The Bosn’s Call

Volume 23, No. 4, Winter 2017-18

Calgary Naval Veterans Association • www.cnva.ca

A bus load of happy travelers prepares for the road trip to the Banff Springs Hotel for brunch. All that is, except for Ken Barche (far right), who looks like his puppy just died.

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Updated 13 October 2016

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n EXECUTIVE

F PresideNt • Paris SAHLEN – 403-252-4532 – RCNA, Stampede Board, HMCS Calgary Liaison, Club Manager.

F Past PresideNt • Art JORGENSON – 403-281-2468 – ajorge@shaw.ca.

F ViCe-PresideNt • Tom CONRICK – 403-251-4419 – Sick and Visiting/FOCB, Museum, Regalia, Navy League Liaison.

F treasUrer • Anita VON – 403-240-1967.

F seCretary • Chuck VON – 403-240-1967.

n DIRECTORS

F Cal aNNis – 403-938-0955 • Regalia / Charities / Honours & Awards / Membership.

F Bill BetHeLL – 403-276-4252 • Casino/Bingo.

F Chuck VON – 403-240-1967 • Entertainment / Special Events.

F Ken MadriCK – 403-601-1715 • Ass’t Bar Manager / Honours & Awards.

F Jim GOLBOUrN – 403-281-4653 • Membership Chairman / Entertainment / Special Events.

F dave MadriCK – Inventory / Entertainment / Special Events.

F tom sHirLaW – 403-562-2474 • RCNA / Sick & Visiting.

n APPOINTMENTS

F rev. Lloyd NOrtHCOtt – 403-283-8455 • Padre.

F Lorne Baird – 403-512-5838 • Editor, Bosn’s Call / Navy League Liaison / RCNA.

F eric KaHLer • Master-at-Arms.

F John NOrtH • Phone Committee – 403-226-0502.

The Bosn’s Call is published by the Calgary Naval Veterans Association. Items may be

reprinted without permission but kindly give credit to the author and/or The Bosn’s Call.

Contributions are always welcome and should be sent direct to the Editor, Lorne Baird c/o

the address at the top of this column, or by email to killick007@gmail.com. The Editor is

solely responsible for the content of The Bosn’s Call.

®

Skipper’sLog

Paris Sahlen, CNVA President

CALGARY NAVAL VETERANS ASSOCIATION

www.cnva.ca

TheEditor’sCabin

Lorne Baird, ‘Bosn’s Call’ Editor

Here we are at the end of 2017. The Club has

had another busy year with Battle of the Atlan-

tic and Remembrance Day. We had some very

successful bus trips to Nanton, Banff and Navy Days.

There will be an annual “Cowboy Up” in Victoria on

May 11th, 2018. This includes a Day Sail aboard HMCS

Calgary. There will be a sign-up list posted in April and

submitted to the ship on May 1st for anyone interested

in going. We will be staying at the Ramada on Gorge.

I would like to extend a big thank you to the Direc-

tors and all the many volunteers who do so much for

the Club.

On behalf of the Directors I would like to wish ev-

eryone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Don’t forget the Levee on January 1st at 1100. Food

and a glass of “milk” will be served.

A retired Chief told me that a one to two hour nap

every day keeps the doctor away ... I think I’ll try it now!

Cheers, Paris

As we approach the festive season, I’m reminded

of those for whom it brings no joy. I consider

the families of the forty-four submariners who

were recently lost off the Argentine coast. Those will

struggle to find a reason to celebrate this year. It will be

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a test of their resolve to sort out the meaning of it all.

About this time of year in 1960, I answered a phone

call. On the other end of the phone was an RCMP con-

stable from Hazelton. He asked to speak to an adult.

Since there were no adults home, he had to speak to

me. It was his unfortunate duty to tell me that my Dad

had been killed in a logging accident. After the call, I

walked to the living room where my brothers and sis-

ter were watching the Ed Sullivan Show. I recall Topo

Gigio begging Ed to “kiss me goodnight.” The lights

were sparkling and the room seemed festive. I then

told my siblings that we were now officially, orphans.

Those words seemed to draw the joy out of the room.

We carried on and had some sort of Christmas a few

days later.

