- Trust That Preserves HMCS Sackville Seeks To Raise $15M To Shore Up WW II Vessel For Next 80 Years: William Woodburn
By Andrew Macdonald
The 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic was held on Friday, the longest-serving campaign in World War II.
Begun in 1939, that campaign ended successfully on May 8th, 1945.
U.K. war Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated: “The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominant factor throughout the war”.
During the war against the devilish Nazi Germany regime, Churchill attended war meetings in Halifax, and published reports stated he gave away cigars at Point Pleasant Park.
The significance of Churchill’s valiant leadership during the war is the main reason a statue in his likeness is at the old Memorial Library – a library that paid tribute to the thousands of men and women who lost their lives fighting against a brutal leader like Hitler.
In Halifax, berthed at The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, is the last surviving corvette from WW II, named HMCS Sackville.
A model of HMCS Sackville, a floating museum about WW II, welcomes tourists aboard in the summer on the Halifax waterfront. (The Notebook).
Two hundred and ninety-four of these Allied naval vessels were built during the Second World War, HMCS Sackville was built in a shipyard in Saint John, NB.
“It’s the two hundred and ninety-four small corvettes that came to symbolize the trials and final triumph of the Battle of the Atlantic. All but one lost to time with the veterans who served on them. The single surviving corvette, HMCS Sackville, is a symbolic reminder that history preserved is history remembered,” says the vessel’s custodian, The Canadian Naval Memorial Trust, (CNMT).
“CNMT is a non-profit organization committed to preserving and sharing the stories of the Royal Canadian Navy. Our goal is for generations of Canadians to understand and appreciate the impact of Canada’s naval history,” the Trust says on its informative website.
“The Trust is dedicated to making sure that HMCS Sackville remains a living and vibrant historical site that commemorates Canada’s Second World War naval effort, achievements, and sacrifices. It is committed to ensuring that as many of the remarkable stories associated with this extraordinary national endeavour are shared so all understand how their lives today have so profoundly benefitted from the monumental and heroic efforts of all the Canadians who worked so hard to build the third largest navy in the world and conduct naval operations in the Battle of the Atlantic and around the world,” the Trust states.
There were 294 corvettes built in Canada during WW II; the last surviving vessel of this class is the Halifax-based HMCS Sackville.
“Sackville was one of 122 corvettes built in the Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia shipyards that served in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) during the war. Sackville was commissioned Dec. 29, 1941 in Saint John, N.B. and escorted convoys from St. John’s, Nfld. to Londonderry, Northern Ireland,” the Trust explains.
“The 205-foot Sackville, named after the town of Sackville, N.B., certainly earned its stripes.”
The likeness of Sir Winston Churchill has stood over Spring Garden Road since it was unveiled in Jan. 1980. A private committee of leading citizens raised $90,000 for the statue. (The Notebook).
Churchill described the quickly constructed corvettes as the “cheap but nasties.”
“They were the workhorses of the North Atlantic, escorting convoys and engaging German U-boats to maintain the critical lifeline to Britain. Sackville and its sister ships played a significant role in ensuring Allied victory in the Atlantic,” the Trust notes.
“Reservists primarily made up the crews of the 122 Canadian corvettes. They formed the core of the ocean escort groups, defending convoys of merchant vessels from the U-boats. On any given day, dozens of ships carrying food, fuel and other war materials departed Halifax and other East Coast ports for the United Kingdom.”
The Battle Of The Atlantic: When Halifax Played a Turning Point In Allied Victory
With ceremonies held last Friday, May 8th, to mark the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of the Battle of the Atlantic, ceremonies were held at Point Pleasant Park, where a plaque carries the names of fallen sailors who died during WW II. Anniversary milestones were also held at Consul general offices in Halifax for the Netherlands & Norway.
I am reminded that a key to Allied victory in the Second World War lay in a now-demolished building at the corner of Barrington and South streets in downtown Halifax.
In that building, officers of the Royal Canadian Navy directed the Battle of the Atlantic against Nazi Germany’s U-boats, which threatened to cut the lifeline between North America and Britain.
Sadly, that historic building with its war room theatre was knocked down 20 or so years ago to make room for an apartment building.
There was little public outcry that an important part of Halifax’s rich naval heritage was falling to the wrecking ball, other than comments by leading bar baron Victor Syperek, who observed that a significant part of the city’s seafaring history was being destroyed.
A 1942 picture of a convoy forming in Bedford Basin. It was a particularly deadly year in the Battle of the Atlantic. Nova Scotia Archives Photo
Today, the corner property with the apartment complex carries a small plaque noting it was part of the longest battle during the Second World War and Canada’s longest continuous military engagement.
Each spring, the Battle of the Atlantic anniversary is commemorated on the Halifax waterfront.
The Battle of The Atlantic was fought out of the Port of Halifax.
The Battle of The Atlantic lasted 2,075 days between 1939 and 1945 and claimed the lives of more than 4,000 men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Merchant Navy.
“It is important that we take time to reflect on the sacrifices of the sailors, airmen and members of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives while maintaining shipping routes for vital supplies to reach Europe during the Second World War,” said then Premier McNeil at a ceremony in 2019.
