Port Arthur

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Vol. 2 No.9 THE ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY·S MAGAZINE July, 1950
LADY OF THE MONTH
We are tempted to nominate Miss Anne
Neves, Hawaiian hula dancer (below), who
CONTENTS qualifies in our book strictly on the strengtll of
her excellent taste in reading material, but
Page custom dictates that we stick to the lady onthe
opposite page, HMCS "SAULT STE. MARIE,"
RCN News Review . 2
depot and training ship {or the Victoria naval
division, HMCS"Ma/ahat". (E-9830.)
Operation Redramp 4
No Housin!J Problems Here 8
The Man of the Month 9
Officers and Men . . 10
Lower Deck Advancements 13
Conditional Advancement 14
New Barracks'Launched' 15
Afloat and Ashore 16
Looking Astern 22
She Knew Better Days 24
Miss Neves was one of a troupe of dancers
who greeted HMCS "Ontario" on the ship's
The Bu/letin Board 25
arrival at Pearl Harbor. She is shown on the
cruiser's .quarterdeck with Ord. Sea. Ken
The Navy Plays . 26 Crooker, RCN, of Hamilton, PO George Baker,
USN,andacopyofthe"Crowsnest". .' .
(OC-268-1.)
Comrades in Arms 30
WhoWorks the Hardest? 31
Poisonous Passenger 32
Covel'Photo- AcloudofspraybreaksoverHMCS"Ontario's"
bow as the cruiser turns on the steam during speed trials in
Hawaiian waters. The "Ontario," her forecastle glistening with a
fresh coat of paint, was mid-way through her training cruise to
Hawaii when this photo was taken. Her speed? In the neighbor-
hood of 32 knots. .
Another favorite of ours is Joe the Crow,
The letters ON on "B" gun turret were put there for the No.1 mascot at "Cornwallis". Joe is reported
benefit of the fly-boys, just to make sure they would know the to be so fond of the "Crowsnest" that he
"Big 0" when they saw her. (RCN photo by PO Norman Keziel'e. devours every copy he can set in his clutches.
Here, however, he has condescended to share
Neg.OC-259-2).
onewith PO John Ouinn. Joe, bytheway, isa
Navy Crow; all other crows are Civvy Crows.
(08-884-3.)
The Editors
Page.one
R.C.N. News Review
. .
Navy D,ay, Battle Commanding. As such he will con Fog Puts Crimp
of the AtlanticSunday tinue_to exercise tactical command of in Anti-Sub Show
The,first Saturday in October has the squadron and deal with adminis-' "Operation, Neverfail," originally
beendesignated as'Navy Day and the trative matters affecting the six planned as' a large-scale, one-day
day following as Battleofthe Atlantic .ships. demonstration of anti-submarine war
Sunday. . Rosyth is the first stop after fare and involving six ~hips, three air
Op Navy Day, \vhich this year falls 'DerryJthen the CanadianShipsbegin squadronsand a submarine, had to be
ortOctober7.,shipsandestablishments a "grand tour" that "vill take thenl modifiedconsiderablywhenfogmoved
of the Royal Canadian Navy will hold to six continental countries - Nor in on the proceedings off Halifax
"open house" to the general ,public way, Denmark, The Netherlands, May 30.
and 'the citizens' of Canada will be Belgium, France and Portugal, all
It was disappointing for those who
given the opportunity to becolue of them member-nations of the North
had planned the exercise program and
better _a'cquaintee!. \vith-their Navy. Atlantic alliance.
for the officers and men in the ships
Displays and demonstrations will The program calls for thenl to visit
and air squadrons scheduled to take
bestag~d as part of the "open house'" nine different ports, from Oslo in the
part, but they had the consolation of
prO-gram.. _ _ . north to Gibraltar in the south. In
knowing that the curtailed show they
OnI?attleof the Atlantic.Sunday, . between these "vill be Copenhagen,
did put on made a favorable impres
naval church parades will be held in Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp,
sion on a distinguished observer.
the various.localities in which there Porfsmouth, Cherbourg and 'Lisbon.
are naval bases, training _establish Gibraltar will be the last stop before General A. G. L. lYlcNaughton,
ments and divisions. It is hoped that headingwestwardfor Bermuda.There chairman of the Canadian section of
special services will be conducted in the squadron will spend three days the Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint
churchesacrossCanadaincommemor before east and west toast ships part Board on Defence, termed what he
ation of the part played by the Royal company and set course for their had seen "very satisfactory ... The
Canadian Navy and by Canada's respective bases. mission that has been assigned to the
Merchant Navy in the struggle to The UMagnificent," "Huron" and Royal Canadian·Navy is being ac
preserve' the vital .ocean lifeline to "Micmac" are due backin Halifax on complished with great success."