On December 15th, 1995, I came home from the

hospital and passed the word to my in-laws that our

daughter had died. My older daughter was 3-1/2

years old at the time. I made the decision to make

our Christmas as normal as possible. A few days

later I took her to a tree farm and let her pick out a

Christmas tree. She took her time to find the one she

thought was perfect and I helped her cut it down.

We carried it to the truck together then took it home

and decorated it together.

It was not my strength but the strength of the fam-

ily that helped me ride out the storm. During difficult

times our shipmates are our lifeline in the storm.

On another note, it is with sadness that I read of the

passing of Rear Admiral Bob Yanow and realized how

many times our paths had crossed. When he was in

command of HMCS Saguenay, he brought her along-

side HMCS Kootenay and had the crew direct their hos-

es on our port quarter to prevent our engine room fire

from spreading. Later, he took four of our dead to sea

for burial as Kootenay was not seaworthy. Many years

later it would be Bob Yanow who presented me with

my CD while on Ceremonial Divisions in Aldergrove.

He was a gentleman who took the time to speak to

everyone—never an air of arrogance about him. Fair

Winds and Following Seas, Sir, you will be missed.

Finally, I would like to extend my best wishes of the

season to everyone of you and hope to see you at the

Club over the holiday season.Lorne

HandstoPrayer

Rev. Lloyd Northcott, CNVA Padre

Many people are pessimistic about the future

these days. Maybe it is worse for the long

nights and cold weather. To cheer ourselves

up we string coloured lights and play Christmas music.

There is an ancient wisdom to the customs of the

season. The story of the Baby of Bethlehem is one of

optimism for the future.

The angels sing of peace on earth and goodwill to-

wards all people. The holy family and the shepherds

and wise men briefly form a community. They dream

an impossible dream of Heaven on earth. It gives them

courage to try despite the fearful odds. We need some

of that courage to face the world we see about us. Bet-

ter cheerful than glum. Better try than give up. We are

not alone and together we can do miracles. That is the

message of Christmas.

The crosses seem desolate in the pre-dawn atmosphere. The Calgary Naval Veterans Association provided a colour party for the Sunrise Ceremony this year as they have in the past. Their ranks grow thinner.

Lest we forget...

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7-18 Service Honours Victims

& Survivors of HMCSKootenay Disaster

For four decades, retired Navy Captain John Mon-

tague did not speak about the tragedy that shook

the Canadian Forces in 1969, when HMCS Koo-

tenay suffered an explosion and fire killing nine crew

members and wounding dozens of others.

But in a nationally broadcast interview on the 40th

anniversary of the disaster, Montague finally told a

reporter about his experience as a 23-year old Sub-

Lieutenant, and immediately broke down crying. He

was overcome with memories again at a subsequent

grave side ceremony and was told to go see a doc-

tor. After that he was diagnosed with post-traumatic

stress disorder. Montague still gets emotional thinking

about the loss of lives and the horrific injuries inflicted

on his mates, and the aftermath that has affected each

of the crew members—and their families—to this day.

“For 40 years I didn’t talk about it,” he said on Monday,

after a commemorative service at the Navy’s Disaster

Control Training Facility on Purcell’s Cove Road. “The

amazing thing is 48 years later I’m still going for coun-

selling, which even shocks me, not to mention my wife

and my daughters and friends.”

Montague and his shipmates, Cyril Johnston, Rob

Robichaud and Clark Reiffenstein—all junior officers—

had come off watch when disaster struck the Kootenay,

a destroyer escort with about 240 men aboard, as she

was performing high-speed power trials off the coast of

England on October 23rd, 1969. The fire and smoke

from an explosion in a starboard gearbox left many of

the survivors suffering from PTSD, although they didn’t

know it until years later. Three crew members took

their own lives sometime after the tragedy. Montague

and Johnston recalled the heroics performed by Rei-

ffenstein and Robichaud, who died three years ago of

cancer. They didn’t make themselves out to be heroes,

but their descriptions of the actions they took that day

leave little doubt.

