Battle of the Atlantic Dinner

The 70th anniversary of the end of the longest battle of the Second World War, the Battle of the Atlantic, was celebrated at HMCS Discovery, Vancouver's reserve naval base, on May 2nd.

Present and pictured at left as Guest of Honour was The Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Brian Cook, president of the Naval Officers Association on BC was mess president for the occasion. At left, the Lieutenant Governor was presented with a history of Discovery.

To the right are John Horton (left), prominent marine artist, and Dr James Boutilier, Special Advisor to Commander MARPAC (Maritime Command Pacific, RCN). Dr. Boutilier spoke about the Battle of the Atlantic, and drew attention to the appalling losses suffered by the German U-boat fleet during the battle.

NOABC--Christimas Lunch with The Dukes

The photo at left was taken at the Beatty Street Armoury in Vancouver on December 4, 2014. The occasion was the annual Christmas fundraising luncheon put on by the BCR(DCO), the British Columbia Regiment, (Duke of Connaught's Own). "The Dukes", as their members are known, is the oldest militia regiment in British Columbia, dating back to 1883.

Recently there has been a strong supportive showing at the luncheon by the Vancouver naval community. Two tables were occupied by present or former members of the senior service.

Among them were Lloyd Williams, on the left, and King Wan. King was commanding officer of HMCS Discovery from 2001 to 2005, and Lloyd commanded a Landing Ship Infantry (Large) during World War II. He disembarked troops on beaches at Sicily and then Normandy, D-Day, 1944.

Battle of the Atlantic at HMCS Discovery

I was honoured to be the speaker at the Naval Officers Association of British Columbia's annual Battle of the Atlantic dinner held on May 3rd at HMCS Discovery. Discovery is the Canadian navy's reserve division headquarters in Vancouver.
Some sixty-five or so members and guests attended. The attendees enjoyed a fine meal and interesting company, with ship's officers leading the way in impromptu renditions of "Heart of Oak" and "What Shall We do with a Drunken Sailor".

Following the formal parts of the dinner I presented a brief overview of Canadian submarines and submariners, tracing back from the present-day Victorias to CC1 and 2. In the photo above, taken during my talk, it was fortuitous that a new painting of CC1 and CC2 by our very accomplished marine artist, John Horton, was on display. It is visible in the background.

Also present were John Molyneux and his grandson, Philip. John is a long-standing member of the NOA of BC. In the photo they are in front of a painting of HMS Hood during a visit to Vancouver between the wars. John had the distinction of serving in Hood--and the good luck to be drafted off scant weeks before she sailed on her final voyage and her fatal meeting with Germany's Bismarck.

Photos courtesy Mary Horton