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A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project
In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
JENNINGS, Samuel Alfred - age 92 of Halifax, passed away on November 2, 2018 at Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Building. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland to the late Frank and Lucetta (Bailey) Jennings. Sam served in the RAF during WWII and immigrated to Canada following the war. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy and in 1954 was part of the First Block Draft of Canadian personnel on an exchange program so as to train and serve in British submarines. In 1955 when serving in HMS/m Sidon in Portland, UK he survived a torpedo explosion with the loss of 13 lives that included a fellow Canadian submariner. Sam was to serve in other 'S' Class submarines running from Faslane Scotland, Gosport and other locations including a stint aboard an RN submarine running from Sydney, Australia. Sam then came back to Canada and served in HMCS Bonaventure. He then returned to submarines and joined HMCS/m Ojibwa. His favourite boat would soon follow with a draft to the newly commissioned HMCS/m Okanagan as the Chief ERA. Sam was a proud submariner. Following his retirement from the RCN, he worked as the Senior Engineer aboard CFAV Quest. Sam served over 40 years as a trustee at United Memorial Church and volunteered at Northwood. His favourite pastime in retirement was at working on his property in Queensland. Sam is survived by his son Alfred (Sandra); daughter Vivian; his sister, Edna (Bill) Blair, Toronto; grandchildren Sean (Elyss), Tara (Logan Delaney), Samantha and Emma; four great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Vera, brothers Thomas, Gerald; sisters Lucetta Kelly and Vivian McClure. Service will take place at J.A. Snow Funeral Home, 339 Lacewood Drive, Halifax on Saturday, November 24th at 11:00am with reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the QEII Hospital Foundation. Special thanks for the wonderful, caring staff at Camp Hill 6 East.
Ships served in: HMS/m SIDON HMCS OKANAGAN - Commissioning crew as CERA. Served in Okanagan as CERA 1968-1975
Sam Jennings onboard HMCS OKANAGAN 22 June 1973 enroute to the UK for Workups. Sam was the CERA.
Survivors of the torpedo explosion on HMS SIDON aboard HMS MAIDSTONE Sam Jennings, RCN 2nd row, 2nd from left Jean Claude Gourdeau, RCN, was also on board SIDON, but is not identified in the photo
On the morning of 16 June 1955, Sidon was moored alongside the depot ship HMS Maidstone in Portland Harbour. Two 21-inch (533 mm) Mark 12 high test peroxide-powered torpedoes, code-named "Fancy", had been loaded aboard for testing. Fifty-six officers and crewmen were aboard.
At 08:25, an explosion in one of the "Fancy" torpedoes (but not the warhead) burst the number-three torpedo tube into which it had been loaded and ruptured the two forward-most watertight bulkheads. Fire, toxic gases, and smoke accompanied the blast. Twelve men in the forward compartments died instantly and seven others were seriously injured.
The submarine started to settle by the bow with a list to starboard, and her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Verry, ordered the submarine evacuated from the engine room and aft escape hatches. Thanks to a rescue party from Maidstone, everyone not immediately killed escaped, except Maidstone's medical officer, Temporary Surgeon Lieutenant Charles Eric Rhodes. He had gone aboard with the rescue party, assisted several survivors, and suffocated because he was using a DSEA set that he had not been trained to use. At about 08:50 Sidon sank to the bottom of the harbour. On 1 November 1955 Rhodes was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for putting his life in danger to save others. (Source: Wikipedia)
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For Posterity's Sake 
