“GO WEST, YOUNG MAN”: Photos from along the way (20)

[“I felt grateful on the day. When I asked if that was a hawser on his workbench Mr. Shafer said it was, so I didn’t feel like a complete goof. I felt glad to have spotted it and that it connected me - with the strongest of cords - to my father.” Chasing my dad Part 14]

Photos from April 26, Day 6 of my trip to Vancouver Island

Do you like museums? I do, especially ones with restricted rooms.

Shortly after leaving the Esquimalt Naval Base I entered the Maritime Museum of BC, only two blocks from my hostel. 

Though I was barred from one important room, according to a sign, velvet rope and black curtain, I found a way to sneak in (by moving the rope and slipping behind the curtain) and found many treasures.

For example, I found a WWII photo of a convoy forming in Bedford Basin, Halifax. My father may very well have been on one of those ships, as he was part of the first RCNVR class to be shipped overseas in 1941.

[“A bit of history about dad’s beloved RCNVR. He

didn’t sign up because of the pay, that’s for sure.”]

[“The rum tot reminded me of one of dad’s ‘Navy

Days’ stories published in our hometown paper”]

[“Dad mentioned that he trained at HMCS Niobe

in Scotland, circa 1942, in his Naval memoirs”]

[“I spotted a model of the Esquimalt shipyard locks;

I’d seen the real thing just hours earlier.”]

[“An old map of the Esquimalt Naval Base, the place I’d

tramped around in the morning, caught my eye.”]

After a late lunch I had a good tramp around Victoria and the nearby harbour.

More to follow.

[Photos by G.Harrison]

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