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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
Dad was born in March 1925, which means that he could have been as young as 15 when he enlisted. I have one photo taken in Vancouver during his basic training, and he looks 12 years old. Just a skinny prairie kid from Edmonton who wanted 3 meals a day and a warm bed to sleep in. He trained as a radio operator and semaphore tech. I have a photo of him signally convoy ships via semaphore on the deck of the Kenagami. His action station was manning one of the quad AA guns, and again I have photos of him on deck manning that gun. Dad did not tell many stories of his time in the North Atlantic. He was traumatized by not being able to pick up his friends from torpedoed transport ships because the job of his ship was to destroy subs, not pick up survivors.
After the war, dad went North to Fort Nelson, driving truck on the Alaska Highway between Fort Nelson and Whitehorse. He also trained as a fire fighter for the Fort Nelson fire service. He met my mother at a truck stop in Whitehorse where she was working as a waitress. They married in 1951, had 4 kids and moved to Chilliwack in 1962, where I was raised. Dad continued to work as a fire fighter, rising to the rank of lieutenant (assistant chief) at CFB Chilliwack. He sold Ford cars for a decade at the local Ford dealership, and in 1970 went back to school to become a real estate appraiser, a job he kept until his death. He was a passionate skier, something he did not start until he was 45 years old, and a tremendous golfer. When he was in his teens, my Uncles told me that he was a superb hockey player. Without the war, he would have been in major junior hockey in Ontario and scouts were already talking about the NHL. He went to the Montreal Olympics in 1976, and travelled to Greece.
He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1971, which spread to his liver. He died from liver cancer in 1983 at the age of 57.
Ships served in:
(NS001) Norman Smith at the signal lamp on HMCS KENOGAMI K125 (NS002) Norman Smith wearinga Dominion Tiger's sports jersey (NS003) Noram Smith after the war. Note the General Service Pin on the lapel of his jacket
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