HMCS Sackville and the Battle of the Atlantic

November 27, 2018

7:00 pm

Bert Walker, a Trustee of the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust will be joining us for a presentation that will focus on HMCS Sackville, the last remaining WWII Corvette of the 123 Corvettes that were built in Canada. Along with our allies, she and her sister ships, escorted over 25,000 merchant ships across the violent North Atlantic Ocean.

 

 

There were many epic battles during WWII, but the most important one was The Battle of the Atlantic. Not only was it the longest battle that lasted over 5 years, but at stake was the survival of England. If England had been invaded, we would have lost our invasion launching pad for the liberation of millions of Western Europeans in their occupied countries.

 

To understand this warship, we begin with why ships like Sackville were necessary and how she became a WWII Icon of the North Atlantic Convoys. You’ll learn how a little ship that was never intended to serve in the North Atlantic, crossed and re-crossed it and with our allies, escorted 25,000 ships safely to England.

 

It is also a story of how a country with only a permanent navy of 1800 regulars and 6 destroyers in 1939, became the third largest allied navy in the world with over 400 warships and 115,000 personnel.

 

It is a story of unbelievable hardships and bravery.

 

 

Bert Walker admits that he is not a Navy Man. He has an air force background and was involved in the aeronautical industry. A career in construction and industrial mining followed and brought him on business to the Maritimes. On many occasions, his first stop was always to the waterfront. He is an enthusiastic sailor and after settling here a few years ago, he became a Trustee, a ships tour guide and a story teller of HMCS Sackville.

 

He discovered stories of the Battle of the Atlantic and HMCS Sackville and found them so fascinating and intense, that he wanted to share them with others as a way of promoting our Maritime Heritage and HMCS Sackville as Canada’s Naval Memorial.

 

For additional information:
Richard MacMichael
902-424-8897
macmicrs@gov.ns.ca