Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Adam Dunn
In memory of:
Able Seaman Adam Dunn
September 26, 1942
Military Service
34
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Yorktown (London, England) (227462)
Additional Information
January 1, 1908
North Shields, Durham, England
Son of Adam Dunn and Mary Jane Cunningham, of Tynemouth, Northumberland, England. Husband of Ann Dunn, of St. John’s, Newfoundland.
On September 21, 1942, the Yorktown left the port of St. John's, Newfoundland, with convoy RB-1 bound for Londonderry, Northern Ireland. On the 26th, at 11:25 p.m., she was torpedoed and sunk by U-619 550 miles (885 km) west of Butt of Lewis, Hebrides Islands, Scotland, position 55°10'N/18°50'W. Of her crew, 16 sailors and two gunners lost their lives. Her captain, 33 sailors and 8 gunners were rescued two days later by HMS Sardonyx (H26) of the Royal Navy, which landed them in Londonderry on the 29th.
Commemorated on Page 130 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 22.
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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