CANADA:

[Admin]

Battle of the Atlantic Memorial is on Facebook.

LINK: www.facebook.com/BattleOfTheAtlanticMemorial?ref=stream

[Admin]

HMCS Prevost is the Naval Reserve Division in London, Ontario Canada. It is also the home of The Battle of the Atlantic Memorial. Naval Reserve Division | Unité de Réserve navale.

FACEBOOK LINK: www.facebook.com/HMCSPrevost

Sunday May 5, 2013 in London, Ontario at HMCS PREVOST:

The Battle of the Atlantic will be remembered.

LINK: hmcsprevost.com/

[Admin]

The Battle of the Atlantic ended with V-E Day on May 8th, 1945. During the long bitter struggle, the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force had participated in the escort of at least 200 million tons of shipping and had sunk 52 U-boats. The battle however, had been costly to Canada. Merchant ship losses totalled over 70 and 24 Canadian warships were lost. Fatal casualties in the Merchant Navy amounted to over 1700, in the Navy to over 2000, and in the Air Force to more than 900.

Canadian ships and seamen, and the naval and air forces used for the defence of shipping, may well have made the most important of all Canadian contributions in the Second World War. The Battle of the Atlantic is thus an important element in the nation’s history and is remembered with respect in the Canadian navy, air force and merchant marine.

LINK: www.anglican.ca/amo/links/battle-atlantic/the-battle-of-the-atlantic-insert/

[Admin]

Poor media reporting is responsible for the great unjustified criticism against the Royal Canadian Navy:

Re: A lack of clarity and misreporting of a recently released internal order related to the wearing of uniforms after release from active service has resulted in avoidable confusion and insult to veterans.

The word will understand the real intentions which were not what was described in Canadian media recently:

LINK: www.forces.gc.ca/site/news-nouvelles/news-nouvelles-eng.asp?id=4857

[keithattregenna]

MERCHANT NAVY VETERANS DAY OF REMEMBRANC​E CEREMONY - SEPTEMBER 8, 2013, NATIONAL WAR MONUMENT , IN OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA:

Dear Sir/Madam:

I am writing to inform you about the upcoming Merchant Navy Veterans Day of Remembrance ceremony that will be held on Sunday, September 8, 2013, at the National War Memorial, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, commencing at 11:00 a.m.

During the Second World War, a total of merchant ships, with 164,783,921 tons of cargo on-board, sailed from North America to Britain. However, the true cost of the war at sea was in human lives lost in defence of freedom – the Canadian Merchant Navy alone lost one seafarer in eight, out of the 12,000 that faithfully served their country.

Today, the typical age of our Merchant Seaman is mid-to-late 80s and 90s, and the attrition rate is very high. Sadly, this may well be the last year for a large gathering of our aging and ailing Veterans in Canada.

I invite you to share the attached information package below, so that we may generate a greater awareness of the sacrifices and contributions made by the Canadian and Allied Merchant Navies that were the mainstay of the Allied Forces victories in both WWI and WWII.

I have also provided a hyperlink to the following presentation I made before the Senate Committee on the subject of Merchant Navy Veterans (for reference):

LINK: sen.parl.gc.ca/pdowne/english/Committees/Veterans%20Affairs%20Subcommittee/April_9_2008_e.htm

RE: I invite you to share the attached information package below: Attachment is to large to add here: Sorry.:

K.

[Admin]

Memories of Dieppe difficult for Canadian veteran

Bloody raid marks 71st anniversary Monday:

TORONTO - Arthur Rossell, 93, is one of the last Canadian survivors of the catastrophic raid on Dieppe that took place exactly 71 years ago Monday.

Ask the Brampton native about those few hours that stretched into the bloodiest day in the nation’s military history and he confesses to knowing no fear.

Not because Rossell is a necessarily brave or even vainglorious man; rather, he can remember precious little at all about the raid.

LINK: www.ottawasun.com/2013/08/17/memories-of-dieppe-difficult-for-canadian-veteran

[Admin]

This site has no commercial intent whatsoever. It is purely for the interest of sea and ship loving people. Any images may be downloaded for personal interest but any use for commercial purposes is strictly forbidden without permission from the originator. Please communicate with the site manager at [e-mail] if in doubt.

LINK

[Admin]

OTTAWA, Sept. 3, 2013 /CNW/ - The Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of Veterans Affairs, issued the following statement today to mark Merchant Navy Veterans Day on Tuesday, September 3.

