The public is invited to attend a ceremony commemorating the loss of HMCS Esquimalt, the last Canadian warship to be lost in the Second World War, at Esquimalt’s Memorial Park on Sunday.
HMCS Esquimalt was torpedoed in the approaches to Halifax Harbour the morning of April 16, 1945, just 22 days before the world celebrated victory in Europe. Only 27 of the minesweeper’s crew of 71 survived.
On New Year’s Day 2012, Leading Seaman Joe Wilson, the last surviving member of the ship’s company, died. Later that year, the mayor of Esquimalt and the base commander of CFB Esquimalt accompanied members of the family to commit his ashes to the sea from aboard the Caribou, an Orca Class training tender.
Of the 24 Royal Canadian Navy ships lost during the war, 11 went down in Canadian waters — some in the St. Lawrence River.
This year also marks the centennial of the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve. During the war, 96,000 men and women served in Canada’s Navy, with 78,000 as members of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve, who enlisted for the duration of the war.
The ceremony starts at 2 p.m. Sunday at Esquimalt’s Memorial Park, 1200 Esquimalt Rd.
For more information on HMCS Esquimalt, go to CFB Esquimalt's Naval and Military Museum website.