By Tom Ayers, Halifax Chronicle Herald

The Sailors of HMCS Kootenay

CPO1 Vaino ‘Ski’ PartanenCPO2 William Alfred ‘Billy’ Boudreau

PO Eric George HarmanPO Lewis John StringerLS Pierre ‘Pete’ Bourrett

LS Thomas Gordon CrabbeLS Gary Wayne HuttonOS Michael Allen Hardy

OS Nels Murray Galloway

With the exception of Petty Officer Stringer

who died in HMCS Bonaventure during the

return voyage and who as a result, was bur-

ied in Canada, these were the last Canadian servicemen

killed overseas whose bodies were not repatriated.

On October 23, 1969, one of the worst peacetime

disasters in the history of the Royal Canadian Navy and

the Canadian Armed Forces occurred.

On the morning of October 23rd, 1969, HMCS Koo-

tenay (DDE 258) was conducting naval training exercis-

es in the English Channel with a Canadian Naval Task

Group including HMCS Saguenay.

HMC Ships Kootenay and Saguenay surged ahead

to conduct routine full-speed drills when suddenly and

without warning, a blast comes from Kootenay’s engine

room and the room is

Capt(N) John Montague (Ret’d)

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LS Pierre S. Bourret, 24, was buried at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, Eng. His wife Sandra, his par-ents, siblings, relatives and friends mourned his death.CPO William Alfred Boudreau, 40, was buried at sea near Plymouth, England. His wife Suzanne, sons Brian and Brad, his parents, siblings, relatives and friends mourned his death.LS Thomas Gordon Crabbe, 29, was buried at sea near Plymouth, England, his parents, siblings, rela-tives and friends mourned his death.OS Nelson Murray Galloway, 19, was buried at Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, England. His par-ents, sister Linda, his relatives and friends mourned his death.OS Michael Allen Hardy, 21, was buried at Brook-wood Cemetery in Surrey, England. His wife Sandra, his parents, sisters Linda and Debbie, his relatives and friends mourned his death.PO Eric George Harman, 27, was buried at sea near Plymouth, England. His wife Mary, daughters Anne, Darlene and Susan, sons Frank, Eric and Shawn, his mother, siblings, relatives and friends mourned his death.

LS Gary Wayne Hutton, 24, was buried at sea near Plymouth, England. His wife Carol, his parents, siblings, relatives and friends mourned his death.CPO Vaino Olavi Partanen, 41, was buried at Brook-wood Cemetery in Surrey, England. His wife Ethel, his daughter Leslie, his parents, relatives and friends mourned his death.PO Lewis J. Stringer, 29, was buried at Fairview Cem-etery, Halifax, NS. His wife Christine, three daughters Jacqueline, Louise and Susan, his parents, relatives and friends mourned his death.

“We are as one” Lest We Forget

HMCS Saguenay departs Plymouth, England for the burial at sea. (Photo by George Damcyzk) Bob Yanow Passes Away

Bob Yanow passed away 19 November at the hos-

pice of the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, BC.

He is survived by his loving wife Valda, son Robert

and daughter-in-law Lynn of Nanaimo, daughter Debo-

rah and son-in-law Nigel of Victoria, granddaughters

Jennifer and Sarah.

RAdm Yanow lived a life of thorough immersion and

passionate dedication to the Navy. Having joined the

Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Jervis Bay in 1946

in his home town of Saskatoon, he pursued his dream

through Royal Roads Military College (1951) and HMCS

Unicorn (UNTD 1952), graduating from the University of

Saskatoon (BA Maths and Physics) in 1956. Following

this he served in various frigates and destroyers of the

Today we Remember

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7-18 RCN on both east and west coasts of Canada, as well

as serving two years on exchange with HMS Sea Eagle

in Londonderry and with the Royal Navy Far East Fleet.

On return to Canada he advanced quickly through the

ranks to command HMCS Saguenay (1969), during

which he survived the crash and sinking of the ship’s

Sea King helicopter.

He then commanded in quick succession the then

brand-new HMCS Athabaskan (1972), and the First

Destroyer Squadron (1974). On promotion to Com-

modore he was appointed the Naval Attaché in Wash-

ington, DC (1977), after which he returned to Ottawa

in several senior positions at the rank of Rear Admiral

(1979-84).

He concluded his naval career in Victoria as Com-

mander Maritime Forces Pacific and Commander Pa-

cific Region (1984-87).

