
HMCS
ARROWHEAD K145
Flower
Class Corvette
|
HMS ARROWHEAD K145 - 1940
RCN Photo
|
Laid down: 11
Apr
1940
Launched: 08
Aug 1940
Commissioned:
22 Nov 1940
Transferred
to RCN: 15 May 1941
|
Commissioned: 15 May 1941
Paid off: 27
Jun 1945
Fate: Broken up
in 1959
|
Built for the RN, she was commissioned at Sorel on
22 Nov 1940 as HMS ARROWHEAD K145. After arriving at Halifax on
03 Dec 1940 she carried out workups and sailed on 21 Jan 1941, with convoy HX.104 for Sunderland. There she was
in dockyard hands for the two months' work required to complete her
fully. After working up at Tobermory ARROWHEAD joined EG 4, Iceland
Command (RN). On 15 May 1941, she was transferred to the RCN and
commissioned as HMCS ARROWHEAD K145. In Jun 1941 she
transferred to the newly formed NEF. For
the rest of 1941 she escorted convoys between St. John's and
Iceland, proceeding early in Dec 1941 to Charleston, S.C. for refit.
Returning to Halifax in Feb 1942, she made one round trip to
Londonderry before joining WLEF. In Jul 1942 she transferred to Gulf
Escort Force, escorting Quebec/Gaspé-Sydney convoys, and in Oct
1942
joined Halifax Force and for two months escorted Quebec-Labrador
convoys. On 30 Nov 1942 she rejoined WLEF at Halifax, to remain with
it until Aug 1944. When this escort force was divided into escort
groups in Jun 1943, ARROWHEAD became a member of EG W-7,
transferring to W-1 in Dec 1943. During this period she underwent
two major refits: at Charleston, S.C., in the spring of 1943, and at
Baltimore, Md., a year later. During the latter refit her fo'c's'le
was extended. In Sep 1944, she joined Quebec Force and was
again employed escorting Quebec-Labrador convoys. In De 1944 she
transferred to EG W-8, WEF, and served on the "triangle
run" (Halifax, St. John's, New York/Boston) for the balance of
the war. On 27 May 1945, ARROWHEAD left St. John's to join convoy
HX.358 for passage to Britain, where she was paid off and returned
to the RN on 27 Jun 1945, at Milford Haven. Sold in 1947 for conversion
to a whale-catcher and renamed Southern Larkspur, she was finally
broken up at Odense, Denmark, in 1959.
Photos
and Documents Ship's
company photos
Commanding Officers
Lt Victor
Harrison Torraville, RCN - 22 Nov 1940 - 17 Jan 1941
Lt Edward
Ellor Hart, RCNVR - 16 Jan 1941 - 18 Jan 1941
Cdr Edward
George
Skinner, RCNR - 18 Jan 1941 - 19 Apr 1943
Skpr/Lt Lester Alton Hickey, RCNR - 20 Apr
1943 - 10 Feb 1944
|
Lt William
Percy Wickett, RCNVR - 11 Feb 1944 - 04 Mar 1944
Lt Roy
Howard Sylvester, RCNVR - 05 Mar 1944 - 15 Apr 1944
Skpr/Lt Lester Alton Hickey, RCNR - 16 Apr
1944 - 21 Oct 1944
Lt Roy
Howard
Sylvester, RCNVR - 22 Oct 1944 - 27 Jun 1945 |
In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice
Lest We Forget
ROBERTSON,
Henry W.
L/Sto, RCN
died - 23 Mar 1941
In memory of those who have crossed the bar
They shall not be
forgotten
Adie,
Charles W.
|

