"Halifax thirty seconds after the explosion. RGS"

is written on the back of the photo

From the photo collection of Annie Campbell

 

Research by Joel Zemel, author of two books on the Halifax Explosion, shows that this photo appears to be a composite photo with the blast cloud coming from another photo by Victor Magus - and thus likely not an actual photo taken of the Halifax Explosion.

 

Click here to read an in-depth review / analysis of the photo by author Joel Zemel starting on page 9 of the Winter 2021 issue of the Argonauta

 


 

Welcome to "For Posterity's Sake" - a site dedicated to the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy and the ships they lived and served in. This is a personal website and is not affiliated with the Government of Canada nor the Department of National Defence.

 

The goal of this site is to preserve and share the history of those who have sailed in the ships of the RCN. The history we all have buried in our basements or closets in boxes and photo albums - photos of grandparents and parents, aunts and uncles who have also taken pictures and told stories of their time in. This is the history you will not find on the government's historical pages - and its these photos and stories that we all have that I'm hoping to preserve here for posterity's sake.

 

If you would like to submit photos or stories to be posted here, please send me an EMAIL ( info@forposterityssake.ca ). With the help of all sailors past and present and their families this page can be made into a historical site for future generations to learn about our proud past.  May you always have fair winds and following seas!

 


 

"The men of GALIANO died in the performance of duty. They have ventured into rough places and taken their chance many a time before. They did it without a flourish of trumpets. This time they took a chance and lost." (The Victoria Daily Colonists November 03, 1918)

 

"He had entered the battle with the confidence we all possessed, did his part in the face of severe enemy fire and was undoubtedly unaware of his end.  A man can do no more than die at his gun." (Excerpt from the letter to the sister of LS Dugald Leitch, RCNVR)

 

"There was nothing glorious or romantic about watching bodies and gear float to the surface after sinking a U-boat." (Seaman Campbell, HMCS Kootenay H75) 

 

“Few of their countrymen knew and even fewer now remember the desperate fight waged on the cold and cruel northern seas. But had it failed, the results would have been catastrophic. The clear measure of devotion and courage of these men shall always be that in that dark and bloody winter of crisis they did not fail.” (Captain John Waters Jr.)

 

"The Canadian Navy … trained men with men who were scarcely trained themselves. It did everything under the pressure of desperate urgency. It learned to fight a war while fighting it. By all the rules, it should have been the most unholy hash to come out of the war.  Somehow, things have turned out differently." (The Guelph Mercury 16 Nov 2015)

 

"The job by the way is that of Gunnery Officer .... My main function is to offer up a silent prayer that we hit first."  Lt, Morgan Alan Griffiths, RCNVR - Nov 1942

 


 

Click here to see What's New

 

Don't forget to stop by and sign the Ship's Log (Guestbook)

 


 

 


 

* In Memory of Those Who Have Crossed the Bar - RCN, RCNVR, RCNR, RCN(R), C.A.F. (Navy)

* In Memory of Those Who Have Crossed the Bar - WRCNS

 

 


 

* Battle Honours for the RCN

* Black Sailors in the RCN - Breaking the colour barrier

* Books (on the RCN and navy in general)

* Canada's Naval Reserves - brief timeline

* CCCP - Our Cold War Opponents

* Codes - Dolphin, Falcon, SNFL and BPC

* Command Chief Petty Officers of the RCN

* Cuban Missile Crisis and the RCN

* Customs and Traditions of the RCN

* Diaries and Memoirs

* Diesel Boats Forever - Submarines and Submariners of the RCN

* Documents and Manuals (Miscellaneous)

* Fishermen's Reserve (The Gumboot Navy)

* Flags and Pennants - sometimes official, sometimes not

* Ghost Fleet of Bedwell Bay, BC

* Grey Ghosts Aerobatic Team

* Gunshield and shipboard artwork

* Heroes and History Makers of the RCN

* History of the Tot

* Links

* Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

* Looking for Lost Wingers

* Mystery Photos - Unknown sailors of the RCN

* Naval Museum of Halifax

* Navy Lists - Canadian   //   British   //   Australian

* Newfoundlanders of the RNR who served in the RCN

* Newspapers, Magazines and more

* Odds & Sods

* Officer Classification Identification - RCN

* Photo Collections

* Poems - about Sailors and Ships of the RCN

* RCN Memories

* RCN Warships Lost

* Scuttlebutt (on the RCNR)

* Shipboard Newspapers

* Ship's Bells

* Ship's Books & Booklets - Commissioning, Paying Off, Special Events

* Ship's Company Photos

* Songs of the RCN

* Sports and the RCN

* Squadron / Fleet Photos

* Stamps, Envelopes and Censor Marks

* Standing Naval Force Atlantic / Standing NATO Maritime Group 1

* Surname Index

* Trade Abbreviations - Ratings

* Trade Badges

* V.E. Day in Halifax

* What happened to HMCS Quesnel's Thunderbird?