In retirement Bob served as the VP for BC Transit

(1988-89), Managing Director for the 1994 Common-

wealth Games (1989-90) and Chairman of the Centen-

nial Stadium for the Games and as a member of the

Veterans Review and Appeal Board (1997-2002). He

was also President of the Victoria Rotary, Chairman of

the BC Press Council, Chairman of the Corps of Com-

missionaires (Victoria) and Chairman of the St. John

Ambulance (Victoria Branch).

For his public service he was made a Knight of the

Order of St. John in 2009. He remained a great sup-

porter of Sea Cadets and Boy Scouts, giving his name

to the Parksville Navy League Cadet Corps, “NLCC Ad-

miral Yanow.”

For many years he was the Chair of the annual God’s

Acre Memorial Service at the historic veteran’s cem-

etery in Esquimalt.

Bob Dmytro Yarow will be dearly missed by his family

and friends. His last wish was that his ashes be scat-

tered at sea off Royal Roads.

A Memorial Service and Celebration of Life was held

in the Sequoia Centre at McCall Gardens in Victoria on

December 2nd.

The family wish to thank the Victoria Hospice staff for

their very kind care and assistance to all of us in these

past few weeks.

In lieu of flowers, donations ay be made to the Hos-

pice at Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria.

The National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy

By Jamie Carroll ~ iPolitics

The National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy

(NSPS) is a bad policy. Still, when it recently was

offered a lifeline off this sinking barge of a pro-

gram, the government promptly rearranged the deck

chairs and listened to the band play on.

Look, I grew up in Nova Scotia and love the idea

of shipbuilders across the country having a more or

less guaranteed stream of work for the next 50 years.

And watching the Irving yard in Halifax roll out the first

two super-blocks of the first Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship

(AOPS), HMCS Harry DeWolf this summer was unques-

tionably impressive—and somehow seemed quite nat-

ural.

Sir John A. Macdonald’s National Policy—which ulti-

mately destroyed Atlantic Canada’s shipbuilding indus-

try—which developed on north/south rather than east/

west trade—was about building a country, sure. But it

was also about winning votes. It was a sort of panacea

politics: a single solution to a range of problems across

the country, not unlike the NSPS of today. The two

policies ultimately will end up sharing the same fate—

of not living up to their authors’ advertisements.

The NSPS’s stated dual function was to replace the

Royal Canadian Navy’s aging, nearly rusted-out fleet

and to provide a steady work stream for shipyards

across the country (two large ones in particular) for a

generation. Trouble is, it always seemed unlikely that

both could be accomplished at the same time—cer-

tainly not at the best price for taxpayers.

Call me Catholic, but as with most things, there

seems to be a trinity of issues here: domestic jobs,

building the fleet the navy needs, and the cost to

taxpayers. It seems impossible that any one solution

could satisfy all three concerns.

In other words, you can build the fleet the navy

needs as the best cost to taxpayers—but you can’t do

it while providing the number of domestic jobs—but

it’s going to cost a multiple of what it otherwise would.

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“Hey folks...don't settle for the ordinary!”

Come on in and sample our variety of excellent sandwiches hot off the Cor-

vette Club grill in our new surroundings! The Galley is open on Saturdays

from 1200 until 1400 except during Stampede and October 1st during the

Turner Valley Navy Day! See our website for the current menu!

The latter course is the one the previous government

chose to take. Two shipyards (Irving on the east coast,

Seaspan on the west) were chosen as the official con-

tractors for the NSPS. Several other yards were select-

ed to do smaller projects around the country, including

on the Great Lakes.

But here’s the rub: governments suck both at build-

ing and buying stuff. They call it ‘procurement;’ it’s

usually anything but. Remember the Sea King heli-

copters? The Mulroney government wanted to replace

them with EH-101s in 1992. The feds are more or less

just getting around to it now. Efficiency at its finest.

One important thing that separates Canadian pro-

curements from the way it’s done by every other NATO

ally is that in Canada, it’s completely divorced from the

military itself. While every other NATO country (as well

as Australia, New Zealand, etc.) does its procurement

via a department within the military, Canada offloads

the entire process (apart from the development of

specifications) to Public Works, which then basically

uses the same process to buy fighter jets that it uses

to buy staplers.

