William Alexander Plant, Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Radar Plotter, RCN

In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar

William Alexander (Bill) Plant

Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Radar Plotter, 5268-E

RCN / C.A.F. (Navy)

Died: 29 Oct 2022

PLANT, William Alexander (Bill) - passed away peacefully at home in the evening of Saturday 29 October 2022, at the age of 95 years.

Bill was born in Chemainus, where he also first started school. The family moved to Ladysmith when he was seven years old. He met his teenage sweetheart Doris, joined the Air Cadets, and graduated from high school, at which time the second World War was raging. Bill tried to join up by lying about his age, but unlike big brother Bob, he didn't get away with it, was sent home with a flea in his ear and told to come back the following year. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy in the spring of 1945 as an Ordinary Seaman and married his sweetheart, Doris.

Bill trained on the minesweeper HMCS St. Boniface at HMCS Cornwallis. He was an Able Seaman on the light cruiser HMCS Uganda when, on the 20th of March 1946, she sailed (yes, actually sailed) around Cape Horn as the first Royal Canadian Navy ship to round The Horn. After cruises on the Uganda, Bill served on the light cruiser HMCS Ontario. After Radar Plotter courses, he served on HMCS Crescent, a destroyer. In 1951, Bill was back on the Ontario as Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, sailed on her from Sydney, NS to Newfoundland during their royal visit. 1952 saw him on a training cruise to South America on HMCS Ontario when she was hit by the merchant vessel SS Arauco, forcing the crew to spend two weeks ashore in Rio de Janeiro. Hard work. In 1953, the Ontario took part in the Fleet Review in connection with the Queen's Coronation, and then spent some time training in the UK. While serving on the Ontario, Bill lost part of his hearing in an accident during an exercise shooting at aircraft drones. After a spell in the UK for training, he served on the destroyer HMCS Margaree in 1958 during her Far Eastern Training cruise. He also served as a Radar Plotting Instructor on various ships and at HMCS Naden. Before retiring from the regular force, Bill joined HMCS Malahat in Esquimalt where he served for three years. After a total of 33 years' service, Bill retired as a Chief Petty Officer 1st Class in 1978.

After a year at Camosun College, Bill served 14 years with BC Ferries as First Officer, where he was known as "The Duff Hound" because of his fondness
for dessert. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion and Malahat Lions for several decades.

Bill and Doris had been happily married for almost 50 years when Doris passed away in 1995. They had four children, Diane, Linda (Finn), Bill Jr (pre-deceased) and Debra, as well as seven grandchildren and many great grandchildren.

In 1998, Bill met Lisbeth while visiting family in England. Bill and Lisbeth were married in 1999 and so Bill gained two step-sons, Mikael (Kristine) and Peter (Marissa), and lately also a step-granddaughter.

Bill dearly loved British Columbia and enjoyed travelling around our beautiful province on land and on the water. He built his first boat when he was just a young boy, and he kept a boat for most of his life. Taking the RV around the province was also one of his great enjoyments. His greatest retirement project was maintaining his property, and until the very day of his stroke, just a couple of months short of his 94th birthday, he could be seen working on the land, both running the tractor and digging with his shovel. He was constantly planning new trails for the dogs. He loved all animals and enjoyed caring for our dogs and cats.

Bill was a good man. He was kind, gentle and soft-spoken. His sense of community service was strong. His sense of humour, which could sometimes be very dry, stayed with him until the end of his life.

A private interment service was held at the Mountain View Cemetery in Duncan.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday 26 February at 3pm at 1462 Mile End Road, Cobble Hill.

Ships served in:

* Enlisted 25 May 1945

HMCS CORNWALLIS

HMCS ST BONIFACE - Served in ST BONIFACE for seamanship training while drafted to CORNWALLIS

HMCS UGANDA - Served in UGANDA for her South American cruise and Rounded the Horn

HMCS ONTARIO - 1951