"Those who served in Canada's Merchant Navy played a critical role both overseas and in Canada during the First and Second World Wars. As they carried desperately needed equipment, fuel, goods and personnel around the world, merchant mariners showed tremendous bravery on the ocean battlefield knowing that their ships were in the middle of enemy action.

LINK

[Admin]

Canada declared war against Germany:

Today is Tuesday September 10, 2013. 74 years ago today Canada declared war against Germany. The Royal Canadian Navy had only thirteen vessels in commission. During the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Navy expanded significantly, ultimately gaining responsibility for the entire Northwest Atlantic theatre of war. By the end of the war, the Royal Canadian Navy found itself as the world's third-largest navy with 95,000 personnel and 471 ships. In addition to building most of the 471 naval ships, the Canadian industries also built over 400 merchant ships between 1939 and 1945; these merchant ships completed more than 25,000 trips across the Atlantic.

[Admin]

RMR: Rick's Rant - Lest We Forget:

LINK

[Admin]

Merchant Navy vet lobbies for Ocean War Graves designation for seamen lost at war:

In 1986, the British Parliament passed an act protecting the graves of all servicemen and women, including those at sea. Subsequently, Dutch descendants of merchant seamen who died when the Allied convoy they were a part of was attacked successfully lobbied the Brits to amend the act to include their fathers and grandfathers.

LINK

[Admin]

Merchant Navy deserves recognition:

Re: Merchant Navy vet lobbies Ottawa for Ocean War Graves designation, Nov. 7 I wholly support this initiative. I served on convoy duty in the Royal Navy in the Second World War and witnessed the sinking of a number of merchant ships.

At the time I grieved for the loss of life of the many brave men who served on those ships.

With tremendous courage, and frequently with inadequate protection, they faced a ferocious enemy to bring desperately needed supplies to an embattled country. I shall long remember the sight of a tanker going up in flames with a crew that had little chance of survival.

The surprising thing was that after being torpedoed and suffering injury and exposure, the survivors were prepared to do it all over again. The merchant navy has struggled too long for recognition of its contribution to the war effort.

(As a footnote, however, I would like to correct a minor detail in the article. Hull is in England, not Scotland.)

George Roberts

Read more: www.vancouversun.com/news/Merchant+Navy+deserves+recognition/9159197/story.html#ixzz2l2UM8WXc

[Admin]

Despite much interest, it appears that historians still do not know exactly what happened and who killed the five men. they also fear more people could have died in the riots than the official figures show. The gravestone of the soldier, that bears the inscription "Someday, sometime, we'll understand. was "Corporal Joseph Young, who died aged 36 of a bayonet wound to the head.

Kinmel Camp Riots, 1919:

Worth a look, includes the report from the Times:

LINK: greatwarfiction.wordpress.com/2007/10/09/kinmel-camp-riots/

Under comments at the link:

"My Grandfather served in the Cheshire Regiment, Birkenhead Pals and was one of the soldiers ordered to contain the riot. He said the official line was that flu killed the Canadians but in fact they were killed when their fire was returned. As a sniper my grandfather did not usualy miss and was not proud of the fact that some of the men in Bodelwyddan churchyard were a result of his shooting. As a child I thought it one of his tall tales but now I’m not so sure".

No matter what happened it is so sad that so many died in whatever circumstances on a foreign soil miles from their homeland but not actually fighting against any enemy except the enemy in most of the cases was possibly a flu pandemic ?

LINK 1

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[Admin]

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 30, 2014) - Hundreds of Canadian Veterans and their families can now apply for the Arctic Star through the British government for their service in the Arctic in World War II… but they may not legally wear it. The Canadian Honours System has yet to recognize this important medal. This is shameful and The Royal Canadian Legion is urging the Governor General to make it a matter of priority to recognize the medal for those aging Veterans who deserve to be recognized for their bravery.

Braving treacherous seas and temperatures as low as -60ºC, Veterans ran the gauntlet of German planes and U-boats to supply the Soviet ports of Murmansk and Archangel between 1939 and 1945. More than 3,000 men died, 85 merchant ships and 16 Royal Navy vessels were lost. In late 2012, nearly 70 years after the end of World War II, the British government introduced the Arctic Star to honour these brave men and women. The medal is awarded for operational service of any length north of the Arctic Circle between 3 September 1939 and 8 May 1945. Only about 200 of these Veterans are alive today, they are of increasing age and it would be a great distinction for them to wear this medal before they pass away.

LINK

[Admin]

The Vimy Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote Canada’s First World War legacy as symbolized with the victory at Vimy Ridge in April 1917, a milestone where Canada came of age and was then recognized on the world stage.

FB LINK