 


 

Fund Raising Campaign

 

Just For the Hull of It  - HMCS SACKVILLE

 


 

 Gunnery practice hiccups

 

The Battle of Roberts Creek

 

U.S. hit by Canadian Navy shells 

 


 

Ultimate Sacrifice

 

Those who made the Ultimate Sacrifice in the RCN, RCNR and RCNVR 1939-1947 - a 3 volume 4 book set.

They Gave Their All

 

A 4 volume set on Canada's Merchant Sailors who died serving on Merchant ships from 1939 to 1947

Dieppe Raid

 

A 3 volume set on the Canadian Servicemen, who died while on the Dieppe Raid and as POWs in the Second World War

 


 

Pierre's Alley Cat Society  -  "PACS"

Pierre's Alley Cat Society

A Halifax charity caring for the feral cat colonies in HMC Dockyard.

RAS Retreat (on Facebook)

RAS is a nonprofit Veterans retreat situated on 55 acres of old growth forest in the Wentworth Valley, NS

Mike's Militaria - RCN / RN memorabilia

(on Facebook)

 


 

 

What's New  -  back to the top of the page

 

06 Dec 2023 - Documents and Manuals - A training brochure for HMCS CORNWALLIS has been added

02 Dec 2023 - Diesel Boats Forever - a course photo for Victoria Class BSQ Course 2023-0079 has been added

30 Nov 2023 - HMCS CORNWALLIS - A new entry course photo for the first post-SWW course for Wrens in the RCN

14 Nov 2023 - HMCS TILLSONBURG K496 - A ship's company photo from the collection of Stephen Capyk has been added

08 Nov 2023 - CFB CORNWALLIS - A page for Recruit Course 7204 has been added

07 Nov 2023 - HMCS VICTORIA 876 - A Commissioning Crew photo has been added

07 Nov 2023 - HMCS CORNER BROOK 878 - A ship's company photo page has been added

03 Nov 2023 - HMCS CORNWALLIS - A New Entry course photo page has been added for Restigouche Division Jan / Jun 1952

30 Oct 2023 - HMCS MONCTON K139 - A ship's bell page has been added

28 Oct 2023 - HMCS VICTORIA - A ship's company photo page has been added

28 Oct 2023 - HMCS WINDSOR - A ship's company photo for 2006 has been added

16 Oct 2023 - HMCS ANTICOSTI 110 - a Ship's Bell page has been added

15 Oct 2023 - Documents and Manuals - A Second World War booklet - Knit, Knit, Knit, for the Navy and Merchant Navy has been added


Credits / Resources

1)  Sailors - past and present and their families

2)  ReadyAyeReady.com for ship's badges post 1949

3)  The Naval History Net - Ship Histories, Convoy Escort Movements for Casualty Lists 1939-1947

4)  Naval Museum of Manitoba - Crew photos and names for MTBs

5)  THE FAIRMILES - CANADA'S LITTLE SHIPS by Spud Roscoe VE1BC Edited by Jerry Proc

6)  German U-Boat Casualties in World War 2 - Information on U-Boats sunk by Canadian ships

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

8)  The Ships of Canada's Naval Forces 1910-2002 by Ken Macpherson and Ron Barrie

9)  Veterans of World War II, Langruth, Manitoba

10)  RCN Fairmiles

11)  A History of the West Coast Canadian Forces Auxiliary Fleet by Matthew Chapman

12)  Clyde Built Ships

13)  A List of the Ships Scrapped or Broken Up By Capital Iron & Metals Ltd. in Victoria BC.

14)  The Bosun's Watch - The Fleetwood Steam and Sailing Trawler website

15)  Arnold Hague Convoy Database

16)  Ultimate Sacrifice by Robert D'Aoust

17)  Designs of Distinction - Unofficial Insignia of the RCN 1910 - 1948 by David J. Freeman

18) The Nauticapedia - Celebrating the stories of the maritime heritage of British Columbia, western and northern Canada, and Canada's Naval Forces

 


 

Disclaimer

This is a personal website and the website owner is not affiliated with the Government of Canada or Department of National Defence (DND).

 

The information on this site is for informational purposes only.  This website is a compilation of information from government websites, books and other resources such as wartime diaries and stories from the memories of those who served and may contain historical inaccuracies. For Posterity's Sake and those who submit information to this site are not responsible for any historical inaccuracies and accepts no responsibility for any costs / expenditures by those using this information. Anyone using information from this site should exercise due diligence and verify any information used. 

 

This web site contains links to other web sites. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy or opinions expressed in such web sites, and such web sites are not investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy or completeness by us. Inclusion of any linked web site on or through this web site does not imply approval or endorsement of the linked web site by us. If you decide to access these sites, you do so at your own risk.

 


 

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