Name: George Manuel Adams Service No: A/1441 Rank: Motor Mechanic Regiment/Service: Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve HMCS Raccoon Date of Birth: April 24, 1901 Place of Birth: Great Burin, Burin, Newfoundland Date of Enlistment: March 30, 1940 Place of Enlistment: Halifax, NS Address at Enlistment: East Pubnico, Yarmouth Co., NS Age at Enlistment: 38 Height: 5 feet, 2 ½ inches Complexion: Fair Hair Colour: Brown Eye Colour: Blue Trade: Engineer (MV Amacita) Marital Status: Married Religion: United Next of Kin: Susanna Adams (Wife) East Pubnico, Yarmouth Co., NS Date of Death: September 7, 1942 Memorial: Halifax Memorial (Panel 6) Commemorated on page 209 of the Newfoundland Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on April 15, August 1, and November 12 Commemorated on The Yarmouth War Memorial George Adams was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Moulton, of Fortune Bay, Newfoundland and husband of Susanna Adams, of East Pubnico. His father, Stephen Adams (b. 1875) died in 1902. His mother was Melinda (Beasley) Adams. She married James Moulton after the death of Stephen Adams. George had four children, Olive Rosenne, Shirley Marie, Elsie Jean, and Lillian Georgina. He and Susanna were married at 101 Vernon St., Halifax in 1929. He lived in Halifax for nine years, in Yarmouth Co., NS for twelve years and in East Pubnico for four and a half years. Prior to his enlistment he was employed as an engineer on the Swedish freighter MV Amacita. He worked in coastal trade for Mr. J. Brodie as a diesel engineer out of Yarmouth for twelve years. After his service he had planned to work on his own farm in Pubnico. His enlisted with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve on March 30, 1940 in Halifax and joined the crew of HMCS Raccoon on May 16, 1940. HMCS Raccoon was a civilian yacht converted for military service,and was one of several Royal Canadian Navy ships sunk during the battle of the St. Lawrence. The German submarine U-165 sank Raccoon in the early morning of 7 September 1942 during an attack on a convoy near Pointe-au- Père, Quebec. In the confusion, Raccoon's loss was not realized until later in the day. Little trace of the ship and its 37 crew was ever found, aside from some wreckage and the body of its captain, R. H. McConnell. John Jeremiah Boudreau also died September 7, 1942 on HMCS Raccoon The struggle on the Atlantic between Allied navies and German U-Boats brought the naval war into Canada, turning the river and Gulf of St. Lawrence into a battleground. From 1942, German U-Boats sank 23 merchant and naval ships. Improvements in anti-submarine defences ultimately stemmed these losses.

Photo Credit: Canadian War Museum George Metcalf Archival Collection CWM 20070195-008b_front

Sources: Canadian Virtual War Memorial Additional Information on HMCS Raccoon uboat.net (HMCS Raccoon)