“GO WEST, YOUNG MAN”: Photos from along the way (21)

[“Another item at the museum caught my full attention.   In the RCN room, closed to the public by means of a laminated sign - “Closed for Refurbishment” - and one black curtain, was a poster used by the Canadian Navy to draw new recruits into the service.” Chasing my dad Part 15]

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

I spent a rewarding time in the Maritime Museum of BC. Display boards were stocked with excellent photos, displays and descriptions. If Dad had been along, we would have missed lunch and supper too.

From the note board under the MN badge: “In WWII, the merchant fleet grew from 38 vessels to approximately 200. Merchant sailors were vital in transporting cargo across the Atlantic, and were unofficially classified as the fourth branch of the military. The merchant navy had a higher casualty rate than the other 3 branches of the military - 1 in 10 lost their lives - but they were unable to reap the benefits of veteran status because they were not recognized as part of the military.”

For more details about life on the Atlantic during WWII, please read A Measureless Peril: America in the fight for the Atlantic, the longest battle of WWII, by Richard Snow.

[“I left the museum and prepared a late lunch at

the hostel. Its door is guarded by a flowering tree”

[“My fine hostel digs. Eight cozy bunks per cubby”]

[“After lunch I explored the harbour path”]

[“Birkenstocks vs Harbour Boats? Birkenstocks!”]

[“Oh, I could live in Victoria!”]

[A lovely bronze of a Navy man coming home.

Note brief case in lower left corner.”]

A large engraved stone explains the bronze: 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Navy ...this statue is dedicated to the tens of thousands of Canadians who answered both the call of their country and of the sea through service in Canada’s Navy. From cities, towns, villages and First Nations communities, they

stepped forward to stand their watch at sea through two World wars, War in Korea, the Cold War, the first Gulf War and the War on Terrorism. These ordinary man and women were extraordinary in their accomplishments and helped shape the history of Canada as a great maritime nation. This statue... represents the special moment in sailors lives when they return from the sea to once again meet their family. May 4, 2010” 

[“The Teddy is in the briefcase!”]

In June, 2010 (one month after the statue was unveiled) I buried my dad at sea - in the Atlantic, near Halifax - in SS Silver Walnut 2.

More photos from the harbor walk to follow.

[Photos by G.Harrison]

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Please click here to view Photos from along the way (20)