The first Sunday in May is known as Battle of the Atlantic Sunday.
Some 200 people were gathered on baord the museum ship HMCS Sackville on Sunday for a very solemn ceremony to commit the ashes of veteran sailors or their loved ones, to the sea. HMCS Sackville is the ony remaining corvette of some 123 built by Canada during the war. (image CBC) CLICK to ENLARGE
It is the day when ceremonies are held in various locations across the country to remember those who served and gave their lives in the longest ongoing battle of the Second World War. It was fought from the beginning of the war in 1939, to the end in 1945.
One of the largest services was held in the port city of Halifax, where an additional and very moving ceremony was held about HMCS Sackville. The ashes of 27 veterans sailors and loved ones were committed to the sea from the deck of the last surviving Corvette.
Barbara Howell-Wright said goodbye to her father, Chief Petty Officer Jack Howell-Wright. He was 89.
“I’m really hoping he’s looking down right now and he’s thrilled because he started the war on one of these corvettes and the fact that he’s taking his last voyage from one, to us, is just fabulous.”
Some 3,700 sailors and merchant seamen lost their lives delivering supplies across the Atlantic Ocean to Britain.
Canadian veterans ride in the back of a Canadian designed and built (Canadian Military Pattern-CMP) 15cwt cargo truck during celebrations in Amsterdam May 5, 2005. (photo- Netherlands Archives) CLICK to ENLARGE
During the war years, the Canadian fleet grew from a tiny entity to 373 fighting vessels, making the Canadian navy the third largest in the world.
May 5th also marks the anniversary of the Canadian liberation of Holland. Ceremonies were also held in various areas across Canada on Sunday, although it’s a much bigger event throughout the Netherlands.
The Dutch have always remained extremely grateful to Canadians for the liberation
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