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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
HARDEN, Harold Albert Nelson - longtime Montreal Gazette employee and World War II naval veteran, "crossed the bar" on June 18th, at age 98. Predeceased by his sisters Hazel (Murphy), Isabel (McLeod), his nephew Keith Murphy (Jean), and his wives, Mary Strano (1925-1992) and Grace Reid (1931-2015). Survived by his son Philip (Kathrine), his nephews Kenneth Murphy (Carole) and Kevin McLeod (Deirdre), and their children.
Harold was born on a little dairy farm on the Bolton Pass road near Knowlton, Quebec. His mother Annie Cahill had come from Galway, Ireland to work as a cook on a gentry estate. In the stables a local lad, Walter Nelson Harden, worked as a teamster. They married at Christ Church Cathedral before Walter sailed with the Canadian army for France in World War I. He returned a partial invalid, after exposure to poison gas at the battle of Hill 70, but was able to manage a small dairy herd on a hilly patch of land. An outbreak of bovine tuberculosis in 1929 forced the family to Verdun where Walter was able to drive a caleche until his death in 1937. Soon after, Harold left school to work in the shipping room of the T. Eaton department store and ever after credited his mastery of knots to his days wrapping parcels. He was proud of his roots in Verdun, with its spiral staircases, back alleys and working class anglo-irish-franco mix.
In 1941 at age18 Harold enlisted in the Navy, having no knowledge of the sea, but liking the look of the bell bottomed uniforms. He was trained as a pom-pom gunner and served on corvettes (HMCS Trail) on convoy duty in the Gulf of St Lawrence and the North Atlantic. He was also seconded to the British cruiser HMS Kent during its arctic run to Murmansk. In later years he would always attend the commemoration services for the Battle of the Atlantic in tribute to the ship mates who didn't return. Never far from memory were the terrible winter gales and the risks of chopping ice from the corvette's superstructure so she would stay upright and afloat. And then there were always the recurring dreams of men in the water encircled by burning fuel. Trauma can be overcome, but not forgotten.
The immediate post war years were a time of celebration. Montreal was an open city with a dynamic nightlife and Harold absorbed as much of its music and gaiety as possible. At a dance in 1949 his sister Hazel introduced Harold to a woman who had worked with her at a wartime munitions plant. This tall, attractive, ash blonde woman had come to Montreal as a young child from Slovakia. Both were exceptionally fine dancers and in1950 Harold and Mary Strano married at Christ Church Cathedral.
Now a married man and father Harold found work in the Circulation and Sales department of the Montreal Gazette, and developed a career as a manager and supervisor. Up before 4 am every day for newspaper delivery, waking men up who had slept in, digging out their cars after heavy snow falls, jump starting them on bitter winter mornings; the work was tiring but not as hard as that on corvettes. The Gazette men he worked with became his crew. He respected honest hard work and commitment. They in turn knew that he wouldn't double deal and would speak truth to power on their behalf. During the difficult pandemic months Harold was moved and uplifted by the many phone calls he received from his Gazette friends.
There was always time for sports and hard-partying Grey Cup train trips to cheer on San Etchevary's Alouettes. In the Harden family, hockey was debated with religious fervor. On Saturday night the family would gather for dinner and settle to watch La famille Ploufe and then les Canadiens. Annie would place her crucifix and rosary atop the TV set and call on Jesus to help Jacques Plante. Across the room Isabel would cheer loudly for anyone except les Habitants. Linesmen might have to intervene in the resulting Irish dust-up.
Though long a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, in the 1980's Harold and his friends founded the White Ensign Club to support navy veterans who had served under the white ensign flag. They reminisced and held dances in the Chief Petty Officers mess at HMCS Donnaconna when it was located on Drummond St. Harold served as club president for two terms. They raised funds for the preservation of HMCS Sackville and the establishment of the Canadian Naval Memorial in Halifax. In the 1970's Harold joined the fraternal order of Freemasons and remains a member of the Masonic Lodge in Clarenceville.
Following their retirement, Harold and Mary relocated to Philipsberg where they were active members of the local Legion branch until Mary's death in 1992. In 1998 Harold married another fine dancer, Grace Reid. They enjoyed traveling to visit Grace's family in BC, the American west coast, as well as Canadian naval reunions in Ontario and Nova Scotia. In 2015 Grace passed away suddenly. Harold said he was blessed to have married two such wonderful ladies and would ever refuse to dance again.
In 2018, his health declining, he decided to enter long term care at the Ste. Anne's (Veterans) Hospital. He had long supported the Liaison Centre program at Ste Anne's and in his 80's discovered a talent for water colour painting. He continued to explore this art until the pandemic forced closure of the arts and crafts programs. When asked how he was coping with the social restrictions imposed by the pandemic, he would recall the long lonely hours spent on night watch on the Trail, searching for a ship's silhouette or the white trail of a torpedo. Nothing could be more stressful than that.
As a family, we mourn the loss of our patriarch.
We wish to express our thanks to all the personnel and volunteers at Ste. Anne's Hospital, and in particular, Dr. Francine Richard and the staff of the 14th floor, who provided such devoted care to Harold and all his fellow comrades in arms.
A visitation (2-3 pm) and chapel service (3-4 pm) will take place on Saturday, June 26 at the Collins Clarke MacGillivray White funeral home, 5610 Rue Sherbrooke West.
At present, attendance at funerals is limited to 25 individuals. However, the service will be streamed from https://funeraweb.tv/en/defunts/ and will remain available for viewing afterwards.
A family burial service will take place at the Knowlton Cemetery at a later date.
Donations in remembrance of Harold might be made to either the Ste Anne's Hospital Foundation or The Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Trust Fund. (The Montreal Gazette 22 Jun 2021)
Ships served in: HMS KENT
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