Great Britain, and that tribute will Novenlber 26;the '~Cayuga,""Sioux" General 'McNaughton and other
be paid to the naval and merchant and "Athabaskan" get home Decem members of the PJBD, who were
seamen who lost their lives in the ber 18, more than five months and .meeting in Halifax at the time, went
war at sea. 22,000 miles after their departure toSeain the "Magnificent" to"vitness
from Esquim~Jt. theexercises.Otherobserversincluded
West Coast Destroyers Vice-AdmiralH.T.W. Grant, Chiefof
Sail.July 11jorHalijax the Naval Staff; Dr. O. M. Solandt,
Naval Board Flag Flown chairman of the Defence Research
Officially, the European cruise does
not start until late in Augu'st but for At Sea For First Time Board;C.lVI. Drury, DeputyMinister
of NationalDefence; Rear-Admiral
three We~t Coast destroyers
.The flag of the Naval B'oard of E. R. Mainguy, Flag Officer Atlantic
"Cayqga," "Sioux" and "Athabas CanadawaswornatsealVlay30forthe
Coast; Commodore C. N. Lentaigne,
kan'" - itbeginsonTuesday, July 11~ first time since the Board was estab
That is -the- date on which they. sail lished, backin 1942. Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Air),
from Esquim~ltto join, a month later TheBoardflagwasbr.okenoutatthe and members of the RCAF Staff
masthead of HlVICS "lVlagnificent," College course from Toronto, who
in Halifax, the other three ships
displacing the Commodore's broad were in Halifax for a period of in
"Magnificent," "Buron" and "Mic:.. pendant,priortothecarrier'sdeparture r
struction in naval warfare.
mac" - of the Canadian SpecialSer for "Operation Neverfail" and it
vice Squadron.. remained there throughout the day.
Thesquadron is scheduled to leave Theoccasionwastheofficialpresence
in the ship of three members of the
Halifax August 23 for ·Londonderry, eNS Makes Annual
Naval Board, Vice-Admiral H. T. W.
where for two weeks the Canadian Grant, Rear-Admiral F.L. Houghton East Coast.Inspection
ships and carrier-borne aircraft will and Commodore C. N. Lentaigne, as
Vice-Admiral Harold T. W. Grant,
carry out intensive exercises· at the observers of the exercise. Custom
dictates that the Board flag is to be Chief of the Naval Staff, made his
]ointAnti-SubmarineTrainingSchool.
worn if two or more Board members annual inspection of ships and estab
'.. While the ships are at 'Derry, are embarked in an official capacity.
lishments in the Atlantic Command
Rear-Admiral· E. R. Mainguy will This was the first time in_eight years
hoist his flag in the "Magnificent" to that such an occasion hadarisen. from lVlay.30 to June 1.
commandthesquadronasFlagOfficer The Naval Board flag consists of an AdmirarGrantembarked in HMCS
Admiralty anchor in gold placed hori- "Magnificent" on May 30·to observe
for the balance of the cruise.
. zontally in the centre of a flag of red flying and anti-submarine exercises
::-'::The commanding officer of the and blue bisected diagonally, the blue
"Magnificent", Commodore K. F. portion being nearest the staff and the carried out by ships and· aircraft of
Adams,.. will assume the additional· red portion uppermost. the RCN. The next day he inspected
'pastofChiefofStafftotheFlag Officer .......the., Do.cky.ard and. HMCS '~StaQ.~-
Pagelwo
cona" and on June 1 visited ships of
the command and the RCN Air
Station.
