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The Loss of HMCS Ottawa
The Loss of HMCS Ottawa
On September 13/14, 1942 while escorting Convoy ON-127 930 km east
of St. John's, Newfoundland, HMCS Ottawa was torpedoed by U-91. Thirty
minutes later, unable to maneuver, the ship, hit by a second torpedo, broke in
half, and sank with the loss of 114 crew. 65 survivors were rescued and taken
to St. John’s Newfoundland by HMS Celandine.
Sixteen of the crew from Nova Scotia were lost.
Three days prior to being torpedoed on September 10, 1942
HMCS Ottawa rescued 24 survivors from the British steam tanker Empire Oil
that was sunk by the German U-boats U-659 and U-584 south west of Iceland.
One of the survivors died of wounds and sixteen others died when HMCS
Ottawa was sunk.
HMS Crusader was a destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s.
and was sold to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1938 and renamed HMCS Ottawa.
Initially deployed on the Canadian Pacific Coast before World War II, the
destroyer was transferred to the Atlantic three months after the outbreak of
WWII as a convoy escort.
The following are Nova Scotia crew members lost on September 13, 1942.
Their names are listed on the Halifax Memorial.
Adlington, Howard Hibbert
V/25539
Supply Assistant
Age 23
Son of Stephen Augustus and Elsie Maud Adlington, of Bedford, NS
Collier, Chesley
A/1275
Able Seaman
Age 34
Husband of Ethel May Collier, of Halifax, NS
Connolly, Richard Joseph
V/25107
Leading Stoker
Age 24
Brother of Harold Connolly, of Halifax, NS
Gallagher, Howard Joseph
3596
Leading Seaman
Age 20
Husband of Kathleen Gladys Gallagher, of Halifax, NS)
Harris, Carl Norman
V/335
Ordinary Seaman
Age 27
Son of William Stephen and Mary Harris, of Halifax, NS
Hickey, John Chesley
A/4613
Able Seaman
Age 26
King, Arthur Haliburton
V/452
Ordinary Seaman
Age 18
Son of Mary L. King, of Annapolis Royal, NS
Leslie, Kenneth Lloyd
A/1315
Stoker
Age 23
Nephew of Mrs. Irene Russell, of Halifax, Nova Scotia
Miller, Earl Glawson
21695
Stoker
Age 23
Son of Frederick C. P. Miller, and of Bessie M. Miller of Halifax, Nova Scotia
Murphy, Gerald William
V/331
Ordinary Seaman
Age 22
Son of Harry Joseph and Maude E. Murphy, of Halifax, NS
Purcell, Herbert Augustus
A/1056
Engine Room Artificer
Age 32
Son of Francis Augustus and Agnes Victoria Purcell NS husband of Dorothy Mary Purcell, of Halifax
NS
Roop, Roy Munroe
A/4747
Able Seaman
Age 34
Son of Katherine R. Roop, of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
Rutherford, Clark Anderson
Lieut-Commander
Age 28
Husband of Marjorie Rutherford, of Halifax, NS
Slaunwhite, Harry Melvin
A/4589
Able Seaman
Age 34
Son of Robert and Annabella Slaunwhite, and husband of Rita M. Slaunwhite, of Halifax. NS
Trainor, Alfred Noel
40459
Petty Officer Steward
Age 26
Son of Margaret Trainor of Armdale, NS; husband of Doris Elizabeth Trainor, of Victoria, BC
Zinck, Cyril Milford
V/25607
Supply Assistant
Age 31
Son of Silas Milford Zinck and Pansy Eleanor Zinck, and husband of Lillian Edna Zinck, of Halifax, NS