Royal Canadian Navy

On the fifteenth of April, 1946, I went to Toronto, to the Naval Base HMCS York. At that time it was located in the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. I was sworn in with the rank of P/Wtr (Probationary Writer). Writers did not write, they either worked on the pay records or with the personal records.
HMCS Naden
After a few days I went with the men who signed on at the same time as myself, by train, to Vancouver. We took the ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. A truck picked us up and took us to HMCS Naden, the New Entry training base, a few miles from Victoria. We were then issued our gear, including clothing and  hammocks. We lived in large blocks with rows of tables on each side and rows of lockers in the middle. In between all of these rows was steel piping on which we had to sling our hammocks at night. The mick was tied to two of the pipes with the rope lashing tied alongside of it. To get in you would grab the lashing, give a push on the floor and pull on the lashing and swing into the mick. It took me a while the first time. I was afraid of falling out and lay on my back with my hands crossed on my chest. I didn't expect to sleep all night but within minutes dozed off. I woke in the morning in exactly the same position. It didn't take long to be able to grab the lashing, push and pull swinging the feet into the mick, and then pushing down on the lashing and plopping into the mick. It was so easy.

 
Small Group - - - - - - Beard & Buddy - - - -  Single Group
I have few pictures taken at Naden. Men of the Supply Branch (Writers, Storesmen, Cooks and Stewards) were dressed in the square rig, (peak caps, shirt and tie, and suit type uniform]. Others were dressed in the round rig, (round cap with a ship name tally, bell-bottom trousers, etc). When a group came in each week it was given a name, using ship names. Each group was a division, ours being the Athabascan. Each division was divided into classes. The picture on the left is of my class. I am the back, far right, short person. The one on the right is the Athabascan Division. I am next to the back, far right man. When on the parade ground and given the order to fall in, shortest on the left and tallest on the right, I was always the left most person. I was, and am, 5' 6" tall.

The middle picture is of myself and a friend, who belonged to a different division. We were dressed in dungs (dungarees) which we wore to most of our training. I had received permission to grow a beard. Believe it or not, in this picture I was eighteen years old. In the background of each picture is a tree called the Monkey Puzzle tree. The reason for the name is that it is the only tree that monkeys could not climb. It is covered with the most horrendous thorns that you can imagine.


The RCN had two cruisers, HMCS Ontario and HMCS Uganda. The Uganda was in the area and tied up at the dockyard. Some of us took the blue boat (harbour craft) over to visit her. Three of us climbed the mast to the crowsnest. Boy, when you looked down it was like looking down from the Empire State Building. To us it was a huge ship and compared to most it was, unless you are looking at a battleship or one of the big USN aircraft carriers.
HMCS Givinchy
Our new entry training lasted three months. After that was completed members of the Supply Branch moved across the harbour to HMCS Givinchy, a naval base in the dockyard. Our school and quarters were located there. We spent another three months taking our Supply courses. One of the best parts of our training was the nearness of Victoria, a beautiful city with the best looking flower garden park that I have ever seen.  
HMCS Scotian
On finishing both courses we were entitled to two weeks leave. I took the train back to North Bay for my holiday (in November 1946) and then headed for HMCS Scotian in the Halifax Dockyard. On my first evening there we heard a commotion in the hallways. It turned out that the frigate, HMCS Middlesex, had been at sea when they heard an SOS. They went full speed ahead and grounded outside of Halifax Harbour. The ship hit a sandbar, jumped over it and then became fixed. The next day, at low tide, members of the ship were able to walk to shore with the water coming up to their knees.
 
