Canada’s Merchant Navy personnel from Second World War honoured in Winnipeg

Veterans of Canada’s Merchant Navy from the Second World War were honoured in Winnipeg during a ceremony.

A memorial service was held at the Winnipeg Cenotaph on Wednesday to remember the sacrifices of those who served in the Canadian Merchant Navy.

During the Second World War, thousands of men and women with the fleet completed over 25,000 Atlantic crossings to deliver food, military equipment and personnel, according to Dwight MacAulay, honorary consul for the United Kingdom.

“I think it’s important that we recognize that there were sacrifices made beyond the Army, Navy and Air Force, and this is one of them in the Merchant Navy,” MacAulay said. “A lot of people paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

The service included a wreath-laying at the cenotaph from the Government of Manitoba Military Envoy David Pankratz and City of Winnipeg Military Liaison Shawn Dobson.

According to the federal government, September 3 is designated as Merchant Navy Veterans Day to “acknowledge the contribution of the veterans of the Merchant Navy to ensuring the freedom and democracy enjoyed by Canadians.”

A total of 59 Canadian Merchant Navy ships were lost during the Second World War, claiming the lives of approximately 1,500 Merchant Navy personnel, MacAulay said. He said fatalities in the fleet included Canadians as young as 14 to 15 years old.

“In World War Two, they had more fatalities on a percentage basis, more fatalities than the Army, more than the Navy, more than the Air Force, and none of these ships, the Merchant Navy ships, were armed,” MacAulay said.

“It’s because of their service, along with others, that we have the life that we have and the freedoms that we have.”

-With files from CTV’s Jamie Dowsett