Take the replacement of the fleet’s Auxiliary Oilers

and Replenishers (AORs), a critical part of the NSPS. As

the floating gas stations and grocery stores of the RCN,

they’re the backbone of the fleet; with them, other ves-

sels can’t deploy to far-off destinations. They’re also

some of the simplest designs in the NSPS program, a

floating gas can that’s nowhere near as complicated

as the big prize in this scramble, the Canadian Surface

Combatant (CSC) intended to replace the destroyers

and frigates of the fleet.

There are a half dozen designs for AORs floating

around the world serving NATO allies. Each of them

is in service, in production and currently fulfilling this

critical role with a friendly fleet. You would think that

would make the process fairly easy: pick one, build it,

give the fleet back an essential service.

But no, instead the process has taken so long (the

first boat is scheduled to be In service 2021-ish, the

second in 2022 and even more ‘ish’) that earlier this

year the government recognized the need to fill the ca-

pability gap immediately. A Liberian freighter has been

converted into what will be known as HMCS Resolve by

the Davie yard in Québec. The expectation is that Re-

solve will be in service well into the 2020s—more than

a decade after the NSPS was announced and replacing

the AORs was identified as a top priority.

Again, the AORs might be the easy part. The com-

plexities of a modern war-fighting ship like the CSC will

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7-18 be exponentially greater: sensors, weapons systems,

helicopters, radar—all of which need to be compatible

with allied fleets around the world, not to mention our

own fleet’s other assets.

So with the budget for the program now more or

less doubled (as of November 2015 the government

admitted the costs were 181% of the original budget)

one assumes we’re well over 200% by now), the sub-

missions for the CSC were supposed to be received by

the government by the end of last month.

Industry has complained pretty loudly about the

seemingly unnecessary bureaucratic complexities of

the program for some time. But last month, a group

representing a French and Italian consortium produc-

ing the FREMM frigate design decided to try and short-

circuit the process by going directly to Defence Minis-

ter Harjit Sajaan with the help of their home countries.

Disclosure: I did some work for DCNS—one of the

companies involved in the FREMM design—many years

ago on another project. But from that experience and

others, I learned how other countries do their procure-

ment work and it completely explains this approach.

In France, for example, the Direction générale de

l’armement (the DGA) is not only a wing within the

French military, it’s also the agency that both buys

product for the French military and sells to other coun-

tries offshore on behalf of French industry. Its authority

within and without government is absolute and it oper-

ates abroad as an organ of the state in every French

embassy in the world.

Now, I’m not for a minute suggesting that Canada

should adopt this model. Certainly the debacle sur-

rounding the sale of light armoured vehicles to Saudi

Arabia last year made it clear that Canadians have little

appetite for being in the international arms business.

But for those in the arms business in a serious way,

spending too much to build boats that could be read-

ily bought off the shelf for far less makes no sense; it’s

anathema to the international market. Countries like

France almost certainly assumed Public Works wasn’t

serious about such a rigid arms-length process be-

cause, in almost every other country in the world, when

a government is spending billions of dollars on national

defence, it’s usually more interested in getting the best

possible deal than in upholding a set of arbitrary rules.

We have been told that the proposal from FREMM

proponents (government-to-government, as opposed

to business-to-government) was that they would pro-

vide Canada with the number of vessels required for a

fixed price of $32 billion. The FREMM is in service with

the French and Italian navies, as well as the Moroccans

and Egyptians, with plans to compete in the United

States, Greece and Australia as well. This was a seri-

ous offer from a serious competitor with lots of experi-

ence—who judged the established process in Canada

to be somewhere between inefficient and impossible.

So back to the virtuous triangle; as Canadian citizens

and taxpayers we need to have a military that is prop-

erly equipped for the job at a cost that isn’t being un-

necessarily inflated by politics or bureaucracy.

As things stand right now, Seaspan has the AOR and

a number of Coast Guard projects; the Irvings are well

along with two of the projected six Arctic Offshore Pa-

trol Ships, Davie has managed to creatively insert itself

by providing one temporary AOR (and should be com-

missioned to provide a second as soon as possible)

and smaller boats are being built in yards around the

country.

