The Department of National Defence and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) held a ceremony at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax on Sunday to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic. The ceremony honoured the service and sacrifice of thousands of Canadians during the Second World War.
“This is really important to us in the naval memorial trust because our mission is to make sure that we honour the commitment and the work and suffering and sacrifice of those men and women who served during the war,” said Greg Cottingham, the Chair of the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust (CNMT).
The trust was accompanied by music from the Stadacona Band of the RCN and the Canadian Military Wives Choir Halifax during the ceremony. The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) performed a fly past and a full parade of four platoons including RCN, RCAF, Canadian Army and cadet personnel marched as part of the commemoration.
Cottingham said these ceremonies are a reminder of the war and of the day-to-day “hard slogging” faced by everyone touched by the Battle of the Atlantic – the longest campaign of the war.
“If you go onboard the HMCS Sackville you’ll see that it was no treat,” Cottingham said. “They were living in crowded spaces, sleeping in hammocks. They would be soaking wet for most of the trip.”
Ships that participated in the battle alongside the Sackville faced the harsh climate of the North Atlantic year-round, said Cottingham.
“Those ships bounced like corks in the water,” he said. “It would have been an extremely challenging life. “
The trust owns and operates His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Sackville, the last surviving Flower-class corvette from the Second World War. The ship has been preserved as a museum ship as part of Canada’s Naval Memorial. It was anchored near the site of the ceremony to drop a commemorative wreath and conduct burials at sea. Nineteen Canadian Navy veterans who have passed had their ashes committed during the service.
Cottingham said it’s important for young people to visit museum ships and attend commemoration ceremonies to understand the sacrifices made by previous generations on their behalf.
The HMCS Sackville celebrates the 85th anniversary of its launch from Saint John, N.B., on May 15. The Sackville will be recommissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy during the ceremony in Halifax as a symbolic gesture in recognition of its service history.
“There’s a lot going on today that seems to be a repeat of history,” Cottingham said. “Maybe we could learn something by looking back.”
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Paul DeWitt
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