Local Navy cadets, joined by Army and Air Force cadets, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 officials and members of the public, gathered for the annual Battle of the Atlantic memorial ceremony held at the Legion branch’s temporary home at the Marconi Cultural Event Centre on Sunday morning.
“It was very important during the Second World War because it was Canada that provided the escorts for the merchant vessels going across to supply the United Kingdom,” said Lieutenant Rob Pihlaja, Royal Canadian Sea Cadets (Royal Sovereign) executive officer speaking to SooToday.
Those supplies of arms, food, oil and many other goods were vital as Britain served as a base to continue the war against the Nazi regime which had occupied most of continental Europe.
“Where would the British get their support but from Canada, so we sent the wheat, the ammunition, the steel,” Pihlaja said.
Providing that support was a difficult and deadly task as Hitler’s U-Boats prowled the North Atlantic in ‘wolf packs’ and sank horrendous amounts of Canadian, British and American shipping, many Allied sailors going down to watery graves.
The Battle of the Atlantic began when Hitler started the Second World War in Europe in 1939.
As late as 1942, Allied shipping losses were so severe that it appeared the Allies would lose the war.
However, by 1943, new Allied anti-submarine tactics turned the tide against the Nazis, though the Battle of the Atlantic would continue for the rest of the war and end only with the Nazi surrender in May 1945.
“Because of the importance of the Battle of the Atlantic the Royal Canadian Navy grew from 30 ships at the start of the Second World War to over 300, so that was a big thing. When an attack took place the Canadian Navy would come to the rescue and if it wasn’t for that, the number of merchant navy vessels that were lost would have been greater. It was that great sacrifice that ensured that Britain was able to sustain itself,” Pihlaja said.
“We still commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic because we must remember the sacrifice many Canadians made. If we don’t instill this memory in our young cadets the sacrifices will be forgotten. We need to remember that history. To let this slip by the wayside would not be good citizenship. The battle was an important part of Canada's development as a country.”
Canadian sailors and airmen sank or shared in the destruction of 50 U-boats while escorting 25,000 merchant ships during the war. The merchant navy ships delivered more than 165 million tonnes of cargo to Europe.
24 of the 175 Allied warships sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic were Canadian. 62 vessels out of the 2,600 merchant ships lost during the campaign were from Canada.
By 1945, Canada’s naval forces comprised more than 100,000 sailors.
More than 2,700 members Royal Canadian Navy and 1,600 Canadian Merchant Navy sailors died during the Battle.
The names of 17 local sailors who died in the five-and-a-half year long Atlantic campaign are listed on plaques at GFL Memorial Gardens.
380 local men served in the Battle of the Atlantic as well as eight women who served as Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service members.
Almost 7,000 women served Canada in a wide variety of crucial naval roles during the Second World War. With the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Services, they performed important work in 39 occupations, such as signalling, coding, and wireless telegraphy.
Canada’s role during its wars on land, at sea and in the air forms part of the curriculum taught to local army, navy and air cadet groups, Pihlaja said.
“It’s important to remember them,” said navy cadet Ethan Piazza.
“It’s important to remember how people gave their lives for our country and for freedom and it’s important for us to give back to the community,” navy cadet Jessie Kirkey told SooToday after Sunday’s ceremony.