The Bonaventure Anchor Memorial, also known as the Canadian Peacetime Sailors’ Memorial, stands on the shore at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the principal naval base of the Royal Canadian Navy is located. The site previously served as the location of a searchlight battery that formed part of the their Second World War harbour defences.
The monument was dedicated in 1973 by Rear Admiral Robert Walter Timbrell, CMM, DSC, CD, then Commander of Maritime Command. It consists of an anchor and chain from HMCS Bonaventure, the Royal Canadian Navy’s last aircraft carrier, in commission from 1957 to 1970 (and commanded by Rear Admiral (then Captain) Timbrell between 1963 and 1965). The anchor is mounted on a concrete base with bronze plaques displaying the sailors’ names. This anchor is a stockless pattern, made by W.L. Byers and Co. Ltd. of Sunderland in North East England, serial number 6299W. It stands 12 feet tall and weighs approximately nine tons.
This anchor is a memorial to those who died while serving with the Canadian Navy during peacetime and the names on the panels are those who have no known grave in Canada. The chain from the anchor to the water signifies a connection to those lost or buried at sea or buried on foreign lands. Its dedication statement read: "To commemorate the personnel of the Armed Forces of Canada who lost their lives at sea in the performance of their duties and for whom there is no known grave”. At some unknown time the dedication was changed to read: “Dedicated to the men and women who died while serving with the Canadian Navy during Peacetime.”
The monument contains 131 names, the earliest of whom died in 1948 and the most recent in 1994. Among them are the names of nine members of HMCS Kootenay who died during an explosion in the ship in 1969 during naval exercises 210 miles west of Plymouth England. The Bonaventure Anchor Memorial was in dire need of attention for many years. On May 1, 2017 a campaign for action was initiated by Allan “Dinger” Bell, a 1969 HMCS Kootenay survivor, with the support of Veterans and military support organizations. All three levels of government and all three services (Navy, Army and Air Force) became engaged and worked to secure, repair and update the memorial. This work was completed in 2019 which included the addition of 46 names. A re-dedication of the Bonaventure Anchor Memorial was held at the HMCS Kootenay 50th Commemoration ceremony on October 23, 2019.
