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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

George William Kendall

In memory of:

Able Seaman George William Kendall

July 15, 1942
South Atlantic

Military Service


Age:

40

Force:

Merchant Navy

Unit:

Canadian Merchant Navy

Division:

S.S. Gloucester Castle (London, England) (132592)

Additional Information


Born:

April 19, 1902
Our Harbor, Burgeo, Newfoundland and Labrador

Son of Robert Kendall and Mary Grace Eavis of Garston, Newfoundland. Husband of Mary Béatrice Béranger of Cannes River Bourgoise, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Father of two children and a third born out of wedlock to Mary Duggan.

On 15 July 1942, the Gloucester Castle sailed from Liverpool, England, to Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, with 12 passengers, 142 crew and 6 gunners. It was boarded by the German raider Michel, Schiff 28, and sunk by gunfire off the south-west African coast. The attack cost the captain, 92 passengers and crew their lives. Two lifeboats with 61 people were captured by the raider and the occupants were landed in Japan as prisoners of war.

Commemorated on Page 164 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada

Grave Reference:

Panel 22.

Location:

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:

1914-1939
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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  • Merchant Navy Monument in St. John's, NL
  • Dedication

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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