
HMCS
GATINEAU H61
E
- Class Destroyer (RN)
River
Class Destroyer (RCN)
HMCS GATINEAU H61
Click on the above photo to view a larger
image |
Battle honours and awards: Atlantic
1943-44, Normandy 1944
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Laid down: 23
Mar
1933
Launched: 29 May 1934
Commissioned: 13
Oct 1934
Transferred to the RCN:
03 Jun 1943
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Commissioned:
03 Jun 1943
Paid off: 10
Jan 1946
Fate:
Broken up in 1947, the remaining hull was scuttled as a breakwater at Royston, B.C.
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Completed in 1934 as HMS
EXPRESS, she saw
strenuous war service with the RN. She was the second last ship to
leave Dunkirk, having made six trips and evacuated 3,500 troops. On
31 Aug 1940, while laying a defensive minefield off the Dutch
coast, she was herself extensively damaged by a German mine. Repairs
carried out at Hull, U.K., took more than a year, and included
fitting a complete new fore end. She went to the Far East late in
1941, and on 10 Dec 1941 was on hand to rescue nearly 1,000
survivors of HMS PRINCE OF WALES, sunk by Japanese bombs off Malaya.
After long service with the Eastern Fleet she returned to Liverpool
in Feb 1943, for refit, and in the process was transferred to
the RCN. She was commissioned there as GATINEAU on 03 Jun 1943, and
joined EG C-3, MOEF. On 06 Mar 1944, while escorting convoy
HX.280, she assisted in the sinking of U 744. That May she
transferred to EG 11, Londonderry, for invasion duties, and was
present on D-Day. She proceeded to Canada in Jul 1944, for
major refit at Halifax, then sailed in Mar 1945, for workups at
Tobermory. No longer needed after VE-day, she returned to Canada in
Jun 1945 and two months later went round to the west coast. She was paid
off 10 Jan 1946, into reserve at Esquimalt, and is believed to
have been scuttled at Royston, B.C. in 1948, as part of a
breakwater.
U-Boats Sunk: U-744 (Oblt Heinz
Blischke) a type VIIC U-boat, sunk on 06 Mar 1944 by HMCS ST CATHARINES K325, HMCS
CHILLIWACK K131, HMCS GATINEAU H61, HMCS FENNEL
K194, HMCS CHAUDIERE H99, HMS ICARUS and HMS KENIWORTH CASTLE in
position 52-01 N, 22-37 W. Of her crew of 51, there were 40
survivors
Photos and Documents
Commanding Officers
Cdr Philip Whitworth Burnett,
RN - 03 Jun 1943 - 09 Nov 1943
Lt E.M. Chadwick, RCN - 10 Nov 1943 - 22 Nov
1943
LCdr Harold Victor
William Groos,
RCN - 23 Nov 1943 - 10 Sep 1944
A/LCdr Ralph Lucien Hennessy,
DSC, RCN - 11 Sep 1944 - 29 Sep 1944 |
LCdr J.A. Bryant,
RCNVR - 30 Sep 1944 - 09 Nov 1944
LCdr George Huntley Davidson,
RCN - 10 Nov 1944 - 14 Jul 1945
A/LCdr Patrick David Budge, DSC,
RCN - 15 Jul 1945 - 26 Nov 1945 |
In memory of those who have crossed the bar
They shall not be
forgotten

Bertrand,
George J.
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Bogue,
Thomas L.
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Budge,
Patrick D.
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Burke,
Philip
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Chadwick,
Ernest M.
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Davis,
Thomas G.
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Dickson,
Stanley P.
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Dunick, John
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Ellis,
Charles R.
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Ford,
Raymond A. |

Groos,
Harold V.W.
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Hennessy,
Ralph L.
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Howse,
George L.
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Jenkyns,
Kenneth D.
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Jewer,
Frederick V.
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Leggett,
Harry F. |
Levine,
Harry |

MacDonald,
G. Bruce
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McGinn, George
H.
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McMurray,
Leonard D.
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Meadows,
Robert G.
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Mercure, R.
Roland |

Murray,
Walter D.R.
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Pimlot,
Norman A. |
Rose, Rex W.
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Saul, Leslie D.
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Storrs,
Antony H.G.
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Turner,
Alec E.
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Vickers,
Randolf
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Waters,
William H.
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Wilson,
Samuel
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Topsy - Ship's Mascot
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Former Crew Members
Bancroft,
Henry Dunkin, Midshipman, RCNVR - Jan 1945
Chance,
Peter Godwin
Ellis,
Robert Lambert, Lt (T), RCN - 08 Mar 1945
Evans,
William, AB (of Toronto, ON) - Sep 1944
Gibson,
Lorne, A/Bos'n (A/S), RCN - Jan 1944
Greenidge,
Kenneth Norman Haynes, Lt, RCN - 25 Mar 1944 Harley,
Frank, Lt (E), RCNR - 06 May 1943 (Stand by) / 03 Jun 1943 Henderson,
Robert McRae, Lt (S), RCNVR - 30 Jun 1945
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Hepburn,
Bernard Rickart, Lt (E), RCNVR - 04 Mar 1945
Irving,
John Richard, Lt, RCNVR - Jan 1945
Lentz,
Herbert Stanley, A/Gnr (T), RCN - Jan 1945
Lesslie,
William Van Armam, SLt, RCNVR - 03 Jun 1943
Lovett,
Frank John, Paym/Lt, RCNVR - 08 Apr 1944
MacVannel,
Duncan Payne, SLt (E), RCNVR - Jan 1944
Maynard,
Murray Renouf, SLt (E), RCNVR - 07 May 1943
McIlroy,
Hugh Murray, LCdr (SB), RCNVR - 17 Jun 1945 |
McMurray,
Leonard Denison, RCNVR - 21 Feb 1944
McTavish,
Peter James, SLt, RCNVR - 03 Jun 1943
Millen,
Norman Robert, Midshipman, RCNVR - Aug 1943 for training. Resigned appointment
08 Nov 1944
Welsh,
Robert G.
Wilson,
Bruce Muir, Surg/Lt, RCNVR - Jan 1945
Wright,
Sydney Courtney, Lt (El) (R), RCNVR - 25 Feb 1945 |
Photos and Documents

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HMCS GATINEAU H61
From the collection of Eric Baird
Courtesy of Roger Clarke |

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HMCS GATINEAU H61 circa 1943-1944
Photo taken from HMCS Kamloops K176
From the collection of Kenneth Medford, DSM
Courtesy of Gary Medford |
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Canadian Naval Craft Sink German U-boat
The Halifax Chronicle 01 Jun 1944
Researched by / Courtesy of George Newbury
Ships mentioned in the article:
HMCS GATINEAU, HMCS CHAUDIERE, HMCS
CHILLIWACK, HMCS FENNEL, HMCS
ST CATHARINES, HMS ICARUS |

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Newspaper article on HMCS GATINEAU's Mascot
Topsy, and Topsy's owner, AB William Evans of Toronto, ON
Crow's Nest newspaper - Sep 1944 |


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HMCS GATINEAU H61 Christmas Card
From the collection of George Howse
Courtesy of Dennis Carson |

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Allied ships. Photo taken from the bridge of
HMCS JOLIETTE K418
The ships in the centre are HMCS GATINEAU (left)
and HMS TARBERT K431 - Tobermory Mar/Apr 1945
From the collection of Glendon Oliver
Courtesy of Keith Oliver |

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The former HMCS GATINEAU H61 being broken up at
Capital Iron & Metal, Victoria, BC
From the collection of Dick James
Courtesy of Steve Hlasny |
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