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R. Evans Korea 1951-53 |
Enjoy the memories of someone who served almost two tours in HMCS Athabaskan in Korean waters, his recollections of operational patrols and life at sea during a typical tour, with short periods of rest and relaxation in Japanese ports and Hong Kong. |
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H. R. Tilley New York to Normandy to Norway to Nootka |
Follow the naval career of a young RCN Special Entry in wartime who trained in a battleship and destroyer, found himself on the Normandy beaches in a Landing Craft on D-Day, and later served in HMCS Nootka in Korea and circumnavigated the world before returning to Canada. |
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R. Harkins The Truth Be Told |
Read about certain incidents in the aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent from the perspective of a young Able Seaman who shared some turbulent and fun times with his chums at flying stations. |
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F. W. Crickard The Navy's First Submarines |
A young Torpedoman describes life in Canada's first two submarines in World War I. Built for Chile in Seattle they were purchased by British Columbia and eventually taken over by the federal government. The CC1 and CC2 were the first naval ships to transit the Panama Canal under the White Ensign in 1917. |
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R. T. Murray Arctic Log – Flying from HMCS Labrador 1957 |
The remarkable achievements of the naval aviation component of the ice breaker HMCS Labrador are described by one of the naval pilots of the Bell helicopters, those little yellow machines which made possible much of the hydrographic survey work conducted in the Arctic by Labrador. Some of the highlights include the crash and loss of two of the helicopters on an isolated mountain top, an engine change in inclement weather and the provision of a chaplain to perform a long delayed wedding. |
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N. S. Robertson Merchant Marine, RAF, RCAF, RCN |
A versatile person with a passion for flying relates his interesting and frequently humorous experiences afloat and ashore in various services. This experienced pilot confirms that one of the most dangerous places in the world is the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. |
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V. La Prairie Proud to Serve |
This is the story of a young Wren Visual Signaler who served her country and remembers with pride those invigorating days on both the East and West Coasts. |
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R .P. Welland Athabaskan in Korea |
Some interesting remarks are made by a WW II destroyer captain about conducting naval operations in a completely different Korean war situation. How the naval ships independently conducted community relations in the islands off the Korea peninsular is a revealing success story. |
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F. R. Fowlow A Supply Officer in Korea |
The logistics of keeping a destroyer well maintained and her crew adequately fed thousands of miles from home port is a challenging experience for all concerned. A Supply Officer explains some of the tricks of the trade in maintaining morale in difficult circumstances and, above all, ensuring that the coffee supply met Canadian tastes. |
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P. Chance I Join Skeena |
This account by a young officer in HMCS Skeena describes very well the operational developments associated with the Battle of the Atlantic in the 1943-44 period which gave rise to optimistic hopes of final victory against the U-boats. The author gives a dramatic personal account of D-Day operations and the grounding of Skeena in a gale off Iceland in October 1944. |
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D. R. German Some Tales of the North Atlantic 1942-1945: A Lower Deck Perspective |
Thanks to the enduring memories of a Stoker RCNVR from Hamilton, Ontario, life aboard Skeena and the minesweeper Milltown is described in both a serious and light vein, from seasickness to operating a piggery in Scotland. |
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R. J. Moyse Prairie Boy at Sea With the RN |
Several of the 150 Canadian Raleighites loaned to the Royal Navy in 1940 finished up in motor torpedo boats. This Raleighite from Winnipeg relates his experiences first in an ex-USN four-stacker around Iceland and the Faeroes, and then in MTBs in the English Channel, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Malta and the Normandy invasion. |
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G. H. F. Poole-Warren Three Navies, All Royal |
Some interesting observations and comparisons about naval aviation as conducted by the RN, RCN and RAN are made by an aeronautical engineer who spent 40 years accumulating experience in three Navies. Enjoy some good yarns about life in Magnificent and Bonaventure, and the sense of humour and high professionalism that characterized Canadian Naval Aviation before its demise in 1970. |
