FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 8, 2017
QUEEN’S PARK – Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett paid tribute to Canadians who fought and died during the Second World War’s Battle of the Atlantic.
More than 2,000 members of the Royal Canadian Navy and 700 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force gave up their lives during the Battle of the Atlantic.
“For six long and arduous years, and facing German ships and U-boats, the weighty responsibility of protecting vital Allied service lines increasingly fell on Canadian shoulders,” Barrett said in the Legislature Thursday. “Without Canadian sacrifice in defence of those supply lines and the transportation of precious cargo, also by the Canadian Merchant Navy, victory in Europe may not have been ours.”
The Canadian Merchant Navy played an extremely valuable role in the war. Simcoe-Grey MPP Jim Wilson introduced the Merchant Navy Veterans Act after the tributes on May 4.
Growing up, Barrett heard stories of the Second World War from his father Harry B. Barrett, a Sub-Lieutenant with the Royal Canadian Navy and later a noted Norfolk author.
“He manned the fore gun on board HMSC Assiniboine, a destroyer that was called on to engage and ram enemy submarines on more than one occasion,” Barrett told the Legislature. “He and his mates spent years on convoy duty, young men in the dark, in the wet and in the cold, and it would be an understatement to say that the weather could be rough on the North Atlantic. My father also survived the tragedy of the Halifax fire, returning to haul out hundreds of dead, including his friend, Bob Presnail.”
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For more information, contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446 or toby.barrett@pc.ola.org
Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OizsB3hyJ1o&feature=youtu.be
ONTARIO LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY
OFFICIAL HANSARD
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Mr. Toby Barrett: Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the official opposition and the entire PC caucus, we are humbled to pay tribute to Canadians who fought and died in defence of liberty in the Battle of the Atlantic and in every theatre of battle to ensure victory in Europe during the Second World War.
Over 2,000 courageous members of the Royal Canadian Navy gave up their lives during the Battle of the Atlantic. This was the longest battle of World War II. It also claimed the lives of over 700 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Obviously these sacrifices were not made in vain, and today we commemorate their service.
For six long and arduous years, and facing German ships and U-boats, the weighty responsibility of protecting vital Allied service lines increasingly fell on Canadian shoulders. Without Canadian sacrifice in defence of those supply lines and the transportation of precious cargo, also by the Canadian Merchant Navy, victory in Europe may not have been ours.
Canada’s invaluable contribution to the war effort in the Battle of the Atlantic saw the successful completion of more than 25,000 merchant voyages from North America to British ports under our escort with 165 million tonnes of cargo delivered.
I’m very pleased my colleague the MPP for Simcoe–Grey will be introducing later today the Merchant Navy Veterans Act to honour the work of merchant mariners during World War II.
Our navy began with only 13 vessels, 3,500 servicemen and, by the end of the war, our capacity had grown to 375 fighting ships and more than 110,000 sailors and officers, including 6,500 women. Such was Canada’s answer to the call of duty in the defence of our freedom and our friends and our values. All told, the staggering Canadian cost of defending liberty in Europe and the Asia-Pacific theatre meant that more than 42,000 Canadian defenders of freedom would not return home—this from a country of a little more than 11 million citizens and one million served in the armed forces. It speaks volumes about the heart and determination of our citizens and our outsized contribution to the war effort. For those fortunate to survive, the physical and mental scars of battle would forever serve as an eternal reminder of the terrible price of war.
On May 8, 1945, after six years of fierce warfare, Germans signed the final terms of surrender, marking the end of the war in Europe.
Speaker, I grew up on war stories of my father, Lieutenant Harry B. Barrett. He manned the fore gun on board HMSC Assiniboine, a destroyer that was called on to engage and ram enemy submarines on more than one occasion. He and his mates spent years on convoy duty, young men in the dark, in the wet and in the cold, and it would be an understatement to say that the weather could be rough on the North Atlantic. My father also survived the tragedy of the Halifax fire, returning to haul out hundreds of dead, including his friend, Bob Presnail.
I grew up on my father’s war stories. He wrote a book about it, and then a few months ago my father crossed the bar at age 94.
So many tales of heroism that continue to inspire our admiration, the countless untold stories of bravery of our sailors, our airmen, our soldiers. We’re privileged to have some of those fine people here today: Commander Fraser McKee joined in 1943, completing his basic training at HMCS Prevost in London before serving on board HMCS Vision and Wallaceburg.
Lance Corporal James Macaluso served in the Toronto Scottish Regiment, landed in Normandy July 1944, Company 3 platoon, liberating Meppel in the Netherlands.
First Lieutenant Helen Kerr served as a nurse at Dieppe—
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(Mr. Toby Barrett)
… 1944, Company 3 platoon, liberating Meppel in the Netherlands.
First Lieutenant Helen Kerr served as a nurse at Dieppe; Sergeant Minoru Yatabe served in the intelligence corps; Jerry Rosenberg, who is here, served on convoy duties, the corvettes, as I understand; and Kenneth May served in the Perth regiment.
From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for your bravery and your sacrifice during those years. You have honoured the service and memory of your brothers in arms with your presence here today. For all that you have done, a grateful nation is forever in your debt. And, as a reminder, we should all continue to read and watch films and continue to learn, to remember what this generation, the Greatest Generation, did for us by shipping out to fight on our behalf.
Thank you to your families, thank you to those who proudly wear the uniform today and thank you all who sacrificed so much not only in the battle of the Atlantic, but in battles that ensured victory in Europe. It’s something that we will never forget.