Following his tour of inspection,
Admiral Grant sent the following
messageto Rear-Admiral E. R. Main
guy, Flag Officer Atlantic Coast:
"I have much enjoyed the op
portunityofwalkingaround theDock
yard, lIMCSStadacona, Magnificent,
Shearwater, Swansea, St. Stephen,
Dundalk and Riverton, and meeting
so.many of-ficers and men of your
command. It was a pleasure to note
thegrowingsenseofpridein the Navy
evidenced by the appearance of ships
and personnel and to feel that officers
and men appreciate their responsi
bilities as citizens of a country ready
to defend its freedom."
Senior Appointment
CllOnges Announced
New appointments for three senior
of-ficersofthe RCN and theretirement
of a fourth were announced in June.
Rear-AdmiralHarry G. DeWolf, at
present FlagOfficer Pacific Coast, will
become Vice Chief of the Naval Staff
on September 11. He will succeed
Rear-Admiral Frank L. Houghton,
WithFireflyandSeaFuryaircraftrangedon herflightdeck, HMCS"Magnificent"proceeds
who proceeds on retirement leave toseatotakepartina demonstration ofanti-submarinewarfareoffHalifax. On herportquarter
early in September. is HMCS "Micmac," the carrier's plane guard. Fog.forced a curtailment of the exerCIse but
SucceedingRear-Admiral DeWolfas General A. G. L. McNaughton, oneofa number ofdistinguished observers, expressed himselfas
beingvery satisfied with what hesaw. (HS-11166.)
FlagOfficerPacificCoastwillbeRear
Admiral Wallace B. Creery, who has
gather a maximum amount of iIifor before sailing for Esquimalt on her
been Chief of Naval Personnel since
mation regarding the location, speed last voyage with an RCN crew. On
August, 1948. He will take up his new
and behavior of the Gulf Stream. the trip down the east coast she will
duties on August 30.
Headquarters ship of the operation makeasinglestop, atCharleston,S.c.
New Chief of Naval Personnel will
was the USS San Pablo. On the Pacific side, she will put into
be Captain James C. Hibbard, cur
The survey, lasting approximately Acapulco and Long Beach before
rently taking advanced staff courses.
threeweeks,wasaco-operativeproject arriving at Esquimalt on August 15.
Hewillbepromotedtotheactingrank
between the Woods Hole Oceano
of commodore when he assumes the
graphic Institution, the Hydrographic
appointment of CNP on August 5. A11engers Arri11ing
Officeofthe U.S. Navy, the Canadian
In their new appointments, both At RCN Air Station
Naval Research Establishment, the
Rear-Admiral DeWolf and Captain
Atlantic Oceanographic Group of Delivery of the RCN's new anti
Hibbard will serve as members of the
Canada, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife submarine aircraft- the Grumman
Naval Board.
Service, and theScripps Institution of Avenger- waswell underway bythe
"New Liskeard" Joins Oceanography. end of June. More than 25 Avengers
in GulfStream Surt1ey had been flown into the RCN Air
"St. Stephen" Making
HMCS "New Liskeard" joined five Station, with more to follow at the
Last Atlantic Patrol
United States research vesselsearly in rate of about eight a week. In an
June to carry out a multiple ship After more than two and a half agreement with the United States
survey of the Gulf Stream. The main years in the North Atlantic weather government, from whom the planes
purposeofthesurvey- named Oper reporting service, H MCS "St. were purchased, the Avengers are
ation Cabot- was to obtain infor Stephen" will shift her activities to delivered to Quonset Point, R.I.,
mation on the behaviorof the stream the Pacific Coast. With two other from where aircrew personnel of
over a large area during a given wartime frigates, the "Stonetown" 826 Squadron take over and fly them
period. and "St. Catharines," now under to Dartmouth.
The complex pattern of the Gulf conversion at Sorel, P.Q., she will The planes are to be taken in hand
Stream has long puzzled oceano patrol Station Peter, 800 miles westof by Canadian aircraft plants to be
graphers, who have found it impos Victoria. All three ships will be fitted with additional anti-submarine
sible to obtain a plot of tHe ocean completely manned by Department equipment. In the meantime, per
circulation with only one or two of Transport personnel and will alter sonnel of 826 Squadron, which will
observing vessels. However, with six nate on the station. be the first to be armed with the new
ships, all fitted with special scientific Following her return from Station aircraft, have begun acquaintanceship
instrumentsdevelopedduringthepast Baker on July 5, the "St. Stephen" training and are flying the Avengers
few y~ars, the scientists hoped to will remain at Halifax for 12 days from HMCS "Shearwater."