That’s expensive, but investments have been made

and the work has begun, so let’s leave those programs

alone. CSC however, was always going to be the most

costly piece of the program by a nautical mile.

Given the fact the budget has already been dou-

bled, the uncertainty of the timelines, the complexity

of the requirements and the risk (really, the certainty)

of further surprises between now and the time the first

boat hits the water, the government had an obligation

to give the FREMM offer more than the cursory consid-

eration it seems to have received.

It might be popular politics and it might require

some legal back-peddling with those who did follow

the procurement process, but leaving the existing pro-

grams in place for the smaller projects and securing the

most expensive boats on a fixed price basis, is almost

certainly the only way to cover all three sides of the

triangle.

Source: Jamie Carroll, iPolitics

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Crossed the BarJack GreenwoodWe regret to report that longtime member, Jack Green-

wood crossed the bar just weeks short of his 100th

birthday. Jack was a veteran of World War Two and

a strong supporter of the Calgary Naval Veterans As-

sociation.

Sid WallaceWe also regret to report the passing of one of our most

prominent and active members of the Calgary naval

community, Sid Wallace. Sid passed peacefully in his

94th year at the Colonel Belcher Long Term Care Resi-

dence on August 21st. Sid was proud of his service in

WWII and his ensuing career as an officer in the Royal

Robert I Hendy Award

Canadian Navy; his contribution to the establishment

of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary;

his time spent with Loram; his role as an advocate for

veterans and founder of the Friends of the Colonel

Belcher Society; his achievement as a Knight in the Or-

der of St. John and his participation on several provin-

cial committees.

Sid was honoured to have served his country, prov-

ince and city. His was a life well lived in service to oth-

ers. Ready-Aye-Ready!

Sid is survived by his loving family, Beverley (Black-

burn) Wallace, his wife of thirty-four years, sons Bob

(Mary Ann) and Laury (Lily), daughter Carolyn (Steve),

his six grandchildren: Philip (Melissa), Bradley, Natalie,

Jonathan, Nathan and Graham; and his stepson Scott

Stockell (Cindy, Stacey). In loving memory of Sid Wal-

lace a tree will be planted in Fish Creek Provincial Park.

We are very pleased to announce that the

Royal Canadian Legion’s Grand President,

Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Larry Murray, CM,

CMM, CD, Ret’d., is receiving the Navy League of

Canada’s Robert I. Hendy Award for his outstanding

achievements in the area of maritime affairs.

Admiral Murray retired from the Canadian Armed

Forces in 1997 as Acting Chief of the Defence Staff af-

ter 33 years with the Royal Canadian Navy. He is also

the former Chair of the Board of Directors of the Public

Policy Forum and a past president of the Nova Sco-

tia Mainland Division of the Navy League of Canada,

La Ligue navale du Canada. He was the first chair of

Canada’s Veterans Ombudsman Advisory Committee

and Honorary Commandant of the Chaplain Branch of

the CAF for five years.

Tom Conrick Honoured

Tom Conrick (left) is presented with his Branch Service Medal by Executive Vice-President of the Calgary Na-val Veterans Association, Ken Madrick.

CONGRATULATIONS TOM ... WELL DESERVED!

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10

NAVY DAYSat the Naval Museum

Cal Annis (left) and Tom Conrick man the Regalia Kiosk during “Navy Days” at the Naval Museum of Alberta. Throughout the two day event they managed to sell around $400.00 worth of merchandise! Meanwhile, Al Hudock was everywhere signing up new members ev-ery chance he got ... Bravo Zulu All!

HMS BelfastBy Darlene Blakely

The Canadian flag will fly over Her Majesty’s

Ship (HMS) Belfast in London, England this

holiday season. The ship, now a museum

ship originally built as a light cruiser for the Royal

Navy (RN), is permanently moored on the River

Thames next to Tower Bridge and operated by

the Imperial War Museum.

Tim Lewin, whose late father, Admiral of the

Fleet Lord Terence Thornton Lewin, was a junior

officer in HMS Belfast, proposed that the Cana-

dian flag fly at the mast of the museum ship over

Christmas week to celebrate the participation of

the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in the Battle of

North Cape for which Belfast was awarded a Bat-

tle Honour.

