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They made the Ultimate Sacrifice
ENGLISH, Dermot Thomas, LCdr, RCNR, MPK - 07 May 1944, HMCS VALLEYFIELD - Son of Edward and Kathleen English; husband of Virginia S. English, of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
LCdr English died when HMCS VALLEYFIELD, of which he was Commanding Officer, was torpedoed and sunk on 07 May 1944 by U-548. Of her crew of 163, there were only 38 survivors.
Lieutenant Commander D. T. English R.C.N.R. of Halifax N.S Commanding Officer of H.M.C.S. Valleyfield who has been reported missing when his ship was torpedoed and sunk while on convoy duty in the North Atlantic. The Valleyfield was commissioned last December and was the first Canadian frigate to be sunk and the first Canadian escort ship to be lost since the torpedoing of H.M.C.S. St. Croix in September 1943. Lieutenant Commander English was born in St John's Newfoundland and enlisted in Halifax in June 1940. His aunt Mrs. Fred Slipper of Toronto said his parents are dead. He went to sea as a boy and left the Merchant marine with first mate's papers. He won his master's papers for foreign and local waters the following a year and a half at sea. He sailed the Atlantic as a seaman for a number of years before the war and joined the R.C.N.R. shortly after its outbreak. In December 1943 he was given Command of H.M.C.S. Valleyfield. He had two children, Kathleen, age 3 and Dermot Thomas Jr.
Ships served in: HMCS STADACONA - Enlisted 19 Jun 1940 as an Acting Mate, RCNR HMCS STADACONA - Appointed to STADACONA for duty with NCS Halifax 19 Jun 1940 * Appointed Lieutenant, RCNR 04 Apr 1941 HMCS VENTURE - Appointed to VENTURE Add'l for duty with NCS Halifax 01 Jan 1942 HMCS STADACONA - Appointed to STADACONA Add'l for duty with NCSO 01 May 1942 HMCS CORNWALLIS - Appointed to CORNWALLIS Add'l for training and disposal (Short A/S Course) 21 Jul 1942 HMCS HAMILTON - Appointed to HAMILTON 21 Sep 1942 for training HMCS MULGRAVE - Appointed to MULGRAVE 14 Oct 1942 HMCS MULGRAVE - Re-Appointed to MULGRAVE 04 Nov 1942 as Commanding Officer. 1st Commanding Officer * Appointed Acting Lieutenant-Commander, RCNR HMCS STADACONA - Appointed to STADACONA Add'l for refresher courses with Captain (D), Halifax 15 Oct 1943 HMCS BYTOWN - Appointed to BYTOWN Add'l for NSCBS for "VALLEYFIELD" HMCS VALLEYFIELD - Appointed to VALLEYFIELD 07 Dec 1943 as Commanding Officer
(ME01) Article on the death of LCdr English (ME02) Service file for Dermot English // Source: The Library and Archives of Canada
Second World War Casualty Index
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