Every year on the first Sunday of May, services are held across Canada to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic.
The battle which spanned from 1939 to 1945 has been described as the “longest continuous military campaign in World War II between the Allies and German forces.” At stake was control of the Atlantic Ocean.
“We were trying to protect the Atlantic and keep the Germans, the enemies, from reaching our shores. As we know there was a submarine found off the coast of Newfoundland and different parts of Canada,” explained Lieutenant Lorie Hall, an active member of the RCNA (Royal Canadian Naval Association) as well as Commanding Officer of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps (RCSCC) Brilliant.
The Allies sent millions of tons of food, and essential supplies to help Britain restock.
Canada played an important role in the struggle for control of the North Atlantic.
Just over 43-hundred Canadian Sailors and RCAF Air Crew lost their lives in the battle which raged on from 1939 to May 1945.
“The Canadian navy took on the major responsibility of moving convoys from Halifax. Halifax was the major port for convoys. Anything that was going into England, generally came up from New York from the American ports and gathered in Halifax because that base could hold hundreds and hundreds of ships and they would sail out of there on their convoy,” explained Brian Hansen who once served as a member of the Royal Canadian Navy long after the battle.
“Canadians take a great deal of pride, the Canadian navy in particular, in what we were able to accomplish over a five-year period. The Battle of the Atlantic starts from a Canadian perspective on the 16th of September a week after they started in England and it doesn’t end until the 8th of May in 1945. That is a long time to be fighting one battle.”
Members of the Royal Canadian Naval Association North Bay Branch, the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps (RCSCC) Brilliant, some members of 22 Wing CFB North Bay along with members of the public gathered in the Blue Room at 22 Wing CFB North Bay on Sunday to mark the 77th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic.
Tradition is a big part of the ceremony, especially the two bell toll.
“The bell had always been a call between watches and it was a way of recognizing a lost ship as well. The bells have always been a part of the traditional naval routine. We do it for all ships, we do it specifically for our Canadian veterans but it is in recognition of all the allied ships that were sunk,” explained Hansen.
“We tend to take more time with the Canadian side of it because Canada played such a major role in moving convoys across the Atlantic.”
As Captain Lorie Hall, an active RCNA member and commanding officer of the Sea Cadets went on to explain,
“The toll of the ship's bell is our reminder of our ships and fellow shipmates who have made the supreme sacrifice in the defense of our homeland. Let us not forget our obligation to those who have served our country.”
As the bells tolled, Hansen’s thoughts went to his own father Harry, who fought in the Battle of the Atlantic.
“He joined in 1940 and he came home in late 1945,” Hansen shared.
“Ninety-five per cent of his sea time was spent in the Battle of the Atlantic. He was 23 going in and 28 coming back out. It’s a long time out of a person’s life when they’re spending it constantly under the threat of battle,” said Hansen.
“I would say my dad probably aged 25 years in just five years. I have pictures of him when he joined and when he came home, he was a totally different human being. He had aged that much. It is very difficult to understand sometimes today. We have very few veterans left. I had the option as well of being able to sail with a lot of WWII and Korean veterans because I went in, in 1959. When I joined there were still quite a few WWII vets in the navy. And they never spoke about it.”
While many preferred not to speak of their experiences, the older Hansen eventually shared wartime stories with his son Brian.
“He did because after I had served in the navy, I think it was much easier for him to talk to me about it. He didn’t talk to the rest of the family, I know that. My brothers didn’t hear anything about the war, but he did speak to me at length throughout the '60s and ’70s until he passed away,” said the younger Hansen.
“My dad was a Chief Petty Officer in the engine room. Of course, during an attack, he was always in the engine room. I asked him one day what thoughts went through his mind knowing that he could be sunk at any time. And he said for the first couple of trips you feel lucky, he said after that it just sort of goes ‘If it happens, at least I will go quick.’”
One particularly gruesome event left a lasting impression on the older Hansen.
“One day dad said he went up on deck after an attack, and he saw merchant seamen in the water. The destroyers could not stop to pick them up because they were chasing down a submarine, and he said you could literally see the merchant seamen sliding down the side of the ship which was going full tilt after the submarine. He said some of the men were alive because he could hear them screaming in the water. He said it was the last time he ever went on deck during any sort of an operation because it was just too traumatic.”
War is always difficult on loved ones left behind.
