnosed with cancer in March of 2006 and given 3-6 months to live,
Finn Nielsen bravely fought his last battle for more than 2 years, peacefully crossing through the gates of Valhalla as of 1:15 am, July 30, 2008,
surrounded by his family.
He was well-loved, well-respected, and will be sorely missed by family and friends.
"It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice."
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