Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Roderick James Gillis
In memory of:
Fireman Roderick James Gillis
November 7, 1942
North Atlantic
Military Service
29
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Roxby (West Hartlepool, England) (139228)
Additional Information
August 7, 1913
Mulgrave, Nova Scotia
Son of Neil Gillis and Mary Eliza Hayes of Mulgrave, Nova Scotia.
After leaving Cardiff, Wales, with convoy ON-142, at 3.40 pm on 7 November 1942, the Roxby, a straggler from the convoy, was hit by one of two torpedoes from U-613 670 miles (1,078 km) north of the Azores and sank at 4.05 pm south-west of Cape Clear, position 49°35'N/30°32'W. The captain, 28 crew members and 5 gunners lost their lives. The first radio officer died of exposure in the lifeboat and was buried at sea on 11 November. Eleven sailors and two gunners were rescued after five days adrift by the Irish merchant ship Irish Beech, which landed them in St. John's, Newfoundland, on the 21st.
Commemorated on Page 142 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 21.
The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia's capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, is one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships were lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives. This Memorial was erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and was unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs. The monument is a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross is mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women who were buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.
On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.
Digital Collection
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Details
Photo of Roderick James Gillis – Merchant seaman Roderick Gillis (KIA), chums with his brother Alec (Cape Breton Highlanders) during a chance meeting in England. Roderick's ship, the S.S. Roxby, was torpedoed on Nov. 7, 1942 while returning to Canada. He is lovingly remembered by his remaining kin, and thou many us never knew him, his sacrifice for the freedom of his country and this world will be remembered always. -
Details
Newspaper Clipping – News clipping detailing Roderick's loss. -
Details
Newspaper Clipping – News item about Roderick and his brother Alex meeting in Scotland where the photo of them together was taken.
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