Skeena Avenue is dedicated to HMCS SKEENA and her crews, who served the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) from 1931 to 1944. Skeena Avenue is located in the Carleton Heights – Rideau View neighbourhood of Ottawa. This area was developed in the mid-late 1940’s to house returning Second World War veterans and their families. Many streets in the area are named for famous battles and a nearby church was named to memorialize all Second World War veterans.
HMCS Skeena was a River-class destroyer that served in the RCN from 1931 – 1944. Skeena and HMCS Saguenay were the first ships specifically built for the RCN. She was assigned North Atlantic convoy during the Second World War, crossing the Atlantic 31 times between July 1941 and December 1943. On July 31, 1942, Skeena recorded her first victory with HMCS Wetaskiwin when they depth charged and sank U-588 while on convoy duty between Northern Ireland and Newfoundland. Skeena was lost in a storm on the night of October 24, 1944, while anchored off Reykjavik, Iceland when 50-foot waves dragged her anchor and grounded the ship off Viðey Island with the loss of 15 crewmembers.