“The Battle of the Atlantic was one of the defining conflicts of the war. We owe those who served a debt of gratitude for their courage,” the premier also added.
In May 1943, the Allies gained the upper hand in their battle with German U-boats that had sunk millions of tons of Allied shipping destined for Britain. The U-boats even carried their campaign to the outskirts of Halifax Harbour and preyed on shipping along Nova Scotia’s coastlines.
“Though skirmishes continued until the end of the war, anniversary commemorations mark (May 1943) as the turning of the tide,” the then premier added.
In Halifax, where 10,000 naval and air force members work, along with thousands of civilian employees of the armed forces, it is fitting that the heroic wartime effort is still being honoured.
To understand the Battle of the Atlantic and particularly the role of HMCS Sackville – a living floating museum which in summer months offers tours – I recently spoke with the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust’s chair, retired Naval officer William Woodburn.
Canadian Naval Memorial Trust’s chair, retired Naval officer William Woodburn. His Trust oversees HMCS Sackville, and there are plans to launch a $15M fundraising campaign to preserve Sackville for the next 80 years. (The Notebook).
Woodburn invited me aboard Sackville for our news chat on the vessel, the Trust’s mission, and a soon-to-launch fundraising effort to shore up Sackville for another generation or two to come.
During our chat, the vessel was berthed at the Naval dockyards, but has been moved to a pier off the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.
The ship is on dock and available for private tours, but won’t open to the public until June.
The vessel needs serious maintenance work to preserve it for the next 80 years.
“We had a major refit that was done by a fleet maintenance facility here in Halifax by Cape Scott. Essentially, we discovered the hull was starting to deteriorate more than we’d like. We went through a fairly major refit to put new metal on top of old metal, clad the hull, which would allow us 10-12 plus years of good, safe operation of the ship,” explains Woodburn.
“This got us thinking, what are we going to do for the long term? We went through an options analysis. We had some key people come up from the U.S. who are historic ship surveyors,” he adds.
“They are the ones who said we are a great candidate to essentially cut off the hulll, the skin, and replace it with new steel. Rather than the current situation where we have riveted original steel of the ship sandwiched or welded with new steel on top.”
The U.S. ship surveyors suggested that the old steel be removed or cut away. And new steel was placed on the ship.
“Then we can expect another 80-plus good years of a solid steel haul.”
That work could be done by a shipyard in Nova Scotia.
The cost?
“We believe it would be in the order of $15M to do that work,” Woodburn tells The Macdonald Notebook.
Between 2018-2021, an interim refit was conducted to place steel on top of older steel, and that cost $5M, with the Trust and the federal government paying for that project.
“We have a lot of money to raise. We are in the process of putting in the foundational building blocks to launch a capital campaign,” says Woodburn, to ensure Sackville is preserved for the next 80 years.
“Hopefully, by the end of this year or early next year, we are off and running to raise that money.”
“That’s the plan.”
The Trust is in a Downtown Halifax office at Barrington Place, the landlord is Scott McCrea’s Armour Group.
HMCS Sackville was one of 294 corvettes fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic 80 years ago. The Allied Forces won the Battle of the Atlantic and stopped the evil Hitler from advancing. (The Notebook).
The Sackville is the last corvette in the world, and its heritage to tell the war perspective from Canada is significant, according to Woodburn.
As part of a strategic process involving HMCS Sackville, “it became crystal clear how much the ship symbolizes our country,” he adds.
“We had a Navy that went from six ships (before the war) to close to 400 during the war. From a Navy of 4,000 sailors to a Navy of 95,000 sailors. Shipyards – we had three in Canada before the war, and they were employing 5,000 people. By the end of the war, we had 90 shipyards employing 120,000 people,” adds Woodburn.
“These are significant, not just about the Navy but about the country and everything that went on. Our Navy went from being a coastal Navy to a deep blue water Navy.”
“These are the type of stories that need to get out there,” says Woodburn. “Then there are the thousands of stories about what happened to people, the sailors, the sacrifices, those who lost their lives, or lived on the sea.”
Canada had the third-largest Navy in the world during WW II.
Last year, 45,000 people visited HMCS Sackville, and this coming tourism season, the ship moves from seeking donations to enter the vessel to putting an “inexpensive” fee on tourist seekers.
Woodburn says the Trust will seek corporate and community sponsorships to raise the $15M, and “ultimately we may need to go to all levels of government.”
“We are hoping, for the most part, we can stand on our own two feet and raise the funds,” he tells The Macdonald Notebook.
Woodburn spent 32 years in the Navy on submarines and then became base commander of Stadacona and Shearwater, and the Dockyard.
Base Halifax is the largest base in Canada.
HMCS Sackville does not sail or motor in Halifax Harbour, it does not have a propeller.
William Woodburn, right, is chair of the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust, which oversees WW II floating museum, HMCS Sackville. Pictured on the left is well known Haliax business leader, Rick Emberley, who is helping the Trust raise $15M to preserve Sackville for the next 80 years. (The Notebook).