HMCS Micmac
 After about three months the base closed down and was turned into a Reserve Division. In April 1947 I went to the destroyer, HMCS Micmac. I was there to replace the Leading Writer in the Pay Office while he was in hospital. The ship was in the dockyard under refit for the whole period that I was aboard her. After about five weeks I went to HMCS Stadacona, the main eastern naval station.
Self and Cook - - - - - Eng. Room CPO - - - - - - -U-Boat U190

The first picture is of myself and the ship's cook. The life saver is the one shown in the second picture of a Chief Petty Officer of the engine room branch. I wish the left picture was more clear. I would like our faces to be clearer and I would like the name of the ship to be clear. It came whitened out. In the background can be seen the shores of Dartmouth. This was early enough after the war that many ships that had been torpedoed or fired upon, but made it into Halifax Harbour, are still  in the background. They limped into harbour and either sank, or were scuttled in a bay on the Dartmouth side. At low tide a good part of the ships could be seen. I think that one is barely visible to the right of the cook. The bow is fairly high and the stern under water. I remember one ship that only showed its funnels at high tide, but at low tide it showed huge amounts of lumber strapped to the upper deck.

The right hand shot is of the U190, a German U-Boat. It was the second last one to surrender to the Canadian Navy just outside of Halifax Harbour. The U899 surrendered the next day. It was turned over to the American Navy while the U190 was kept by the Canadians for practice and learning. It was painted yellow. I took this picture from the deck of the Micmac. The U190 was eventually used for target practice by the Navy and the RCAF. The Air Force finally sank her.


Shortly after we heard that the Micmac had completed her refit and had gone to sea for trials. On returning she entered a fog bank and she and the 10,000 ton freighter Yarmouth County collided head on. The damage to her port side of the bow was terrible. Ten men were killed and seventeen badly injured. In one mess there was only one survivor who had gone to Stadacona to visit the dentist that morning.Working in the pay office I had made friends with many of these men.
Port Bow- - - - - - Twin Four Inch Guns - - - -Standing in the Mess
These pictures are of the Micmac after her collision. They were taken just after she returned to Halifax and tied up. the left shows the bow with the huge gash that removed the bulkhead completly from the upper two port messes. A mess is the area where the men live. It contains boot lockers, eating tables, mick racks and space to sling the micks and lockers. The central picture shows the forward twin four inch guns, flipped up, back and over. One open mess is just below it. The third picture shows a man standing in the mess. He is just below the guns.
The Micmac on trials when she is her real self
The tribal class destroyers were beautiful ships. They could do about 35 knots, almost 40 MPH. As you can see they can turn in a very tight move, even at high speed. The complement of one of these ships was about 240 officers and men.
 
HMCS Stadacona
The Stadacona Pay Office was larger than any I had been in before. Pretty quiet there. A lot of the fellows used to hang out in the Office in the evenings. One evening I had a couple of pictures taken of me. 
At My Desk - - - -Cdr's Jacket
In these early days if you wanted to take a picture at night with office lights, you had to click the camera and hold it for ten seconds. Very hard not to move in that long period of time. In the left picture I am pretending that I am working at my desk. The Supply Officer had left a spare jacket in his office. The second picture shows me wearing his jacket, holding a pen and the telephone and trying to look like I am receiving important information.

Oddly enough a little later I was in the hospital. One of the Admin Writers met a girl and to try to keep her happy, within a few days, he went to the Pay Office and stole and forged some pay checks. The RCMP investigated and one of the officers looked through my friends desk, the man who had taken the above pictures and was holding the prints. As it turned out the cheques were typed on my typewriter. The officer did not say anything but took the pictures in to the Commander to ask who the person in the right picture was. Nothing was ever said but the Commander never left his jacket there again.

The forger was caught and held in cells. He went off his rocker that night, screaming that the devil was under his bunk and trying to get him. About the same time a Chief Petty Officer was found, in the winter, walking up Gottingen Street with his briefs and a dressing gown and slippers on, reading the bible at the top of his voice. He was sent to the hospital and placed under guard, on the third floor. I was still an up patient at the time and as a volunteer duty was sitting in the office by the front door with a window where visitors stopped and asked for room numbers. All of a sudden the sentry came running around the corner and bounced off of the opposite wall, then ran for the door and went out. He came right back and told me that the CPO had jumped out of the window.