Page three
by1. B. Mel. impact of a flash flood. To their aid crew had to be pulled out, many of
cameshipmateswith pumpsandsand them working over their waists in
bags, under the direction of Lieut. water to salvage the precious pumps.
OPERATION "Redramp" is over,
S. H.. (Barney) Oldfield, RCN(R): This first round had been a heart
and with its concli.lsion the Win
This first party included Sub-Lleut. breaking one ..•and it went to the
nipeg naval division, HMCS "Chip
Bill Wilson, RCN(R), CPOs Myron Red River.
pawa," "pipes down" fr0!il on~ of the
Arsenych, Al Care, Charles Gilraine
biggest combined operatlOns III Can Up to this time the principal effort
and Joseph Onysko, POs Stanley
ada's peacetime history. It was a had been on diking and pumping
Griffon, James Allen, Charles Brown,
combined operation in the fullest duties. Then, with the evacuation of
FrancisGilraine,C.Butler, IanBarron
sense of the word, for in the long flood stricken towns in southern
and James Borthwick, Ldg. ~e~men
drawn battle with the Red, everyone, Manitoba "Chippawa" was called
James Cowie and Howard Williams, ~n
civilian and serviceman; was on t~e upon for additional task. Within
Able Seamen George Taylor and
front line, fighting on the one, bIg an hour after an appeal had been
Donald Henneberg and Ord. Seamen
team. broadcast by the local radio stations,
JosephE.Cormack,EugeneGuilbault,
, Co-operation prevailed throughout almost the entire ship's company
Joseph Hamel and Clifford Marse..
the operation. In the Navy'~ cas~, cameaboard on the nightof May 4to
The effort grew, and moved lllto
this involved not only worklllg III set up sleeping and living a~commo­
Elm Park, a part of the sub~rbof St.
concert with the civilian authorities dation for refugees due to arnve over-
Vital soon to be hardest hIt by the
andwith theArmy and the Air Force, night by train. ., ...
flood. Naval headquarters was set ~p
but co-operating within itself. The various ladles auxllianes and
in a garage, with two-way ra~lio
"Redramp" brought together al members of the Wrens' Association
communications to the St. VItal
most everyone in \i\innipeg who has took in hand the task"of making up
police station. .
ever had some interest in the sea and the beds which were put together by
Working for days on en~ WIthout
naval affairs. In the beginning,. the reserve a'nd retired officers and re
sleep and living on sandWIches and
Navy's flood-fighting crew consIsted serveratings ofthe division. Members
soft ,drinks, the "Chl'ppawa" men
of active reserves, UNTDs and mem ofthe NOACwhohadcomeaboard to
spearheaded the fight to.save.at least
bers of the perma,nent force stafffrom discuss plans for their spring dance
part of this beautiful reSIdential area.
"Chippawa." But as the threat of promptfy cancelled it and pitched in
Eut the rapidly rising Red overcame
disastrous flooding developed, the to make the spaces they planned as
the best efforts that could be put
naval effort rapidly expanded to cloakrooms and sitting rooms into
forward and eventually the Elm Park
include RCN personnel from the dormitories for the homeless. For
coasts, permanent force staffs ~n? almostaweek theshipwas "home" to
reserve volunteers from other dIVI~ evacuees, who at times totalled 400
sions, members of the Naval Officers From 18 to 700 men, womenandchildren.
Association, retired officers, Emer By this time it was apparent that
The amount of organizational and
gency List men, members of the help on a volunteer basis wC;lUld be
administrative work which had to be
WRCNS Association, Sea Cadet offi done in "Chippawa" during the flood inadequate and the commandlllg offi
cers and ratings, members of the emergency can more readily be appre cer, Cdr. L. D. G. Main, RCN(R), in
NavyLeague,membersof,~he:vomen',~ ciated when it is realized that pnor to consultation with Naval Headquar
the crisis period the total,permanent
auxiliaries attached to Chlppawa ters, called on all reserve and retired
forcestaffattheWinnipegdivision.was
and the man and woman in the street ,-18' while at the height of operations personnel in the Winnipeg area for
who wanted to pitch in and help the .,th~rewerealmost 700 officersand men full-time duty.
