In conjunction
with the 60th anniversary of the of the Battle of the
Atlantic and the opening of the new Wardroom, the Mess
Membership have commissioned renowned Canadian Artist,
Tom Forestall to paint a new mural depicting a RCN engagement during this
most important Battle.
The Battle of the Atlantic represents
two major events in Canada's participation in WWII.
The first is that Canada played a major role with
regard to men and resources in this battle, which
opened the way for men and materiel to be shipped to
England for the final push to victory. Secondly, the
North Atlantic was the only Allied Theatre of
Operations to be commanded by a Canadian, Rear
Admiral L.W. Murray. To choose a single engagement
that reflected the importance and the major role
that the RCN played was no small task. A committee
was established that consulted with historians both
within the CF and outside to identify a suitable
Naval engagement. After careful consideration they
found an action that displayed the significance of
the Battle of the Atlantic as well as the
professionalism and tenacity of the RCN, that
between HMCS ASSINIBOINE and German U-boat U210.
HMCS ASSINIBOINE VS U 210
On July 31, 1942, Convoy SC-94
departed Sydney NS for England and ASSINIBOINE was
one of the escorts. On the evening of August 5th,
U-539, sank the Dutch Merchantman, Spar. U-539 was
able to send a message to all nearby U Boats
indicating the convoy’s position and heading.
Eighteen U-Boats responded and at 1125 on the
morning of August 6th, U-210 was spotted by an
ASSINIBOINE look out, setting the stage for a
battle that would last for the next seven hours with
U-210 using the bad weather and fog to its
advantage. As soon as ASSINIBOINE reported the
sighting, she increased speed to 22 knots, bearing
down on U-210, firing her forward guns at the
submarine. U-210 immediately dived, forcing
ASSINIBOINE to use depth charges. After the attack
no wreckage was spotted and no contact was made by
asdic, so ASSINIBOINE rejoined the convoy. At 1712,
U-210 was again spotted and ASSINIBOINE renewed the
pursuit. The crafty U-Boat commander employed the
bad weather to his advantage, weaving in and out of
the fog, never allowing ASSINIBOINE to get a good
opportunity to engage with her 4.7 inch guns. The
two combatants continued to weave into and away from
each other as the submarine sought an chance to
dive, and at one point, due to the close proximity
of the combatants, ASSINIBOINE could engage only
with her .50 Calibre machine guns. ASSINIBOINE did
not go untouched during this engagement, with a
serious gasoline fire breaking out below the bridge
due to damage she received from the German U-Boat’s
accurate gunfire. Finally, as U-210 tried to dive,
ASSINIBOINE was able to ram her just abaft the
conning tower. This damage caused her to surface and
she was rammed a second time sending U-210 to the
bottom in two minutes. In the engagement six
Germans, including the Captain, and one Canadian
were killed and many more were wounded.
ASSINIBOINE's Captain, LCdr John Hamilton Stubbs
received the Distinguished Service Order, the First
Lieutenant., Lt. Ralph Hennessy was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross, and the Coxswain,
Acting Chief Petty Officer Bernays, who stayed at
the helm of ASSINIBOINE despite the smoke and fire
aft of the bridge, received the rarely awarded
Conspicuous Gallantry Medal.
TOM FORRESTALL
Tom Forrestall was born in the Annapolis Valley, but
moved to Dartmouth at the beginning of WW II. During
his boyhood, he spent many hours at the Dartmouth
waterfront, watching Allied Naval ships come and go
and the forming up and sailing of the convoys. In
1954 he received a scholarship to Mount Allison
University to study Fine Arts and upon graduation
received a Canada Council Grant for independent
study that allowed him to travel Europe. In 1960,
while Assistant Curator of the Beaverbrook Art
Gallery, he received his first commission, a
painting given to Princess Margaret as her wedding
gift from the Province of New Brunswick. Shortly
after he began painting full time. Mr. Forrestall is
one of Canada's top living artist, whose paintings
are shown across Canada and internationally. He has
received many major art awards and is a Member of
the Order of Canada. This world-renowned artist has
been commissioned to paint for individuals and
governments from around the world. Mr. Forestall is
a resident of Dartmouth, home to his personal
Gallery, from which he has maintained his bond to
the Canadian Navy.
Trafalgar Mural to be Refurbished
for new Ballroom
The
Wardroom has always had an extensive art collection,
which is the envy of many military messes and
civilian galleries. The centerpiece of the
collection has always been the two large murals, The
Trafalgar, which hung in the Ballroom and the
Spanish Armada, which hung in the Dining Room. Both
murals were presented to the Wardroom in 1954 by the
United Services Club of England and were transported
to Canada aboard HMCS WARRIOR and hung in the then
freshly opened Wardroom. With the building of the
new Wardroom it was decided to reassess the state of
the art collection and ensure that it was in keeping
with our new facility. Based on a study done by a
Mess committee made up of members and art experts,
it was decided to refurbish the Trafalgar and to
replace the Spanish Armada with a new mural who's
subject would be a Canadian Naval event.
TRAFALGAR
On 20
October 1805, off Cape Trafalgar off the coast of
Southern Spain a much smaller British fleet under
the command of Lord Nelson engaged the larger Allied
fleet of Napoleon. Nelson roundly defeated the
French without losing one ship, resulting in
stopping Napoleon's drive to control all of Europe
by robbing him of the ability to invade England and
denied him the supremacy of the English Channel and
the high seas for his far-flung adventures. This
defeat was a major turning point in the Napoleonic
Wars, leading to his eventual complete defeat. For
England it was the establishment of her supremacy of
the seas for the next century and a half.
Canada's connections to the Battle are many. First
at the time of the battle we were a Crown colony and
thus ruled by England. Secondly since the RCN
literally sprung from the RN, actually commanded by
a RN Officer for many years after it's
establishment, many feel that RN history is part of
ours as well. In addition there is the fact that the
mural, painted by William Lionel Wyllie in the late
19th century, was transported to Canada aboard one
of our aircraft carriers and when all three are
combined contribute to the strong bond the Wardroom
has to this mural. As well some members have
attempted to add to the mural to up the "Canadian"
content. One of our submariner brethren added a
periscope and an unknown airman placed an Argus over
the fleet to provide Lord Nelson with ASW. Both
additions were skill fully removed.
Based on this, the membership voted on September
2004 to have the Trafalgar refurbished and rehung in
the new Ballroom to keep this tradition alive. And
to protect the mural from the elements and would be
artists, we will enclose it in a clear acrylic case.
HEIDI SOBOL
To
carry out the refurbishment to the high standard
required, the Wardroom has been able to contract one
of Canada's finest conservators, Heidi Sobol. Heidi
has a BA in Fine Arts from NSCAD and a Masters in
Art Conservation from Queen's. She has been working
in this field since 1997 and has gained an
outstanding reputation. She has worked for several
major Canadian Galleries, including the National
Gallery of Canada and was a lead conservator to
refurbish some large murals in the Northern United
States that were painted during the 1930's. In
addition she has been a guest lecturer at both
Queen's and Brock Universities and most recently
taught a course on Art conservation at
NSCAD.
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