We went out and I saw him lying on the steps, face down. They were cement with nothing but a paper thin bit of ice on them. The guard told me that the window in his room was open and suddenly the Chief jumped up and went out of the window head first. The sentry grabbed him by the legs but they slid through his arms and the Chief went down. I said that we should get him inside and the sentry picked up his legs and I took him under the chest. I felt warm liquid and figured that his chest was badly injured. We got him inside and laid him on the floor and I phoned for help. Then I thought that I would be in trouble because an accident victim shouldn't be moved until checked. As it turned out he had a one inch minor cut on his chin and not another bit of damage. The warm liquid was from his chest melting the bit of ice and warming it up. I still don't know how he could go from the third floor to the cement steps with no other injuries. I guess that his bible reading helped him.


Early in January, 1949, my wife, Marjorie of Yarmouth, NS,  agreed to marry me. I had been in Stad for about two years at that time. On the 9th of January a friend and I saw something on an officer's desk that we should not have seen. The next morning at 1100 we went in and told the officer that the report was in error. At 1330 (1:30 pm) the MAA (Master At Arms) came in and told the me that I was leaving for the carrier HMCS Magnificent and my friend was going to the Naval Air Base, which at that time was way out in the countryside with difficult transportation. That is HMCS Shearwater.
HMCS Magnificent
I arrived on the Maggie that afternoon and we sailed the next day for England. During the next three months we were only back in Halifax once, for a few days, and then we went to areas of the States and the Caribbean.

On my first day out to sea it was rough. I got sea sick as soon as I got up in the morning. The next morning I was still sick and went to the canteen and got two chocolate coated ice cream bars. After eating them my seasickness disappeared. We were heading for Glasgow, Scotland, to pick up some new Sea Furies. Our fighter planes were Sea Furies and our anti-sub aircraft were the Avengers. We were also going to pick up three ten ton destroyer screws. We stopped in Portsmouth, England for a visit. A friend and I took the train to London for the week end. In 1949 there was still food rationing in England and, although the debris had been removed, there were a lot of remains of buildings bombed during the war.

We went to Glasgow and loaded our Furies. We stayed a few days and then when it was time to leave we had to stay over another night. A storm had made the waters so rough that we could not leave the harbour. The next day we did leave and shortly I got sick again. I went up top and stuck my head into the fresh air. It cleared me up and I was never sea sick again.

About eight of the Furies were tied down on the aft end of the flight deck. The screws were tied down at the forward end of the deck, in a line towards the stern. All were forward of the island. At one point the third screw started to loosen. The fear was that it would break loose as the bow was rising and sweep aft taking out some of the Sea Furies, like a bowling alley. Men went out and tried to wire it down but were unsuccessful. It suddenly broke free just as the ship rolled to starboard and swept across in front of the island and into the sea.