Navy. . on "Chippawa's" books. The response was instantaneous
Thistota1doesnotincludeabout200
In the initial stages, dunng the and complete. Not only were reserve
civilians working in "Chippawa" or
third week of April and some. time under the control of the Navy in Win officers and men prompt in appearing
beforemilitarycontrolwasestablished, nipeg. on the scene, but many whose last
some members of the Reserve felt the active connection with the Navy was
Pagejour
about five years ago turned up, asked
for, and were given a job to do. It
frequently turned out that the spe
cialized knowledge of some of these
retired officers and men was of great
value in the type of operation which
theNavyhad by thistimeundertaken.
From their work on dikes and indi
vidual pumping duties, naval per
sonnel turned to the job of rescue and
evacuation by small boats, a task
which was to be under their exclusive
control. In general charge of the
organization of "Boats" was Lieut.
Cdr. Henry Dadson, RCN(R), Ret'cl.
With everything from canoes to naval
diesel cutters coming into the boat
pool, and arriving from such points
as the Lakehead and Portage la
Prairie- and including a splendid
contribution of boats and fishermen
from the fishing town of Gimli - the
boat pool at one time came to more
than 150 small craft.
During the period between May 5,
date of the major break in the Winni
peg dikes, and May 10, organizational
changes had to be made to meet the
rapidly developing situation. On May
10 a necessarily complex, but smooth Aweary dikeworker, Ord. Sea. G. Dickson, of Winnipeg, amuses Donald Cameron youth
ful evacueefrom St. Boniface,duringa briefrest periodat"Chippawa." (0-1408-13) ,
working organization went into effect
under the orders of the commanding
officer, "Chippawa," as Naval Officer Lieut.-Cdr.W. G. Brockie, RCN(R), Hyman, RCN, the staff officer, be
in-Charge, \iVinnipeg, perhaps the executive officer of the division, was came Chief of Staff to NOIC and
first time such a title has been given placed in direct control of the ship's Lieut.-Cdr. Eric Pinfold, RCN(R),
in a completely landlocked city. activities and routine, Lieut. E. J. wentto FloodControlHeadquartersas
permanent naval liaison officer. This
latter position developed into a direct
liaison, as well, with "Pumps" and
"Boats" as reports and requests for
aid came to Flood Control Head
quarters through the flood area dis
tress officer.
At about this time "Pumps," under
the command of Lieut.-Cdr. (E)
W. P. Dean, RCN(R), moved its
maintenance shop from "Chippawa,"
where it had been working night and
day on the repair and servicing of
outboard motors and pumps, to the
Provincial garage, where greater facil
ities were available.
With reserve motor mechanics and
ERA's working side by side with
volunteer civilian mechanics and the
staff of the garage, somewhere in the
neighborhood of 150 pumps, with
capacities varying from 10,000 to'
250,000 gallons per hour, were kept in
operation. Although the Navy's main
pumping effort was in the'badly
flooded areas, white caps and blues
could be seen in many parts of town
assolitaryseamenandstokersmanned
pumps at strategic subways.
Reinforcements by now were
pouring in from neighboring divisions.
. Working \\:ith a sucti?n pump,behind a dike in (;lI1e of t~le flooded areas of Winnipeg are
and from the coasts. The Senior'
LJeut.K. A. LaIdlaw, RCN(R), Ret d., POJamesHarnsand LIeut. D.A. MacDonald, RCN(R),
aJl of HMCS "Chippawa:" (0-1408-31) Officer of the Reserve Fleet, Halifax,
Pagejive.
Cdr. R. A. Webber, DSC, RCN, By this time, too, the Navy 'had evacuationofastrandedrefugeetrain.
arrived to place his experience at the been assigned control and manning of Withinfivehours more thanSSOpeople
disposal of boat and amphibious craft DUKWs and other amphibs. In ,had been successfully transferred by
operation. Cdr. Webber was Chief of some cases Army drivers and signal five DUKWs to a place of safety.
Staff to the Flag Officer Pacific Coast lers remained with the vehicles to These included more than 4S babies
at the time of the 1948 Fraser Valley give invaluable help. In other cases, .under one year of age.
flood and was responsible for much naval drivers were given a hasty The other operation involved the
of the staff work in connection with course in their operation and took delicatetask of bringing out from an
~he Navy's participation in Operation over. All but one of the craft were isolation hospital' two paralysis
Overflow. commanded by naval officers, the patients _and their 600~pound iron.
