HMCS RED DEER J255 / 196

 

Bangor Class Minesweeper

 

 

Ship's badge - 1945

HMCS RED DEER J255

 

Battle honours and awards:  1942-45,   Gulf of St. Lawrence  1942, 1944

 

 

Laid down: 01 Jan 1941

Launched: 05 Oct 1941

Commissioned: 24 Nov 1941

Paid off: 30 Oct 1945

Re-acquired by RCN: 1952

Paid off: 1959

Fate: Sold for scrap and broken up in 1959

 

Commissioned at Montreal on 24 Nov 1941, RED DEER arrived at Halifax on 03 Dec 1941. She was assigned to WLEF, later serving at various times with Halifax Local Defence Force, Gulf Escort Force, and Sydney Force. On 12 Jan 1942, she rescued survivors from the British SS CYCLOPS, which was torpedoed 125 miles southeast of Cape Sable, the first victim of the epic U-boat campaign off the U.S. east coast. In May 1944, she began a refit at Liverpool, N.S., and was sent to Bermuda to work up late in July. In Feb 1944, she had been allocated to Newfoundland Force, and she continued a member of this force until VE-Day. She was paid off at Halifax on 30 Oct 1945, and laid up at Shelburne, later being placed in strategic reserve at Sorel. Re-acquired by the RCN in 1952, she was never re-commissioned, and was sold in Feb 1959, for breaking up at Sorel.

 

 

Photos and Documents          Ship's company photos          The Ship's Bell

 

 

HMCS Red Deer: Minesweeper, Rescuer, Survivor - transcription of article from the Red Deer News

 

 

Commanding Officers

 

Lt Arthur Moorhouse, RCNR - 24 Nov 1941 - 02 Feb 1943

Lt John Arthur  Mitchell, RCNR - 03 Feb 1943 - unk

Lt Donald Benjamin Day. Ross, RCNVR - 06 Jun 1944 - 02 Jul 1945

Skpr/Lt R.A. Doucette, RCNR - 01 Oct 1945 - 30 Oct 1945

 

 

     In memory of those who have crossed the bar    

They shall not be forgotten

 

 

 

Former Crew Members

 

Alguire, Bill, Cornwall, ON - Sep 1943

 

Arthur, Paul Rodney, S/Lt, RCNVR - Jan 1945

 

Baggett, Fred, Dauphin, MB - Sep 1943

 

Banks, Robert John, Vancouver, BC - Sep 1943

 

Billann (?sp), R., LS, Woodstock, NB - Sep 1943

 

Boulet, Joseph Ernest Frederick, Skpr, RCNVR - 13 Mar 1942

 

Boyce, D., Quebec, QC - Sep 1943

 

Bremner, Russell George, SLT, RCNVR - 26 Jul 1943

 

Buchanan, Hugh Pendrie, Lt, RCNVR - 16 May 1945

 

Burke, Al, LS, Montreal, QC - Sep 1943

 

Chandler, William Harry, SLT, RCNVR - 02 May 1945

 

Ellis, George, AB, Toronto, ON - Sep 1943

Evans, G., Long Branch - Sep 1943

 

Fox, Gordon Kingsley, Lt, RCNVR - Jan 1942

 

Girairdin, G.G., Regina, SK - Sep 1943

 

Gould, Arthur Graham, SLT, RCNVR - 09 Mar 1944

 

Hall, John Gracey, SLT (E), RCNVR - 24 Feb 1944

 

Heasley, George, AB, Victoria, BC - Sep 1943

 

Humphrey, James Gordon, Lt, RCNVR - 25 Feb 1944

 

Hunter, John L.