The next few months were much more pleasant, especially when we went south. There were five ranks for the men from ordinary seaman to Chief Petty Officer. That was increased to seven about this time. We now had two classes of Petty Officer and Chief Petty Officer. Because of good breaks for the fortunate I was promoted to Petty Officer Second Class, skipping the Leading Seaman rank. We visited Colon at the east side of the Panama Canal. Some of us who had been promoted went ashore and wet our hooks. Hooks is jargon for anchors, two of which a petty officer wore on his left arm. To wet your hooks means to have a few drinks to celebrate the promotions. 
The Magnificent - - - - - - Pay Office Staff
The first picture is the Maggie at anchor. The aircraft seen on the deck are Seafires. They are basically Spitfires that were altered to allow the wings to fold back and to be equipped with a tail hook to grab a cable on landing. The other picture shows the staff of the Maggie. Standing left to right are myself who maintained the officers pay records, our Commissioned Officer who was the paymaster, our Petty Officer 1/c who was in charge of the Pay office, and two writer who handled the remainder of the pay records. The man on the right switched to Admin later on.
Over the side - - - - - Seafire Landing - - - -Seafire into barrier
The first shot is of a Seafire that caught a cable but swerved over the side and hung there. The plane was brought back aboard. The middle shot is a Seafire on the deck and catching a cable to stop him. Failure to get a cable means going into a steel cable barrier as the third one has done. The cables usually rip into the engine cowling and near the wing tips to stop the plane. Without the barrier the plane would continue and pile into the other aircraft that have landed and moved forward. Most often these planes would be back in the air by the next day.
We finally got back to Halifax for a short period and then left again for flying training exercises. We were going to go into Mahone Bay with the intention of anchoring out for the week-end. It was intended that we would take boats ashore and have BBQ's on the beach. It was after supper as we headed in and I was lying on the boot lockers in my mess with my head propped on my hand, reading a book. Our mess was just aft of the chain locker for the anchors. All of a sudden I heard a big noise and said to myself, "There go the hooks". Then I started to bounce about six inches off of the lockers. I looked up and out the door to the weatherdeck and saw one of the two destroyers that had been following us in line astern. It went up the port side about 30 or 40 feet out. I ran to the weatherdeck and looked forward. The destroyer was just ahead of us and facing to our stern. She had done a 180 degree turn, as did the other one on the starboard side.
We had run 200 feet up on a rock. Standing on the deck I could feel a strong vibration and hear quite a noise. It was the water pouring into the ship. I went to the flight deck and we figured that we could hit the shore with a stone. All the aircraft were moved to the stern and the order was given for all personnel to go to the stern. The two destroyers went aft up us and tied to our stern. The went full ahead as we went full aft. We didn't move a bit. Luckily we had hit at low tide. Finally at midnight, just as we were hitting high tide a grinding noise started and we slid back into the water. We went at about 10 knots back to Halifax, arriving in the early morning.
I called Marge about 0800. She told me that she had been reading in bed around midnight and decided to go to sleep. She wanted to hear the news and turned on her radio in the midst of a report on the Maggie. She told me that they ended with the words, "It is not known if anyone was killed or injured, yet." No one was hurt.
HMCS Iroquois
We had 100 UNTD (University Naval Training Division) Cadets on board, officers of the future. The Maggie had to go into a long refit so the destroyer HMCS Iroquois was brought out of moth balls to continue their training. A skeleton crew of 140 officers and men were selected to man her for the training period remaining, about three months. Luckily I was one of those selected, otherwise I would have had to go to St. John, NB for the refit period.
The Wartime Iroquois - - - - - - And in Peace
The time spent on the Iroquois was only three months. One evening, on return from a cruise, we arrived in Halifax Harbour but could not tie alongside because of a very strong storm. We dropped anchor in the harbour. A little later we received an SOS from a Russian ship at sea east of Cape Breton. They had lost their steering. We left immediately and headed out into the bad weather to assist. By daylight we had located the Russian. They had attached cables to the rudder and to two winches and were using this setup up to steer for harbour. The ship would swerve from port to starboard and back continually. We accompanied them for some time but they refused to take a tow from us and we eventually headed back for Halifax.

We made our final return to Halifax in September, 1949. The Iroquois' sailing days were over again and she would soon be paid off again. Marge and I were married on 9th September. We went on a two week honeymoon on a lake across the highway from St. Margaret's Bay. We took a taxi to get there. The driver was very hard of hearing and at one point we heard a train whistle. The tracks crossed the road ahead of us at a sharp angle. The driver looked back and then forward and continued on his way. The train was coming from the other side and missed us with a roar behind the car, missing us by what appeared to be inches. Marge just about passed out and neither of us could speak for a bit. the driver never knew what happened.
HMCS La Hulloise
The Frigate La Hulloise in an English harbour during the war
From the Iroquois I went to HMCS La Hulloise. It was a temporary move prior to my reporting to HMCS Shearwater, the Naval Air Base. There was a weird setup there. She was tied alongside in the dockyard. I ate and slept on board but our offices were on the shore. Never got sea sick once.
HMCS Shearwater
From the La Hulloise I went to HMCS Shearwater, the Royal Canadian Naval Air Station. I was there for less than a year. The Supply Officer told me different times that I was very good at my job. Then I learned to drive in his Navy jeep. Soon after I had a near accident with it and was charged with reckless driving and speeding. I was found 'not guilty' but did not have an MT6, the Naval driver's licence. From that time on the Supply Officer did and said anything that he could to hurt me. One day the Chief Writer asked me if I wanted to make the Navy my career. I said I did and he replied that he was sorry.