Mr. Lewin, Vice-President of the Belfast Associa-

tion, has a deep interest in the Russian convoys

that were undertaken during the Second World

War. He has introduced a number of initiatives to

raise awareness of those operations and the close

ties that existed at the time between the United

Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Russia.

According to Michael Whitby, the RCN’s Senior

Naval Historian, Canadian warships began escort

duties on the Russian convoys in the autumn of

1943, but its sailors were involved before then.

“In fact, hundreds of Canadian sailors served in

British ships operating in the north throughout the

war,” Mr. Whitby says. “Eighty Canadian sailors

served in British ships—about 10% of each ship’s

company—fought in the cruisers Belfast and Shef-

field at the Battle of North Cape. In the final eigh-

teen months of the war, Canadian warships partic-

ipated in more than half of the Russian convoys.”

In all, eighteen Canadian warships were award-

ed an ARCTIC Battle Honour for service in north-

ern European waters during the Second World

War.

Mr. Lewin, recognizing the profound contribu-

tion, was inspired to make a gesture of apprecia-

tion and the HMS Belfast Association agreed to fly

the Canadian flag over the ship.

“My late father served in a Tribal-class destroyer

from 1943 through 1944,” he explains. “His ship,

HMS Ashanti, was in constant company with the

RCN Tribals [HMC Ships Athabaskan, Haida, Hu-

ron and Iroquois] and many personal friendships

developed. The ship to which Ashanti was partic-

ularly linked was Huron, with which they covered

the Arctic convoys to Russia and later the dramatic

battles between the 10th Destroyer Flotilla and

Nazi forces trying to hinder D-Day. When Huron

sailed home to Halifax for a refit, its wardroom

presented their prized piano to Ashanti, whose

wardroom compensated their Canadian friends

with enough beer to see them back across the At-

lantic!

11

The Bosn’s Call | Winter 2017-18

Mr. Lewin recently found out about the 80

Canadians who served in HMS Belfast during the

Battle of the North Cape through his friendship

with Mr. Whitby.

“In recognition of these Canadians and of the

700 or so in the Tribals covering the nearby con-

voy, it occurred to me that somebody needed to

make a gesture of appreciation for these specific

actions and on a wider note, for the war-winning

contribution of the RCN to the Atlantic and Arc-

tic convoy campaigns and the landings on D-Day

when HMS Belfast had the honour of firing the

symbolic opening salvo onto the beaches. “We

are very proud of our friendship with Canada and

our bonds with the RCN, today and yesterday.”

Captain (Navy) Maurice AuCoin, RCN Naval Ad-

visor with the Canadian Defence Liaison Staff in

London says the gesture “speaks volumes about

the close relationship and historical military bond

that Canada and the United Kingdom continue to

enjoy.”

“In this year of Canada 150,” he says, “this initia-

tive serves as a strong reminder for both the RCN

and the RN of the continued importance of the

transatlantic link and the key role Canada played

in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Arctic convoys

during the Second World War, and of our ongoing

naval commitment to the North Atlantic.”

An event to launch the initiative will be held on-

board HMS Belfast on December 18, 2017. The

Canadian Deputy High Commissioner to the Unit-

ed Kingdom, Sarah Fountain Smith, and Capt(N)

AuCoin will be the guests of honour, with nearly

forty international invitees at the diplomatic mili-

tary attaché level expected to be in attendance.

Photo: Maritime Quest

12

The

Bosn

’s Ca

ll | W

inte

r 201

7-18 CNVA

Messages

The annual LEVEE is on Monday,January 1st beginning at 1100.

The next DIRECTOR’S MEETINGis on Saturday, February 3rd at 1800.

The next GENERAL MEETING is on Saturday, February 10th at 1100.

The CNVA Corvette Club is now open at our new location on the Stampede Grounds at 2402 - 2A Street SE (about 100 yards due east from the Erl-ton Stampede LRT station) every Saturday (except during Stampede and this year, October 1st) from 1100 to 1600 (Galley service from 1200 to 1400). Come out and join your Shipmates!

©LBJ

Royal Canadian LegionCENTENNIAL CALGARY BRANCH 285

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