HMCS PRESERVER F94

 

Depot Ship - Fairmiles

 

 

HMCS PRESERVER, 27 Jun 1942

Source: The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-1981 by Ken Macpherson and John Burgess

 

Laid down: 1941

Launched: 1941

Commissioned: 11 Jul 1942

Paid off: 06 Nov 1945

Fate: Sold to the Peruvian Navy in 1946. Broken up in 1961

 

Commissioned on 11 Jul 1942, at Sorel, she arrived at Halifax on August 4, having escorted a Quebec-Sydney convoy en route.  She was assigned to Newfoundland Force as a Fairmile base supply ship, arriving at St. John's on 18 Sep but transferring almost immediately to Botwood, Nfld. She returned to St. John's in Mid-Dec, staying until the end of Jul 1943, when she moved to Red Bay. Back at St. John's in Nov, she returned to Red Bay in mid-Jun 1944, and at the beginning of Sep, moved to Sydney. After a refit at Halifax at the beginning of 1945, PRESERVER returned once more to St. John's but was transferred to Shelburne, N.S. in Jun.  Paid off on 06 Nov 1945, at Shelburne, she was sold to the Peruvian Navy in 1946 and renamed Mariscal Castilla, then Cabo Blanco. She was broken up in 1961.

 

 

Photos and Documents

 

 

Commanding Officers

 

Capt Bernard (Barney) Leitch Johnson, DSO, RCNR - 01 Jun 9142 / 11 Jul 1942 - 16 Dec 1943

 

Cdr G. Borrie, RCNR - 17 Dec 1943 - 17 Apr 1945

 

LCdr Hubert Chalres Walmesley, RCNR - 18 Apr 1945 - 10 Oct 1945

 

 

     In memory of those who have crossed the bar    

They shall not be forgotten

 

 

 

Former Crew Members

 

Balser, Joseph Leon Claude, SLT, RCNVR - 11 Jul 1942

 

Beazley, Ronald Inglis, SLT, RCNVR - 24 Feb 1945

 

Brooks, Peter Meldrum, SLT, RCNVR - 24 Feb 1945

 

Brown, Allison Wellwood, Wt (E), RCNR - 20 Mar 1945

 

Burritt, John Grindlay, Lt, RCNVR - 15 Jun 1942 (Stand by) / 11 Jul 1942

 

Collis, Henry Stanley, SLT, RCNVR - 28 Feb 1943

 

Cooper, Everett Alexander, Surg/Lt, RCNVR - 24 May 1943

 

Cunningham, Stanley Briden, Paym/Lt, RCNVR - 21 Jul 1943

 

Dyke, Frederick Ian, Lt (El), RCNVR - 24 Jan 1944 / 09 Jun 1944

 

Fletcher, Peter McDonald, A/Wt (E), RCNVR - 14 Jun 1943

 

Geddes, Edward John, A/Wt (E), RCNR - 16 Apr 1942 (Stand by) / A/Wt (E) 11 Jul 1942 / LT (E), RCNR - 20 Jun 1943

 

Hallam, Beverley Herbert, Surg/Lt, RCNVR - 20 Apr 1945

Hose, LCdr Walter John Frederick, Lt, RCNVR - 15 Jun 1942 (Stand by) / LCdr, RCNVR - 11 Jul 1942

 

Hunt, Harold Bowler, Lt, RCNR - 15 May 1943

 

Hunt, John Angus, Lt, RCNVR - 27 Feb 1945

 

Jackson, Leslie Andrew, Wt (S), RCN - 04 Jun 1945

 

Kuypers, Leonard, A/LCdr (E), RCNVR - 12 Jul 1942

 

Lanctot, Pierre, Paym/Lt, RCNVR - 15 Mar 1943

 

LaRue, George Albert, Lt, RCNVR - 16 Jun 1942 (Stand by) / 11 Jul 1942

 

Lesueur, John Frederick, SLT,  RCNVR - 10 Apr 1943 / 10 Jul 1943

 

Little, John Llewellyn, Surg/Lt, RCNVR - 23 Jun 1942 (Stand by) / 11 Jul 1942

 

MacNeil, John James, Surg/Lt, RCNVR - 07 Jun 1944

 

McCabe, Gerald Edgar, Lt, RCNR - 11 Feb 1945

 

McKay, Douglas Alexander, Paym/SLT, RCNVR - 16 Jun 1942 (Stand by) / 12 Jul 1942

 

McKay, George Rayworth, Paym/SLT, RCNVR - 11 Jul 1942

Miller, Neil MacKinnon, Paym/Lt, RCNVR - 01 Jun 1944

 

Morrow, Samuel, Lt (E), RCNR - Jan 1945

 

Munsie, Wesley Pinkham, SLT, RCNVR - 18 Jul 1943

 

Ramsdale, Donald Osland Dallas, SLT, RCNVR - 28 Feb 1943

 

Ridout, Donald Denzil, SLT, RCNVR - 24 Feb 1945

 

Rowlings, Paul Gordon, Paym/Lt, RCNVR - 25 Jun 1942 (Stand by) / 11 Jul 1942

 

Sleight, James Alfred, Mate, RCNR - 14 Jul 1942 / Lt, RCNR - 15 Apr 1943

 

Smith, George Raymond, SLT, RCNVR

 

Smith, Richard Leigh, Lt, RCNVR - 17 Apr 1945

 

Sorensen, Paul Frentz, Lt (E), RCNR - 20 Apr 1944

 

Stephens, Richard Edward, A/War (E), RCNR - Jan 1945

 

Tullidge, Geoffrey Huish, Paym/Lt, RCNVR - 15 Jun 1942 (Stand by) / 11 Jul 1942 / A/Paym/LCdr, RCNVR - 12 Jul 1942

 

Webster, Charles, SLT, RCNVR - Jan 1945

 

Young, John Randolf Wesley, SLT (E), RCNVR - 22 Jul 1942

 

 

Photos and Documents

 

MLs Q111, Q103 and an unknown ML alongside HMCS PRESERVER F94, St. John's, NFLD

From the collection of H.S. (Tim) Lee

Courtesy of Ryan Lee

 

Photo description submitted by Donald (Bud) Rose:  Appears to be taken from a vessel which is located near HMC Dockyard and facing North - East towards the harbour entrance.

HMCS PRESERVER F94 secured at the trot buoys, St. John's, NFLD. The Fairmiles of the 77th Motor Launch Flotilla are nested at the jetty

From the collection of H.S. (Tim) Lee

Courtesy of Ryan Lee

 

Photo description submitted by Donald (Bud) Rose:  Taken from South Side Hills looking North West. The large pedestal in foreground was one of two which supported fresh water tanks. There was no water mains on the South Side of the harbour. Early in the war, the RCN [Defence Construction] installed a water main and removed the tanks. The area to the left where 3 ships can be seen tied up, is the present location of HMCS Cabot naval facilities. Building in foreground center is the original National Sea Foods plant. Shut down during the war, its docking facilities were used by the Navy. It is still there but used as a research facility by Memorial University.

Sailors on HMCS PRESERVER F94

 

(10) Frank Pramberg

 

Click here to view a copy of the photo with numbers

 

Click here to view a scan of the photo (smaller but clearer than the photo of the photo)

 

From the collection of Frank Pramberg

Courtesy of Edna Wiebe

 

 

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