The Supply Officer of the Micmac had told me when I left the ship, that he was going as Officer-In-Charge of the Drafting Depot, where all moves were handled. He said that if he could ever help me to let him know. After the Chief's message I called the Depot and spoke to the Lieutenant now in charge. I told him that I had a problem and would like to get moved to HMCS York in Toronto, Ontario. It is a Naval base used for Reserves with a small staff of RCN. The Lieutenant asked me when I would like to go. I said, "Today". He laughed but I was on my way in two or three days.

HMCS York
During my period in York I was promoted to Petty Officer 1/c. I was able to get back into the square rig. After two years at York I returned to Shearwater. All new staff by this time, of course. After a couple of years I missed the sea. A new Aircraft Carrier, HMCS Bonaventure, was supposed to be about ready to take the place of the Magnificent. I requested the Captain for a move to the Bonnie. He told me that it would not be ready for a couple more years, but that I could go to the Maggie. I agreed.
HMCS Magnificent
Instead of the Maggie my move was to the cruiser HMCS Uganda, which had now been renamed to HMCS Quebec. It was currently in refit in a drydock at the Halifax Shipyards. I was only there for about seven weeks when I was informed that the PO on the Maggie was being sent ashore because of compassionate reasons, sickness of his wife. By this time PO 1/c's could be the Pay Bob which previously had to be an officer. That was my job on the Maggie. I was in charge of the Pay Office and handled the cash. On paydays a number of officers assisted with the general payment. We had a crew of about 1,200, with the air crew aboard, and we each paid about 200. On my first payday I was really worried about mistakes. I would have to pay for anything short. When I finished the payment I rushed back to the Pay Office and balanced the cash. Right on. We were on the way to England at the time for a three month refit in Portsmouth. Because of that, after the payment was made we had to go back to our pay stations and exchange money for English pounds. While doing it someone noticed that I had given him 100 pounds too much and handed it back to me. When finished I was really scared and got back to the office for another balance. It was right on again, thanks to that man.

I enjoyed the aircraft carrier because we were able to watch during take offs and landings. That was very exciting. Nobody ever wanted to see anyone hurt but all those watching during flying exercises loved to see a plane make a poor landing or even a crash. I didn't have a regular camera with me but I did have my movie camera. I was able to recently get pictures made from these, even though the films were now over 40 years old and transferred to tape, unprofessionally. I lost the .JPG files but had printed them in a Wordperfect file and then I scanned those copies. Each step deteriorated the shots, but better than nothing.
 
Among some of the crashes that I witnessed was a Sea Fury that hit the round down (an area at the stern end of the flight deck that rounded down so that a plane that hit too low could bounce up instead of smashing into it). This one then rose and cleared the second barrier and went under the third one. The first one is always down. One of the cables on the barrier hit the canopy and sliced through it, hitting the pilot's helmet and denting it. The plane then caught fire, but strictly gas. There was no smoke but the gas went over the side and down into a weather deck below. Rescue crew ran to the plane in their fire proof outfits and got the pilot out. Then they covered it with foam. The pilot ended up with a headache.

Another Fury hit the round down and then bounced up but picked up No. 1 cable. It lost one wheel on the first impact and then when the cable ran out it slammed down onto the deck ramming the second wheel through the wing. The pilot was not hurt.

An Avenger was landing one day while I was at my goofing station on the aft end of the smoke stack. Talking at the time and when I realized he was not going to pick up a cable I grabbed my camera and got a shot just as he went into No. 2 barrier and the right wing tip hit the island. No injuries.

A Sikorsky chopper lifted off the deck one day and at about 20 feet the rotors locked. It slammed down onto the deck and the pieces flew all about. No injuries.

There were quite a few more but I know of no other injuries in any of those accidents.