Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Elwood James Conn
In memory of:
Saloon Boy Elwood James Conn
February 19, 1941
North Atlantic
Military Service
25
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
MV Benjamin Franklin (Oslo, Norway)
Additional Information
December 25, 1915
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Son of Henry James Conn and Theresa Elizabeth Kendrew, of British Columbia.
On 1 February 1941, the Benjamin Franklin left Bermuda. On 3rd, with convoy HX-107, she sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and headed for Liverpool, England. On the 19th, she was torpedoed by U-103, an attack that caused no casualties. After the ship was abandoned, the Benjamin Franklin exploded and sank 120 miles (193 km) north-west of Rockall, in the North Atlantic, position 58°50'N/16°30'W. On 26th, seven sailors were rescued by the HMS Pimpernel (K71), 28 by the Egyptian cargo ship Memphis, which sank on 28th due to her poor condition and the terrible weather, position 56°40'N/10°30'W, and 29 sailors from the Benjamin Franklin died, including Elwood Conn.
Commemorated on Page 115 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 18.
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
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram March 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram March 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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