The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-11-20, Page 13Navy celebrates 75th
First of a two part series
By James Friel
From its start with barely more than a,
whimper 75. years ago to the heightof its.
power as the third largest • navy in the world
during World War II, the Royal, Canadian
Navy has seen its share of ups and downs.
It was started with an act of Parliame,,�,t,
in 1910 after Britain requested . the
Canadian government to supply funds to
help protect the former colony: Canada
instead decided to start a navy and on May
4, 1910 the Naval Services Act was passed
creating a Department of Naval Services
under the Minister of Marine andFisher-
ies. The political battle accompanying the
bill's passage has gone down as one, of the
great debates between the country's major
parties.
In accordance with its slow start, the
Canadian, Navy did very little .in the First
World War. It was in the second global
conflict that the navy .cut its teeth. ;
This was despite the fact that, as pointed
out in the pictorial history of the navy,
Heart of Oak ' by J. A. Foster, much .of a
ship's complement would be of green
sails.
The' constantly acquired ships created a
huge demand for sailors and as Forster
notes, "Young lads with a . few hours'
experience in a 10 -foot dinghy at their local
sailing club suddenly found themselves as
junior officers on board warships."
The Second World War also saw the
development of the ship for which Canada
is perhaps most 'renowned. Over 100
corvettes were built in Canada and it seems
that almost every naval man had spent
some time on one of these small craft.
It couldn't have been by choice. These
ships were the little Davids of the : North
Atlantic convoy route, especially the
"Derry-Newfie" run. Their foes were the
very efficient, very deadly U-boats, the
Goliaths of the cold drama with their
armament and their capacity for sudden
and overwhelming attack.
Twenty-ninelships of the Royal Canadian
Navy were lost during the war more than
a third were corvettes.
Working in the RCN
By James Friel
Although the two have different histories
of their time as sailors, one thing both Sam
Matthews and Harold Ritchie can agree on
is that when you spent time on a Royal.
Canadian Navy corvette, • you . spent it
working. .
Matthews was already in the merchant
marine when the war broke out and two
years later the navy's desperation for
professional' sailors convinced him to
transfer "It sure wasn't for the money."
The U.S. native moved to Canada with
his parents after living the first five years
of his life in Depotville, New York. He was
raised in Ganaonoque and when he was 14,
he went to sea.
At 16 and with analtered baptismal
certificate, he went to the. navy .as a Petty
Officer, Second Class. He already had his
4th class marine ticket.
"I don't know why .I did 'it. I had a 4th
class marine ticket and the navy was short
of stokers and engineers. A guy just did
it-"
Neither of the ships he was on went
down underneath him but one ' of the
corvettes he was on, the Snowberry, was
credited with sinking a U-boat. He served
on .the HMCS Marlborough as well.
The corvette, he said a "very small and
very rough." It was also responsible for
guarding convoysacross the North Atlant-
ic, a..route that was so deadly a battle-
ground that at one point losing 25 per cent
of the ships ' in a convoy was average.
"Life aboard a corvette was hectic. We
didn't worry aboat having things to do
because we had a lot to do just surviving
the ride."
Sam Matthews
Harold Ritchie spent time on the triangle
run and regularly put into port in New York
and Boston and, was based . in Halifax.
He downplays the run but ships were
sunk, in the area by U-boats and one of the
undrwater craft wassunk in the mouth of
the St. Lawrence River. ,
He was on an old destroyer bought from
the U.S. at the beginning of the war and
was then transferred to HMCS Sherbrooke.
While on board he spent time at the depth
sounder, the only way the surface ships
had any idea of U-boats. He never heard.
one during • his stint.
Harold Ritchie
primarily sit and listen to the
machine. There were two; of us. We spent
one hour on and one off so we wouldn't get.
"ping -happy, he, laughed.
"When you came off your watch at 8 in
the morning, you were responsible for
cleaning up the mess. The ,ones off at 12
did the same and so did the ones off at
six." • .
Any free time for both men serving on
the corvettes was spent sleeping or eating
and • "keeping the 'place ' clean", said
Ritchie. There were card games and letter
writing to fill any other free time.
"The living quarters were, cramped. I
slept on lockers with an inch of upholstery
on top of them for six months. It was just
like sleeping on a board," recalled Ritchie.
He finally got enough space to sling a
hammock after a refitting job. That was the
only way they could stuff the 92 men into
sleeping spots on board the 205 by 35 foot
corvette. •
•
He was in Halifax when the ammunition
dump exploded. He and some cronies were
six miles away from the blast but windows
around them shattered with the incredible
force. •Turn to page 15
Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday; November 20, 1985—Page 13
SHOP
CALLY
You'll Discover that the =�
Best Bargains Anywhere Can
Be Found Right in Your Own
Backyard and Here's Why.
You're more than a customer
To localmerchants, you're also
a valued, friend and neighbor.
You share community interest.
It's good for the economy, too
Much of the money you spend
locally is recycled back in-
to the community thru taxes.
Service Is Very
important Too
Your satisfaction is the #1
concern .of local merchants.
Should problems arise with Vis,
a product you have purchased
you can count on local mer-
chants to "stand behind"
what they sell. They want to
keep you as a good customer!
Whatever You Need, !
Find It Locally
Save time, gas and money '
by`buying close to your home..
Your needs and the needs ot'your fam-
ily,are easily met by local
merchants so there's no rea-
son .to go .out.of town. ,
Foods to Fashions...it's
all right here. Quality
'; products you can count
on from local merchants.
1 ?knd everybody benefits!
ntinel
5.28-2822
+,