Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Benjamin Robert Dixon
In memory of:
Third Mate Benjamin Robert Dixon
February 4, 1941
Military Service
21
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Dione II (Port Talbot, Wales) (125098)
Additional Information
Son of Henry Joseph Dixon and Gladys Leone Huntley, of Calgary, Alberta.
In February 1941, the Dione II sailed to Cardiff, Wales, with convoy SC-20. Bad weather forced her to take a step back. On the 4th, at 4:40 a.m., U-93, which had surfaced, attacked her with cannon fire and hit her in the stern. The Dione II came to a standstill. At 6:00 a.m., she sank by the bow after receiving 30 shells north-west of the Isle of Aran, Galway, Ireland, position 55°50'N/10°30'W. The U-Boat had used 155 rounds for the deck gun and 60 rounds for the anti-aircraft gun. The captain, 26 crew members and a gunner lost their lives. The five surviving sailors were rescued by the British merchant ship Flowergate and landed in Glasgow, Scotland, on the 8th.
Commemorated on Page 126 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 17.
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.
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