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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Warships Of The Bay Of Quinte Talk
Roger will be joining the members of the Probus Club of Presqu’ile to speak about the incredible stories of the Canadian Navy ships named for the Quinte area. The details of the ships has been recorded in Roger’s book, Warships of the Bay of Quinte.  Six navy ships have been named for local communities and have […]
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 […]
HMCS TRENTONIAN -The Last Corvette Lost in the Battle of the Atlantic.
On 22 February 1945, HMCS TRENTONIAN, Flower class corvette became the last corvette to be lost in the Battle of the Atlantic. TRENTONIAN departed on 21 February as sole escort for convoy BTC-76, consisting of ten ships from Milford Haven to the Thames, then on to Antwerp. Â The next morning BTC-76 had entered the English […]
Mulberry Caisson Sinking
On 19 October 1944, HMCS TRENTONIAN was escorting two Mulberry caissons and their respective tugs, to Normandy.  Towing of Phoenix 194 but had to be suspended when it was realized that the caisson was filling with water. She had a developed a large hole in the concrete and was now sinking. TRENTONIAN’s boats crew is […]
Salvaging HMCS QUINTE
HMCS QUINTE, Bangor class minesweeper, had grounded on Horse Head Shoal on 30 Novemeber 1942. She quickly began to take on water and was beached near St. Peter’s, Cape Breton. Salvage operations on QUINTE were begun by the Foundation Maritime Ltd’s ship Foundation Aranmore. She was re-floated ten days later and moved to the wall […]