Boats in the Park, May 2024

Garth christened his latest effort, a Clyde Puffer. He was using rum instead of champagne; dribbled a bit on the stern rather than the bow and drank most of what was in the container; the new model got a few scant drips.
On Saturday , two members of the Buffalo club were there (Doug G. And George S.), the balance of the 9 of us were CMM members. We expected one or two members of the Kitchener club on Sunday, one from Toronto and 3 from our club.
It drizzled rain for a good part on the day on Saturday but cleared up in mid afternoon for a great finish. The mini-tug was in use and performed very well for the kids. It was busy for most of the day. Steve said two additional backup batteries certainly proved their worth and he was recharging them on the fly as well.

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"Workboat Regatta", August 2024 - a montage of pictures by James.

Hamilton Spring Home & Garden Show May 2024

Canal Days at Port Colborne, August 2024

that all merchant seamen, by virtue of their jobs, were always in areas of risk while members of the army, navy or air force quite often went through part or all of the war at home bases without ever being in a field of combat. And while sea-going members of the navy generally went to sea in vessels designed for warfare, with armour plating and watertight sections, merchant seamen went to sea in ships not designed for warfare.
    In naval ships whole crews were trained to engage and fight hostile forces, and naval ships had crews up to five times the size of merchant crews and carried medical staff and facilities. Most merchant ships were coal-fired and were considerably exposed both by day and night because of sparks and smoke trails visible for vast distances, unlike the predominantly oil-fired ships of the navy.”
    She might have added that naval crews were trained in damage control and limitation, and could reassign many crewmen to this task when necessary. In 1992, after a lengthy, hard-fought battle, former Canadian merchant mariners were finally granted official status as veterans, eligible to receive disability pensions, allowances and health care benefits available to Armed Forces veterans. Sadly, thousands of merchant seamen had already died by then. Even a deck boy, 15 years old when war started, would have been 68. Additionally, nothing was done to compensate the living for the loss of benefits since 1945 until, 8 years later, when the Canadian government began awarding cash payments for compensation owed since the end of the war.
    In a final act of recognition, in 2003 the Canadian Parliament declared 3 September annually as Merchant Navy Veterans’ Day.

    There are at least 4 memorials in Canada, one in Spencer Smith Park, Burlington. Some give the names of the ships that were lost in the two World Wars. Sadly, there are no memorials naming the men and women who lost their lives.

Note 1:To read about one of the worst experiences of a merchant seaman in wartime refer to the fate of the SS Chulmleigh on the Nautical Lore page.

Information from wikipedia, Legion military history magazine, ssmaritime.com,veterans.gc.ca, thecanadianencyclopedia.ca, alliedmerchantnavy.com, “Shipping” magazine.

Nautical Lore - Merchant Navy Remembrance Day, 3rd September.

Day 1 was a washout, cancelled due to the forecast of thunderstorms, and activities consisted of erecting tents and tables, followed by dismantling tents and tables.

2024

Qtr 4

Update 1

Warship Regatta, September 2024

Day 2 was better with the usual activities of sailing, balloon busters, and children's boat running.

Tugfest at Spencer Smith Park, July 2024

      A commemorative ceremony marking Merchant Navy Remembrance Day will be held this year at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on 8 September at 11:00am. 

       The Battle of the Atlantic was the biggest battle of World War 2. Geographically it was big, around 3000 miles from British harbours to the ports of North America, and from Greenland in the north to the Caribbean in the south. It was big in human tragedy, some 2200 Canadian & Newfoundland seamen and women were lost – a rate higher than in any of the three Canadian armed services. Another 38,000 of other nations were also lost.
     By the end of the war, Canadian merchant seamen had sailed all the world’s oceans, through storms, surface raiders and submarines to deliver essential supplies1. The Atlantic however, was the most important. In the opinion of Canadian Rear Admiral Leonard Murray, who commanded the Canadian Northwest Atlantic theatre during the war, “The Battle of the Atlantic was not won by any navy or air force, it was won by the courage, fortitude and determination of the British and Allied Merchant Navies.”
    Wartime Minister of Transport J.E. Michaud had declared that “merchant seamen virtually form the fourth arm of the fighting services.” Yet, writing shortly before the end of the war about government benefits for retired merchant seamen, Michaud's replacement, Lionel Chevrier, noted, “Such benefits should not be of the nature which would encourage Seamen to leave the industry at the end of the war to seek employment in other fields as the services of many skilled Seamen will be required if Canada is to maintain a Merchant Marine after the war.” As a result, the Canadian government initially denied merchant mariners the status of war veterans and the attendant benefits, including pensions, that veteran status would give them. Despite this limitation of benefits, the Canadian Merchant Navy ceased to exist by 1951.
    The same lack of benefits applied to the crews of British and Australian vessels.
    After the war some people argued that merchant seamen were well compensated for their war service by the war risk bonuses which they were awarded, progressively increased throughout the war. It varied according to destination of the voyage and length of time with the same employer, rising to 50%. In Australia the Deputy President of the Repatriation Commission, Jocelyn McGirr, in 1989 in her Inquiry into the Needs of Australian Mariners, concluded that merchant seamen probably ended up about equal to their naval counterparts, when naval allowances, taxation, payment for food and accommodation, and other matters were balanced out.  But she pointed out 

Burlington Spring Home & Garden Show April 2024