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J. Jordan A Weapon Too Secret |
With amusing insights this young RCNVR officer relates how he witnessed an unfortunate lack of communication between the Air Force and Navy during the Battle of the St. Lawrence. He also describes events surrounding the torpedoing of the frigate HMCS Magog in October 1944. |
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J. Halstead Sleuthing For The Special Branch |
A Vancouverite with special German linguistic qualifications found himself attached to allied intelligence in Britain and Europe. As a consequence he became the first Canadian naval officer to enter Berlin after VE-Day. His experiences in interrogation centres full of German prisoners of war and frantic searches across Europe for suspected war criminals often resembled a Sherlock Holmes operation. |
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R. L. Lane "Those Are Not Fish!" |
Some of HMCS Cayuga's activities on her first tour in Korea (1950-51) are described by her Engineer Officer. His account of going up a twisting river, by night, in a December snowstorm, to Chinnampo, illustrates what a different naval war this was compared with his WW II experience. |
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G. F. Smith The Last Corvette |
This personal account of the search for a wartime corvette to preserve as the Canadian Naval Memorial explains why HMCS Sackville now on display in Halifax is indeed unique as "The Last Corvette". |
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W. J. H. Cleveland Paymaster Lawyer |
A qualified lawyer from Nova Scotia in the Paymaster specialty spent most of his war searching for missing Canadian naval personnel serving in RN ships in every theatre of war or were prisoners of war. This was a key administrative task as the Canadian Navy grew in size and people were lost in ports of the British Isles and all over the world. In 1946 the author became the first National President of NOAC. |
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J. Macbeth The Fortunes of War |
An RCNR officer served in a mixed bag of ships in WW II: MTBs, corvettes, frigates , naval commandos and almost midget submarines. He describes how an allied ship suffered casualties and was almost sunk by friendly fire from an American destroyer. |
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K. Venables Something Out of the Ordinary |
Another Canadian Raleighite spent his lower deck time in HMS Repulse operating out of Scapa Flow. Then he served in other ships in the North Atlantic, the Caribbean and West Africa. He tells the rare story of picking up some German U-boat survivors whose boat had been sunk by an aircraft which in turn had been shot down in the sea by the U-boat. The statements of the U-boat survivors were used to award the Victoria Cross (posthumously) to a RNZAF pilot, the first time an award had ever been given on the recommendation of the enemy. |
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G. Goodeve Naval Interlude |
This RCNVR Cadet from Winnipeg served in seven ships during WW II. Two of them became casualties of war. He was in HMCS Levis, the first corvette sunk in 1941; and he was in the frigate HMCS Teme when she was torpedoed and became a constructive total loss in 1945. |
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D. Saxon Cayuga in Korea |
A Torpedo Anti-Submarine specialist in HMCS Cayuga found himself under-employed in Korean waters so performed the duties of ship's landing officer and ultimately became the UN Fleet Liaison Officer. Spending much time ashore with Korean guerilla forces he saw lots of action in the off shore islands and was awarded the DSC for his efforts. |
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M. Rose Fresh Off the Farm |
Someone who could always see the funny side of things gives his account of several humorous incidents he experienced in his training days in Halifax, Winnipeg, Cornwallis and the frigate HMCS Dunver. Enjoying the fun convinced him to remain in the Navy until 1978. |
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F. L. Houghton A Sailor's Life For Me |
The first half of the fascinating memoirs of someone who joined the RCN in 1913 and retired as a Rear Admiral in 1950 appeared in Volume 7. In this volume we read the second half of his remarkable naval story, complete with witty recollections of the pre-war Navy, the war at sea, his time in wartime London, and his final sea appointment in command of the aircraft carrier HMCS Warrior. This story provides an exceptional and privileged view of many episodes in the life of the RCN in the period 1913 to 1950. |
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D. W. Swan Swan Song |
A Queen's University Naval Training Division Cadet reluctantly joins the Navy in Kingston and gets involved in escapades which produce many amusing anecdotes. His varied career as a naval supply officer is described with frankness and wit. Whatever his appointment, trouble had no difficulty finding him. A sense of humour enables him to survive unexpected situations in Naval Divisions, ships, the Golan Heights and supply inspections in the Canadian Arctic. |