At the same time, a shallow water exception being a Sea Cadet officer. lungs.Inspiteofaswiftcurrentflowing
diving team, led by Lieut.-Cdr. (P) One of the finest drivers was Petty in watertenfeet deep,theentireoper
H. J. G. Bird, RCN, came fully Officer Bill Smith, RCN(R), who had ation . was carried out without a
equipped to assist in rescue and sal never before driven such a craft. hitch.
vage work. It was a common, if The DUKWs chalked up two Sub-commands had been set up,
s6mewhatunusual,sighttoseeaNavy particular feats, which are selected as each with the general title of "Naval
amphib. and diving team workingat a only being among many worthy of Area." These areas took in eight of
downtown manhoJe in an attempt to recognition. One was the splendidly the badly flooded districts and each
restore or preserve electrical services. organized and swiftly carried out had its quota of power and rowboats,
manned by civilians and servicemen
under . the charge of the local
naval officer. The reason for estab
lishing 'these areas was to allow the
constant patrol of flooded homes; to
assist in evacuation and to work
closely with municipal authorities as
required. Some of the areas, notably
No.1 in Sf. Vital, under Lieut.-Cdr.
William Mason, RCN(R), and No.3
in Fort Garry, under Lieut.-Cdr.
Colin Angus, RCN(R), had as addi
tional tasks the rescuing or feeding
of stranded livestock.
To back up this front line operation
there were various vital departments
in "Chippawa." The Communications
branch was in the thick of the fight
from the beginning and was almost
swamped by the volume of work and
by its initial lack of equipment, plus
thefactthatEmergencyListcommuni
cators were not, at first, well versed
in new procedures. They trained with
experience and with the aid of RCN
personnel from the coasts and other
divisions. With wholehearted co-oper
ationfrom ArmySignals,themessages
"got through."
Victualling presented a major
problem and in the first stages of the
operation was handled by WRCNS
personnel from their dry canteen.
Working in the face of the odds
imposed by having only two electric
.plates, the Wrens did a splendid job
in keeping wet and hungry men well
fed.
With the arrival of large drafts
from outside points, it became appar
ent that a larger victualling system
mustbesetup.Thiswasaccomplished
under the direction of Lieut. (S)
Jack McBurney, RCN, at a few
hours' notice. Lieut. (S) R. A. Fee,'
-RCN, opened up the old ship's galley
r'
and within 24 hours it was operating
Two Navy-manned DUKWs evacuated all patients, including two iron lung patients, on a short order, round-the-clock
from the King George Hospital. The photograh shows the first DUKW movingaway from the
basis, serving between 1,SOO and
hospital with a 600-pound iron lung secured amidships. The patient, who can live outside the
l~ngforabout 10hours, maybeseenjustaftoftheironlung. (0-1408-52.) 1,600 meals a day.
.P.lfgesix
and of training them in the intricacies
of naval procedure. Working with a
total of 205 wonien, this office was an
indispensable part of the entire oper
ation.
The work done by anyone depart
ment would make a story in itself.
The Electrical branch, for example,
refitted an air conditioning system
which had not operated for four years
... placed sterilizers in the sick bay
... installed an inter-office communi
cation system ... and was out in the
field with portable floodlights strung
up under hazardous and difficult
conditions. CPO J. Steele, AB A.
Rostick, AB R. Kerr and AB A.
Thompson were the original members
of this hard-working party. During
the period when flooding of the ship
itself was expected, the electrical
personnel set up a complete auxiliary
lighting system.
Something like 6,000 TABT inocu
lations were given to servicemen and
civilians by the Medical branch,
under the direction of Surgeon Lieut.
Cdr. R. W. MacNeil, RCN(R). The
"docs" and nurses coped with every
AmphibiousDUKWsrescued morethanSSOmenwomenandchildren from aflood marooned
special t.·ain six miles south of Winnipeg. The flood refugees, who had been driven from their thing from running a baby nursery
homes by rising water, were transferred to another tmin which took them to Dauphin, Ma·n. to ordering over-fatigued workers to
Five DUKWs, under the command of Lieut.-Cdr. (P) H. ]. G. Bird, ReN, took part in the bed. The greatest period of stress on
five-hour operation. (Canadian ArmyphotoPC-2499.)
the medical staff came during the
men tookon the problemoforganizing
Besidesthis, the "Chippawa" galley (Coi"ti1/.ued onPage31)
teams of volunteer women workers
was the "manufacturing centre" for
coffee and sandwiches which' were
sent out to working areas allover
town. This was a major undertaking
in itself.
