For Posterity's Sake         

A Royal Canadian Navy Historical Project

Nick's Personal Photo Gallery

The photos in the gallery belong to a sailor named Nick.  This collection passed through a couple people before being donated to "For Posterity's Sake" and it is not known what Nick's last name is. These is no documentation with these photos; a couple have names written on them; and some have place names written on the back. 

Based on the photos, Nick spent time in Halifax, NS and Esquimalt, BC as there are a number of souvenir photos with their location printed on the front of the photo.  Nick was also drafted to HMCS Ontario for her deployment from the UK near the end of the war to Hong Kong and then to Esquimalt and took many photos during that trip.  The photos of that trip will be put in the photo and document gallery for HMCS Ontario in the near future.

Nick may be in some of these photos or he may not - we do not know what he looks like.  If you are able to identify any of the photos - their locations or the sailors in them or are able to provide information on Nick, please send me an email so I can update the photos captions.

Click on the thumbnail images to view the full size image

(7) Names on the back of photo (6) - Hughes, Sullivan, Blackwell, Marks, Driscoll, McPherson, Young, Popovich, McPharlane, Gillinder, Villneuve

Note: (1) HMS Seawolf N47 was used for anti-submarine training in the Halifax area from 1943 till the end of the war.

(2) the photos of HMS RENOWN were taken in Halifax in Aug 1943 - the only time she was in Halifax.  At 1100 on 29 Aug 1943, HMS RENOWN arrived in Halifax with Prime Minister Winston Churchill, two of his daughters, the First Sea Lord, and their respective Staffs and a large number of WRNS Cypher Officers - destined for the Quebec Conference

HMCS Ontario

HMCS ONTARIO in Hong Kong photo - The photo of her in Hong Kong showing the forward guns and fo'c's'le awning shows the gizmos on the 6" gun barrels. These were part of the fuse-setting system for using the 6" guns for anti-aircraft fire, which was needed because the enemy planes by mid-war had stand-off missiles to launch beyond 4" gun range (Germans had radio-controlled, like hit ATHABASKAN and UGANDA, while Japan had "Baka (means crazy I think) manned rocket things for suicide pilots). This was for "timed fuses" which were for "barrage" fire. IE, fill the sky with flak just ahead of the incoming plane, so timing had to be right and shortened as the plane kept closing in. This was replaced by "influence fusing" for "target triggered burst" but not all guns had this type of ammo. 4" eg, had a key thing to turn in the nose (I think the nose?) just before it was loaded and fired. In AA, the loader stuck it in a fuse setter by the breech next to the gun, and this setter thing had to be kept up to date with the times to set based on radar range info from the barrage director or gun director using 282 radar on the director or 283 on a barrage director.

Jim Silvester's dairy has several mentions of "711 gear" shoots with the 6" guns. My dad was turret officer in Y turret and he told me about this "711 gear". It has a sort of rubbery thing hanging down over the muzzle attached to the box of tricks on top of the end of the barrel as seen in Nick's photo. The shell brushed past this thing on the way out and that sent a timing signal into the fuse. There was a panel in the turret for all this. Dad said before action, an electrical officer came in and "did something" at the panel. ONTARIO was fitted with this new system in Belfast and it worked with the ranges given by the barrage directors (283 radar) that had a sort of computer to them. One for each turret. Two below the front of the bridge and one aft below the Mark 6 director, but above the 282 director for the after pom-pom. The 282 and 283 look the same.

SUPERB also had this 711 system fitted not sure any other ships got it. ONTARIO had the whole business removed in 1946 so you see photos with the two forward "tubs" below the bridge empty (and the gun barrels clean of the gizmos too). Later this was made one platform for a single 40mm. before and below the bridge.

Y turret guns were "Yvette" "Yvonne" and "Yolanda" I don't know the gun names if any for A and B turrets.

(submitted by Barry Lake)

Random photos of people, places, etc - some known, most not

(R004) Ralph Peever, Bancroft, ON  (R005) Larkfield  (R010) Belfast tram (R013) Newspaper articles on Reginald Clement and Wallace Clement of South Porcupine, Ontario. (perhaps a connection to Nick)  (R015 & R016) Martyr's Shrine, just outside Midland, ON  (R017) Midland Dock with the Flour Mill & Elevator in the background. The large boat is the "Midland City" & makes trips every day.  (R018) "This is me also in a Nazi plane." Jevers, 1945 - Michail Emile Popovich

Postcards and Souvenir photos