“It was hard on my mother, worrying about what was going on overseas and having no idea what was really happening. I remember she did tell me once that one of the fears she had was, if somebody was killed at sea or killed in the war, the military would come and deliver a telegram to the house and she said when that vehicle came down the road and somebody got out, usually it was a padre and he walked up to somebody’s house, you knew what they were coming for.”
Harry Hansen took measures to protect his wife from the reality of war.
“My dad used to write letters home a week in advance if he was going to sea. He would write seven or eight letters and then the postmaster would mail them out one letter every other day so that my mother would never worry about what he was doing. She would have these letters coming in every other day saying everything was fine. There was never anything in there about battles or having to fight with the Nazis or U-boats. It was always pleasant things, that he was in England and had visited a museum. But they didn’t really visit museums.”
A ship known as “The Lucky Lady” had survived several attacks.
“He told me one time they were in a surface battle off the English coast, there were German destroyers out and they got a shell from a destroyer right through the funnel and the shell landed just in the water beside the ship and it didn’t explode.”
Reflecting on pictures, unexpectedly brought the reality of battle even closer to home.
“I have a picture of my mother and her friends and there were about 8 or 9 high school students in the picture. It looked like they were having a great time. And on top of the men, there was a date. I asked her about it once and she said that was the year they died, that was when they were killed. There was one person with no date above him, and that was my dad.”
During this 77th anniversary, the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Brilliant took on a more active role in coordinating the ceremony.
It was the first such ceremony since the start of COVID.
“We’ve taken on more of a lead role. I think the intention there is really passing the torch on to the next generation. So all of the readings are done by youth,” said Hall.
“At one time the Sea Cadets did run it and then it was turned over to the Naval Association,” said Hansen.
“And now because most of the vets in the Naval Association are getting on in years, I’m one of the younger ones at 80, the Sea Cadets are taking the lead role and I think it is fantastic because it gives them an opportunity to start to understand some of the history of the Royal Canadian Navy and some of the importance of the Battle of the Atlantic in keeping the lines open for supplies into Britain and into Europe. The convoys were the lifeline for Britain and that was very important for making sure that supplies like fuel and food and weapons were brought as rapidly as possible across the Atlantic so that Britain could stay afloat and then they could build up reserves for the attack on Europe.”
The master of ceremonies was 17-year-old Chief Petty Officer First Class Nicholas Berube, who expressed pride in the Sea Cadets taking on such an increased presence in the ceremony.
“I’ve learned so much, about all the lives lost, and how Canada played a big part even though we had a small military at the time.”
The RCN grew from just 6 destroyers and 35-hundred personnel in 1939 to 373 fighting ships and more than 100-thousand sailors by the end of the war, one of the largest navies in the world based on information from National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces.
At one time as lead up to the ceremony, Hansen would meet and explain to the sea cadets this important part of Canada’s history.
“I would go through the whole process of the convoy, what was expected, what they expected from the U-boats. I spent a lot of time studying the war simply because my dad was there and it was an opportunity for me to explain, and to show them, I have a video presentation that I use, as well taking in and showing them my dad’s medals. And I would take the gun shield art off of HCMS North Bay. I think it is one of the few pieces that are actually left from the Second World War of actual gun shield art. The Canadian navy allowed the members of the ships to decorate the gun shields. So they put lots of pictures all over the guns.”
Hansen has high hopes for the sea cadets moving forward.
“My hope is that they will have a better understanding of the history of the Second World War, particularly from the Royal Canadian Navy and the importance of maintaining a strong military and the importance as well of having young people become involved in the military. We’re not all looking to turn these children into fighting men and women, but they have to understand the importance of having our military available to help and to be prepared to defend. And what their great grandparents at this point did during the war to protect Canadian freedom, “ shared Hansen.
“The Battle of the Atlantic also included the St. Lawrence River. There were German submarines in there along the St. Lawrence River sinking Canadian ships, so it wasn’t a remote event. It is in Canada, and it is an important part of our history.”
Hansen expects the ceremony will have an even greater impact on the cadets this year as the eyes of the world are focused on the crisis unfolding in Ukraine.
“The War in Ukraine is going to bring it home a little more forcefully than we can, just by talking to them. They are now seeing on television and the internet, exactly what war is and how important it is that we participate not necessarily in battle, but are part of the allied forces that are helping the Ukrainians. I hope that they do understand a little bit more when they can see the devastation that occurs. We were fortunate during the war that we didn’t see the devastation inside Canada in the sense they weren’t bombing Toronto or Montreal or Ottawa.”