Holding the fort and keeping
"Chippawa" from putting to sea iil
theflood which reached thesouth wall
to a depth of three feet was a vital
task involving at first the Engine
Room branch and then all those not
engaged in outside duty. Engine
room personnel closed off sewer out
lets and improvised washing and
sanitary facilities, at the same time
putting the immediatestockof pumps
to work.
Outside, working parties built at
top speed one of the best dikes in the
whole area. Composed entirely of
sandbags, it finally was holding back
over three feet of water. Lieut. J.
Currie McMillan, RCN(R), Ret'd,
president of the Naval Officers' Asso
ciation, was O-i-C "Chippawa" dike
and was ably assisted in his job by
Lieut. Earl Grant, RCN, and CPO
J. Freeman, RCN(R).
One' effort which should not go
unnoticed was the work carried 011
Tlw \~IRCNSAssociatioll'sdrycanteen in "Chippawa" wasa busy place. Flood workers, in
by the women's personnel office.
their short off-duty periods, were given free soup, sandwiches, cakes, milk, coffee, etc" by the
Wives of "Chippawa" officers' and hard-working staff of former Wrells. (0-1408-3)
Pa.ge seve1I.
j
NO HOUSING r-f' ~,; r·
'0
PROBLEMS
HERE
Cornwallis' Married Personnel
<
All Settled in New Homes
Married personnelservinginHMCS
"Cornwallis" are sitting pretty as far
as housing problems ar~ concerned.
With the completion this spring of
110 new housing units at the training
centre every married officer and man
on the establishment's staff had been
allotted a hOLise by May 1, one year
after the base re-commissioned.
Built on a hillside overlooking
Annapolis Basin, thenewhomesrange
from one-storeycottagesto three-and
four-bedroom houses and duplexes.
Each housing unit is equipped with
refrigerator, electric stove, hot water
heating unit and oil furnace.
Thefirst family to·move into the newmarriedquarters a't HMC;S "Cornwallis"was that of
The first houses to be completed CPO Brian.Inglis. Twin sons Brian, left, and Arthur, who arrived December 6, boosted their
father's nametotheheadofthelistofthoseawaitinghouses.The photowastakenin'acornerof
were allocated according to a point
the Inglis'sliving-room. (DB-884-6.)
system which allowed 10 points for
each child; and four points for each
after the arrival of twin sons raised dwelling was ready for occupancy all
year of serviCe. HouseNo. 38wasthe
them to the top of the list. housing requirements had been met.
first to be occupied, the keys being
handed overto CPO B. N. Inglis arid Other allocations followed early "Itis just like a little town in itself
Mrs. Inglis last December 25, shortly in the year and by the time the last and we get around the absence of
bright lights by making our own
. Kitchensintheaonewhousing unitsat"Cornwallis"arebright,compactandconveniently entertainment," said one naval wife
planned.Thisone, the kitchenofCPOand Mrs. B. N. Inglis, isa typicalexample. (DB-884-7.) indescribing the new housingsite.
The contractors are now busily
landscapingtheproperty.Whilelawns
and gardens can hardly be expected
to amount to much this year, the
residents of this all-naval community
believe that by next summer they
will have a model village thatwill·bea
real showplace.
"Cornwallis's" Birthday
HMCS "Cornwallis" completedon
April 30 its first year as a peacetime
naval training establishment. On the
ship's birthday, May 1, Captain A. P.
Musgrave, the commanding officer,
cleared lower deck, reviewed the past
year's progressand urged on all hands
an ev.engreatereffort in the 12 months
ahead.
In the~vening,a birthdaydanceand
social was.held in the recreation centre
for merrib~rs ofthestaffandguests.
In the:year since commissioning,
nearly 1,500 men arrivedat "Cornwal
lis" for training. Of these, 977 com
pleted their courses and were drafted
to various ships and establishments,
while more than 400 are still under
tra~ning.