 

Kerr, Henry Kirby, Lt (E), RCNVR - 05 Mar 1945

 

Knapp, H., SBA, Barrie, ON - Sep 1943

 

McCormick, Jim, V34467, Toronto, ON - Sep 1943

 

McManus, Frederick Andrew, Lt (E), RCNVR - 22 Mar 1944

McNeillie, George Gardner, SLT, RCNVR - 11 Jul 1943

 

Noseworthy, Harry, SLT, RCNVR - 26 Apr 1945

 

ODell, Carroll Alexander, SLT, RCNVR - 20 Jul 1942

 

Redford, Douglas Bernard, Cd (E), RCNR - Jan 1942

 

Silvester, Ernie, Powell River, MB - Sep 1943

 

Sowerby, John Cornelius, Lt, RCNVR - 11 Feb 1943

 

Storey, John Edmond, Lt (E), RCNVR - 23 May 1943

 

Thomas, Jack Arthur, SLT (E), RCNVR - 26 Jun 1943

 

Thompson, T., London, ON - Sep 1943


Tongas, Bill, Toronto, ON - Sep 1943


Tucha (?SP), D. L/Sto, Montreal, QC - Sep 1943


Winter, Dave, V41848, Winnipeg, MB - Sep 1943

 

 

Photos and Documents

 

HMCS RED DEER J255

 

RCN Photo

On 22 Mar 1944 SS WATUKA was torpedoed and sunk by U-802. One crew member was lost. The master, 22 crew members and two gunners were picked up by HMS Anticosti T274. HMCS RED DEER had also been sent to rescue the crew but by the time she arrived all survivors had been rescued. The crew of the RED DEER found the name plaque for WATUKA, seen in the photo to the left.

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

Burchell, Elley, and Richie on HMCS RED DEER J255 - 1943

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

Sailors on HMCS RED DEER J255, Bermuda late 1944

 

Back: L to R: Huras, Green, Burchell, Mitchell, Elley, Stephens, Doyle, Appleton

 

Front: L to R:  Remple, Holt, Curil (sp?), McKercher, Caesar (sp?)

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

Huras and Hanson on HMCS RED DEER J255

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

 

Unknown sailors on HMCS RED DEER J255

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

Sailors on HMCS RED DEER J255

 

Cecil Huras, Quartermaster, with Bosn's call and pistol

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

McKercher, Burchill, and Heaslip on HMCS RED DEER J255

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

Addison in Bermuda

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

Station Card for Cecil Huras, HMCS RED DEER

 

     

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

 

Programme for HMCS RED DEER'S 2nd Annual Ship's Company Dance - 24 Sep 1943, Sydney, NS

 

From the collection of Cecil Huras

 

Courtesy of Ric Huras

 

Autographs on the Programme:  L/Sto D. Tucha (?sp), Montreal;  LS Al Burke, Montreal;  AB George Ellis, Toronto;  AB George Heasly, Victoria;  R.J. Banks, Vancouver;  G.G. Girairdin, Regina;  D. Boyce, Quebec;  LS R. Billann (?sp), Woodstock;  SBA H. Knapp, Barrie, ON;  Dave Winter, V41848, Winnipeg;  Jim McCormick, V34467, Toronto;  Fred Baggett, Dauphin, MB;  Ernie Silvester, Powell River, BC;  Percy (Patty) Patterson, Sault Ste Marie; Bill Tongas, Toronto, ON;  Bill Alguire, Cornwall, ON;  G. Evans, Long Branch;  T. Thompson, London;  Cecil Huras, Stratford, ON 

Douglas Balmer sitting on the minesweeping gear on HMCS RED DEER, St. John's, Nfld 1945

 

From the collection of Douglas Balmer

 

Courtesy of Jeff Balmer

HMCS RED DEER jacket patch

 

This patch is from the collection of a sailor named Cochar - no other info is known about him at this time.

 

Courtesy of the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre

 

 

CA186

CA187

CA188

CA189

CA190

(CA186) HMCS RED DEER J255 - RCN photo

(CA187) Charles Atkins in the bridge window of HMCS RED DEER J255 in St. John's

(CA188) Charles Atkins by the ready use ammunition locker HMCS REED DEER J255 in St. John's

(CA189) Unknown sailor by the ready use ammunition locker on HMCS RED DEER J255 in St. John's

(CA190) Unknown sailor on top of the bridge of HMCS RED DEER J255

 

 

CA191

CA192

CA193

 

(CA191) Unknown sailor by a depth charge on HMCS RED DEER J255 in St. John's

(CA192) Two unknown sailors by the ship's work boat on HMCS RED DEER J255. Shoreline of Newfoundland in the back ground

