Military service
Burial/memorial information
Elmo was born in 1922 in Creelman, Saskatchewan but lived most of his life in Birch River and Swan River, Manitoba.
He was the youngest of three children (brother Albert who served in the army and sister Irene) of Maude and Retlaw Farewell.
He was a prominent hockey and baseball player in Swan River during his high school years. A newspaper article describes him as “a well respected and likable lad, having a cheery disposition”.
Prior to enlisting in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserves (R.C.N.V.R.), he worked in Flin Flon and was employed by North Star Fuel and Ice as a teamster.
Elmo was among 23 Canadians lost at sea when the HMCS Windflower was rammed by a freighter off the Grand Banks in dense fog.
His Lieutenant, Frank A Bryan, described him as a “splendid lad”.
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 29 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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HALIFAX MEMORIAL Nova Scotia, Canada
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.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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