A solemn remembrance in Vancouver for Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic Fleet Weekend 2022 was brought to a close with a parade on Saturday, May 1 at the Sailor’s Memorial Park in North Vancouver. Current serving Royal Canadian Navy members, veterans and civilians united to honor the sacrifices of all those in the Second World War naval battle. Photo: Master Corporal Nathan Spence, MARPAC Imaging Services

SLt Wilson Ho 
MARPAC Public Affairs

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On the first Sunday of May, sailors from the Royal Canadian Navy and Maritime Forces Pacific commemorated the 77^th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic with marching contingents and a commemoration ceremony at Sailor’s Point Memorial in Waterfront Park, North Vancouver.

The parade and ceremony was part of the navy’s inaugural Fleet Weekend at Burrard Dry Dock Pier.

Joining the parade were contingents from the ships participating in Fleet Weekend, and members of HMCS Discovery, the Naval Association, the Navy Cadet Corps, and the Navy League. Together they marked from the Burrard Dry Dock Pier to Sailor’s Point Memorial.

During the ceremony, the names of each ship sunk during the longest continuous Second World War naval battle were read out loud, and a ship’s bell was rung eight times after each name. As the ships were lost at sea, and no answer returned, the bell ringer would then call out, “They do not respond.”

A special announcement was also made to mark the anniversary of Stalker 22, the Royal Canadian Air Force CH-148 Cyclone that crashed into the Ionian Sea with six Canadian Armed Forces members lost on April 29, 2020, as well as the four Officer Cadets who died April 29 in an accident at the Royal Military College of Canada.   

When wreaths from all of the contingents were laid and the Last Post and Reveille were played, a moment of silence was observed.

The Battle of the Atlantic began on the opening day of the war in September 1939 and ended almost six years later with Germany’s surrender in May 1945.

A bugler plays the Reveille after a moment of silence during the Battle of the Atlantic Commemoration Ceremony on May 1 in North Vancouver. Photo Credit: Master Corporal Nathan Spence, MARPAC Imaging Services