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They made the Ultimate Sacrifice
DEEKS, William Richard, OS P/AA III, V47243, RCNVR, MPK - 20 Sep 1943, HMCS ST CROIX - Son of William Henry and Elizabeth A. Deeks, of Vernon, British Columbia.
William lied about his age giving as date of birth of 15 Sep 1924 when he enlisted.
Ordinary Seaman Deeks died when HMCS ST CROIX was sunk on 20 Sep 1943 by U-305. Of her crew of 149, there was only 1 survivor. HMCS ST CROIX was sunk on 20 Sep 1943 and the survivors were picked up by HMS ITCHEN K277 which was in turn sunk on 23 Sep 1943. Other than a couple crew members that were identified by the sole survivor of ST CROIX as having been on ITCHEN it is not known which crew members died in the sinking of ITCHEN so all ST CROIX crew are listed as having died on 20 Sep 1943.
Ships served in: * Prior to serving in the RNCVR, William served in the "A" Sqn., 9th (R) Armoured Regt., (BGD) 14 Aug 1942 - 26 Aug 1942 HMCS DISCOVERY - Enlisted 28 Aug 1942 * Commenced Active Service 29 Oct 1942 as an Ordinary Seaman, RCNVR HMCS YORK - Drafted to YORK 03 Jan 1943 as an Ordinary Seaman Visual Signalman, RCNVR HMCS ST HYACINTHE - Drafted to ST HYACINTHE 23 Jan 1943 * Transferred to Seaman Branch as an Ordinary Seaman, RCNVR 26 Jan 1943 HMCS CORNWALLIS - Drafted to CORNWALLIS 03 Feb 1943 * Rated Probationary Anti Aircraft Rating 3rd Class, RCNVR 07 May 1943 HMCS AVALON - Drafted to AVALON 24 May 1943 HMCS ST CROIX - Drafted to ST CROIX 27 May 1943
(WRD001) Article on William Deeks' service history (WRD002) Service file for William Deeks // Source: The Library and Archives of Canada
Second World War Casualty Index
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