During the Second World War many Royal Canadian Navy ships had mascots. They ranged in a variety of dogs and cats, one ship was rumoured to have a pet pig. For many of the young sailors, away from home these fury shipmates brought a sense of normalcy, a sense of home to them. You might […]
Friendly Fire Incident -Normandy
A wounded sailor from the cableship HMTS Monarch is transferred to HMCS TRENTONIAN after the two allied ships came under friendly fire from USS PLUNKETT off the Normandy coast on the night of 12-13 June 1944. See HMCS TRENTONIAN: A Victim Of Friendly Fire Photo credit SBA A. Singleton courtesy of Bruce Keir, RCNVR, Stoker, HMCS […]
The Canadian Maple Leaf -A RCN Tradition Honouring Our Sailors Past
If you look at any ship in the Royal Canadian Navy today, you will see a bright red Maple Leaf proudly displayed on the funnel or helicopter hangar. This has become a unique tradition in the RCN and can be traced back to 1918 when several RCN Drifters (CD Class) used for minesweeping had placed […]
Guest Speaker -Toronto Branch of the Naval Association of Canada
I am honoured to be invited as the Guest Speaker by the Toronto Branch of the Naval Association of Canada for their annual TRAFALGAR Day – NIOBE Luncheon. My talk will be “Voices of our Sailors Past -Stories from the Survivors of HMCS TRENTONIAN.” This is a collection of stories and recollections from the men that […]
HMSubmarine P554
Royal Navy Submarine HMSub P544 (ex-USS S22) leaving the jetty at Halifax on 4 March 1944. She has been assigned to Halifax as a practice submarine for the escort crews, allowing the ship’s companies to hone their anti-submarine skills and are referred to as a “clockwork mouse” by the sailors. This photo was taken from […]
Crossing the Atlantic
Two unidentified crew members from HMCS TRENTONIAN during the North Atlantic crossing in April 1944. It is still cold on the open ocean as there are icicles hanging from the kisby ring. Roger Litwiller Collection, Allen E. Singleton, RCNVR photo, courtesy Jack Harold, RCNVR. (RTL-JH067) This photo and collection have been gathered from the crew […]
PHOENIX 194 Under Control
The tow line was successfully reconnected to Phoenix 194 and the tug started towing the concrete caisson towards Normandy with HMCS TRENTONIAN escorting. The Caisson had proved to be a difficult tow and the line had broken several times. eventually towing through a gale force storm the line broke a final time and the caisson […]
USCGS EAGLE -Photo Series
Recently I had the good fortune to see the United States Coast Guard Ship EAGLE at the Tall Ships Rendezvous 2017 in Halifax, NS. During the course of the five days there were 45 Tall Ships in Halifax harbour. Â The rendezvous was part of the Canada 150 celebrations. I took many photos of the ships […]
Mariner’s Park Museum, PEC -Talk
Join Roger at the Mariners Park Museum in Prince Edward County for a talk on the Royal Canadian Navy ships named for the Bay of Quinte Region on 16 July 2017 at 11 am. Roger will focus on HMCS HALLOWELL, a frigate named for Prince Edward County, served extensively during WWII and later in the […]
HMCS TRENTONIAN -Portsmouth
HMCS TRENTONIAN landed wounded from the cablelayer HMTS MONARCH in Portsmouth on 13 June 1944. The two ships had been fired on by USS PLUNKETT during the night, with deadly consequences, Â The crew of TRENTONIANÂ gather around the gangway after the wounded have been moved ashore. There will be no shore leave and this will be […]