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September 03, 2006.
Today is Merchant Navy Veterans Day, which pays homage to the "unsung heroes" of the Second World War whose losses, at one in eight, were the highest of any of the services. Professor Jack Granatstein stated that without them, the Allies could not have won the war.
The ceremony in Ottawa will also honour Hannah Baird, a Verdun, Quebec, native and merchant seawoman who was the first Canadian casualty of the Second World War. On September 3, 1939, her ship, SS Athenia, was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, one week before Canada declared war and one week after the merchant service and military were placed on a war alert.
Hannah Baird is commemorated on the Women Mariners Memorial, which graces Veterans Park in Langford, BC.
The ceremony in Ottawa will also honour Hannah Baird, a Verdun, Quebec, native and merchant seawoman who was the first Canadian casualty of the Second World War. On September 3, 1939, her ship, SS Athenia, was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, one week before Canada declared war and one week after the merchant service and military were placed on a war alert.
Hannah Baird is commemorated on the Women Mariners Memorial, which graces Veterans Park in Langford, BC.
3 comments:
Good one Maggie. I do know that the United States did not recognize the Merchant Marines as veterans. What a disservice that was. They were expected to deliver the goods need to supply not only the armed forces with the arms to fight the enemy, but also to feed the troops and civilians. I don't know if Canada treated their merchant mariners any different. But these people did some very brave things, and had no way to protect themselves, or to fight back. The thinking was that unarmed vessels would not be attacked, We all know that was B.S. Even Red Cross ships were attacked. Winston Allison
Hello Winston,..Canada treated them the same way,.....terribly,....but I do believe that they (Canada),..has since settled up,and have finally recognized the huge contribution these people made to the whole war effort(usually on ships with no armament,) so basically sitting ducks ,unable to defend themselves,....although many 'important' shipments did have Naval Escort I wonder why they werenot recognized??? Could it have been just monetary reasons in those days,....if so they (the Gov'ts) should cough up now to the families,.at least,.........afterall we do waste litterally Billions,on many other ridiculous things,..........Let's take care of our own,at least:
Les. I fully agree. It was monetary, and they should be recognized. But, you know that the men that fought at Dieppe were never recognized. No medals or nothing. They were treated like it never happened. They were only recognized within the last few years. Another (sorry) British screw up. Churchill needed something to encourage the British public, and gave the task to Mountbatten. Well they screwed that up and cost many Canadian men their lives, and many men to spend the war as POWs.
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