(CA193) A quiet day in the radio room of HMCS RED DEER J255 while alongside in St. John's

 

CA194

CA195

CA196

CA197

CA198

(CA194) Unknown officer with a woman (possibly a wren) by the bridge Oerlikon of HMCS RED DEER J255. Iceberg and the coast of Newfoundland in the background

(CA195) Depth charge exploding astern of HMCS RED DEER J255

(CA196) Looking aft from the boat deck of HMCS RED DEER J255

(CA197) Unknown officer by the ready use ammunition locker on HMCS RED DEER J255

(CA198) Unknown officer by forward gun on HMCS RED DEER J255 in Halifax

 

From the collection of Charles Atkins, RCNVR

 

Courtesy of Lorne Atkins

 

 

The HMCS Red Deer. (Red Deer Digital Archives, P7540)

 

HMCS Red Deer: Minesweeper, Rescuer, Survivor
Nov 10, 2023 by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

 

Editor’s note: This story was originally published November 10, 2016 on an older version of rdnewsNOW.com which no longer exists.

 

It’s been seventy-five years (82 as of 2023) since a Bangor Class minesweeper bearing our city’s name was commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy for use in World War Il.

 

The HMCS Red Deer took to the seas on November 24, 1941 and would go on to serve in the longest battle of the war, the Battle of the Atlantic.

 

“The ship was built as a minesweeper, but we didn’t have many cases of mines being laid in Canadian waters,” explains Red Deer historian (and now city councillor) Michael Dawe. “It was mainly used as an escort for the convoys that were going around the Atlantic Ocean.”

 

Not only did the HMCS Red Deer outlast the Battle of the Atlantic, it played a hero’s role on January 12, 1942 near the shores of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia.

 

The SS Cyclops, a steam merchant, had been sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat. While an estimated 87 crew members died, the Red Deer rescued 95 others.

 

Rescue of the survivors of the sinking of the SS Cyclops, Jan. 2, 1942. (Red Deer Digital Archives, P7542)

 

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said World War Il would not have been won if it weren’t for the heroic Navy.

 

“The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war,” Churchill said. “Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome.”

 

Dawe says ships like the HMCS Red Deer made it possible for merchant vessels to get supplies overseas.

 

“The German U-boat activity had been very severe. The Allies were losing just massive amounts of ships and they came up with this idea of convoys where they would go in groups, and there would be escort ships that would go out and try to fend off submarines,” says Dawe. “There was still incredible loss of life, but the losses were much reduced with the success of the convoys.”

 

Ultimately, the Red Deer would provide escort from Newfoundland in the north to Bermuda in the south.

 

The HMCS Red Deer also provided surveillance of German U-boats during the battle of the St. Lawrence which was the first time an enemy had inflicted casualties in Canadian inland waters since the U.S. did so during the War of 1812.

 

Dawe says despite there being only two locals who served on the Red Deer, residents built a strong connection with the crew.

 

Officers of the HMCS Red Deer. (Red Deer Digital Archives, P7537)

 

“The community kept in real touch and they sort of adopted the ship. They would send gifts or little parcels to the ship’s people,” he says. “Lt. Arthur Moorehouse would keep the mayor and council and the community informed of what they were doing and it ended up being a very warm relationship.”

 

Petty Officer Jack Ralston, born in Brandon, Manitoba, eventually became a resident of Red Deer and was the first local recognized as having served on the HMCS Red Deer. His sister Margaret Bedard, who now lives near Vancouver, says the family grew up in north Red Deer.

 

“When he’d come home on leave, we were big shots because we lived in north Red Deer, and they weren’t always big shots back then,” she quipped.

 

“He enjoyed being on the boat and he was happy to be in the service. When they’d gone on one rescue, they couldn’t pick up survivors, they just had to plow through them because a German submarine was nearby. He said that was awful not being able to stop and pick them up.”

 

Following his service, Ralston spent several years working for the District of North Vancouver before passing away in Coquitlam, B.C. in 1986.

 

Ralston’s cousin, James Layton Ralston, served as Canada’s Minister of Defence from 1926-1930 and again from 1940-1944 while HMCS Red Deer was in action.

 

Click here to view the complete article on the rdnewsNow website

 

 

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