Canadian Virtual War Memorial
William Hemmings
In memory of:
Cook William Hemmings
November 5, 1940
Military Service
29
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
MV Scottish Maiden (London, England)(145198)
Additional Information
January 1, 1911
Montréal, Quebec
His full name is William E. Hemmings.
Son of Henry Charles Hemmings and Lucinda Poulter of Montréal, Québec.
On 5 November 1940, at 2.55 am, the Scottish Maiden was torpedoed by U-99 approximately 225 miles (362 km) south-west of Bloody Foreland, Donegal, Ireland. She sank by the stern in position 54°36'N/14°23'W. Sixteen crew members lost their lives. The captain and 27 other sailors were rescued by the British destroyer HMS Beagle (H30) and landed in Liverpool, England.
Commemorated on Page 154 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.
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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