Canadian Virtual War Memorial
John McLean King
In memory of:
Seaman John McLean King
November 22, 1940
North Atlantic
Military Service
28
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Oakcrest (London, England) (171313)
Additional Information
August 21, 1912
Bras d’Or, Nova Scotia
Son of John Alfred King and Clara Jane Cockley of Little Bras d’Or, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
On 17 November 1940, the Oakcrest left New York harbour for England with convoy OB-244. Away from the group of ships on the 21st, she was torpedoed at 4:18 am on the 23rd by U-123 and sank in less than six minutes in position 56°39'N/18°36'W. The captain, first mate, chief engineer and 9 crew members perished, one in a lifeboat and four young sailors drifted away and were never seen again. 24 sailors and one gunner abandoned ship and drifted for 8 days. Two sailors drowned on landfall, six during the night on the island of Tangasdale, in the Hebrides, one from drinking seawater. Six survived, while a total of 35 died.
Commemorated on Page 166 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.
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