HMCS Esquimalt Memorial Cairn

It was erected on April 10, 1989, by the HMCS Esquimalt Memorial Association, in honour of the crew members who lost on the HMCS Esquimalt on April 16, 1945. It commemorates the sinking of the last Canadian warship to be torpedoed in the Halifax Approaches, in the early hours of the morning of the 16th of April 1946. There were 44 all ranks who lost their life in the bitter cold water of the North Atlantic for over seven hours adrift in the sea. There were 27 survivors, of which Terrence C. Manuel was one. As the Town of Esquimalt adopted the ship by name, and many of her ship’s compliment were from the west it was fitting that a cairn be erected as a memorial there for the casualties of Esquimalt.

Inscription

HMCS ESQUIMALT
BUILT IN SOREL, QUEBEC. COMMISSIONED: 25,10,42. PAID OFF: 16,04,45

LENGTH: 162 FT. BREADTH: 28 FT. DRAFT: 8 FT., 3 IN. DISPLACEMENT:

595 TONNES SPEED: 16 KNOTS ARMAMENT: 1-12 POUNDER, 2 OERLIKONS,

2 DEPTHCHARGE THROWERS, 1 RAIL, 1 POM POM. SHIPS COMPLEMENT:

6 OFFICERS, 77 RATINGS. SHE WAS SUNK BY THE U.190 ON THE 16TH DAY

OF APRIL 1945. THE LAST NAVAL SHIP TO BE SUNK IN W.W.II.

SHIPS COMPANY OF
HMCS ESQUIMALT ON
APRIL 16, 1945.

LIST OF THE SURVIVORS:
MAC MILLAN RC
KAZACOFF MIKE
SMITH FRANK W
HOOK WALTER
ROWE KENNETH
KIDD THOMAS
WARE JACK
SARGEANT JACK
MC GRATH KEN

MAC DONALD DUNCAN T
CAMPBELL ALBERT
HENDERSON WILLIAM J
BEXRUD KENNETH
MANUAL TERRENCE
HILLIER NORMAN
MARCELLES ALLAN
RAMSEY WILLIAM
SCHWENGER ARTHUR

DEMPSTER EDWARD
AITKEN ROBERT
WILSON JOSEPH
BRUCE CAMPBELL
THOMAS DONALD
RICHARDS FRANK
MURPHY HERBERT
MIMEE FRED
MEYERS MONTY

DURING SIX HOURS OF
COLD, WET EXPOSURE, SIXTEEN
CREWMEMBERS PERISHED. THE
BODIES ARE INTERRED IN GRAVESITES
CHOSEN BY THE NEXT OF KIN.

DOWNIE BRYAN
BERGE OLAF E
WHITE DONALD
ZBARSKY RALPH
KYMAN ALBERT

MC CONNEL LAWRENCE
MC INTYRE THOMAS J
WHITE HEAD BRUCE M
DUCHARME JOSEPH R
DUNLOP RONALD E
MONAGHAM JOHN M

CARLSEN HARVEY M
JOHNSTON HOWARD E
EADIE CLIFFORD J
EDWARDS CHARLES
KNIGHT HERBERT R

Ce monument a été érigé le 10 avril 1989 par l’association du mémorial du NCSM Esquimalt, en l’honneur des membres de l’équipage qui ont perdu la vie le 6 avril 1945. Il commémore le naufrage du dernier navire de guerre canadien torpillé aux abords de Halifax, le 16 avril 1945 aux petites heures du matin. En tout, 44 hommes de tous grades ont perdu la vie après avoir passé plus de sept heures dans les eaux glaciales de l’Atlantique Nord. Il y a eu 27 survivants, dont Terrence C. Manuel. Comme la Ville d’Esquimalt a adopté le nom du navire et qu’une bonne partie de son équipage venait de l’Ouest, il était approprié qu’un tumulus y soit érigé à la mémoire des naufragés de l’Esquimalt.

Le texte de l’inscription figure dans la section anglaise.