Bell,
Charles E.W.
|

Browne,
Randall W.
|

Buxton, Kenneth
|
Clark,
Joseph A.P.
|

Crossley,
Sidney R. |

Froats,
Allan
|

Haggis,
George P.
|

Hardie,
Alvin A.
|

Hayes,
Gordon K.
|

Hickey,
Lester A. |
Hinton,
Dwight |

Johnston,
George B.C.
|

Kozlowski,
Henry
|

Martin,
Earl A.
|
Martin,
Glenn |

Parker,
Andrew F.
|

Parker,
Gordon Mc.
|

Purvis,
Clarence E.
|

Quinn,
John L.
|

Reynolds, Ellwood K.
|

Smith,
Geoffrey W.
|

Smith,
Norman A. |

Spackman,
Peter
|

Sylvester,
Roy H.
|

Vondette,
Henry W.
|

Walczak,
Joseph F.
|

Wampler,
John
|

Warwick,
William
|

Wiffin,
Roy T.H. |

Young,
Gaston G.
|

Young,
Robert
|

Mascot - name unknown
|
|
|
|
Former Crew Members
Black,
Donald Louis, Slt, RCNVR - 17 May 1943
Brocher,
LS, RCNVR - 1944 (of Montreal, QC)
Calvert,
Philip Woodward, Mate, RCNR - 03 May 1943
Campbell,
Gordon David, Slt, RCNVR - Jan 1941
Copeland,
A., AB, RCNVR - 1944 (of Toronto, ON)
Cole,
Hugh Harvey Wilding, Slt, RCNVR - 15 Apr 1944
Culley,
John Ross, Slt, RCNVR - Jan 1942 / 13 May 1942
Fedyk,
John Joseph - Alive and well in 2021
Fraser,
Arthur Douglas, Slt, RCNVR - Jan 1945
|
Hill,
Ted (Trevor)
Jackson,
AB, RCN - 1944 (of White Rock, BC)
MacLean,
A., LS, RCN - 1944 (of Saskatoon)
Outhet,
Murray McLaren, Slt, RCNVR - 26 May 1942
Paterson,
James, A/Wt (E), RCNR - 06 Apr 1944
Rigney,
William Campbell, Lt, RCNVR - Jan 1941
Roed,
Botha, Lt, RCNR - 22 May 1944 |
Schnare,
Ralph Kenneth, Cook
Smith,
John Cowan, Slt, RCNR
Smith,
N.A., LS, RCNVR - 1944 (of Toronto, ON)
Suydam,
Hendrick Rycken, Slt, RCNVR - 26 Feb 1945
Steedman,
John Malcolm, Lt, RCNR - Jan 1945
Taylor,
Len
Walker,
G., AB, RCNVR - 1944 (of London, ON) |
Photos
and Documents

|
Ensign from HMCS ARROWHEAD K145
This battered White Ensign from
the corvette HMCS ARROWHEAD testifies to the North Atlantic's
atrocious weather. Although this flag appears to have been through a
battle, the damage is the result of wind and water, which have torn
seams and frayed fabric. Before the switch to flags printed on nylon
fabric, flags were made of strips of coloured cloth sewn together in
the necessary patterns. This flag, damaged during a storm, was kept by
Arthur Statham, who served aboard ARROWHEAD. From 1910 until 1965,
Royal Canadian Navy ships flew the same white ensign as Britain's
Royal Navy.
White Naval Ensign CWM
19680136-001. Source: Canadian War Museum
|

|
Sailors on HMCS ARROWHEAD reading the Crow's Nest
newspaper
LS
A. MacLean of Saskatoon; AB G. Walker of London, ON; AB Jackson of
White Rock, BC; LS N.A. Smith or Toronto, ON; AB A. Copeland of
Toronto, ON; and, LS Brocher of Montreal
Crow's
Nest Magazine - May 1944 |

|
HMCS ARROWHEAD K145
Click
here to view a larger version of this photo - though of slightly
lesser quality |

|
HMCS ARROWHEAD K145
RCN photo
|

|
HMCS ARROWHEAD K145
From the collection of John Wampler
Courtesy of Barb Ishler |

|
HMCS ARROWHEAD K145
From the collection of John Wampler
Courtesy of Barb Ishler |

|
Hamilton, mascot of HMCS ARROWHEAD K145 with John
Wampler
Hamilton with John Wampler
From the collection of John Wampler
Courtesy of Barb Ishler |


|
Hamilton, mascot of HMCS ARROWHEAD K145
From the collection of John Wampler
|
Article
from the Labrador Life magazine telling of a close encounter between
HMCS ARROWHEAD and a German U-boat off the coast of Labrador.

Published
with permission of the author, Perry Trimper, and Labrador Life
magazine (www.labradorlife.com)
|

|
Four crew of HMCS ARROWHEAD at a bar in New York,
Jan 1945
HMCS ARROWHEAD arrived in New York, escorting a
convoy of empty ships returning from England.
(L-R) Len Taylor, Ellwod Reynolds, Glenn Martin,
Ted (Trevor) Hill
Courtesy of Barb Ishler and Douglas Harman
|

|
HMCS ARROWHEAD K145 Gun Shield Art
Original source unknown
Courtesy of Erling Baldorf |

|
Colourized photo of HMCS ARROWHEAD K145
From the collection of Elmer Shunk
Courtesy of Lorne Shunk
|

|
Gaston Young (centre) on HMCS ARROWHEAD K145 - St.
John's, NFLD to Iceland
From the collection of Gaston Young
Courtesy of Alan Young
|
HOME PAGE SHIP INDEX
CONTACT
|