Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Thomas Arthur Edge
In memory of:
Master Thomas Arthur Edge
September 19, 1942
Military Service
56
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Norfolk (Montréal, Québec) (145516)
Additional Information
October 2, 1885
Calcutta, India
Son of William Henry Edge and Mary Jane Bell, of Isle of Man, England. Husband of Maude Edge. Father of William A. Edge.
Thomas served in the Royal Navy, service number 1858, before enlisting in the British Army in the First World War, regimental number 202606, on December 6, 1915.
On September 18, 1942, at 1:52 p.m., Norfolk was sailing unescorted towards Trinidad when she was hit amidships on the starboard side by a torpedo launched from U-175 130 miles (209 km) off the coast. She sank so quickly that the crew did not have time to launch the lifeboats, position 08°36'N/59°20'W. The captain and five crew members lost their lives. The thirteen survivors were rescued by the Spanish cargo ship Indaucha, which landed them in Port of Spain, Trinidad, the following day.
Commemorated on Page 131 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 20.
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 Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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