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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

David Alexander MacArthur

In memory of:

Ordinary Seaman David Alexander MacArthur

November 24, 1944

Military Service

Service Number:

V/76456

Age:

18

Force:

Navy

Unit:

Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve

Division:

H.M.C.S. Shawinigan

Additional Information

Son of Malcolm and Lilias G. MacArthur, of Red Deer, Alberta.

Commemorated on Page 370 of the Second World War 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 11.

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.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Newspaper clipping– From the Edmonton Bulletin December 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Edmonton Bulletin December 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Edmonton Bulletin December 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Edmonton Bulletin December 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– The Red Deer Advocate 13 Dec 1944

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    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – The Red Deer Advocate 13 Dec 1944
  • HMCS Shawingan– Information of sinking courtesy http://www.naval-museum.mb.ca/battle_atlantic/shawinigan/index.htm SHAWINIGAN and the US Coast Guard cutter Sassafras were ordered to escort the ferry Burgeo from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. Since the tragic loss of the ferry Caribou, ferries on this route were always escorted. The three ships made an uneventful crossing to Port aux Basques on November 24, at which time SHAWINIGAN detached to continue anti submarine patrols in the area. SHAWINIGAN was scheduled to rendezvous with the Burgeo the following morning for the return to Cape Breton. But the corvette never made it. Nearby, U-1228, which had been ordered into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, was tarrying, trying to repair a faulty schnorkel. Without the tactical advantage that the device provided, its commander, Frederich-Wilhelm Marienfeld, feared his chances should he pass through the Cabot Strait. On the moonlit night of November 24, he tested his repairs, found them ineffective and decided to return to Germany. As he issued orders that would pilot his U-Boat back into the Atlantic, the SHAWINIGAN was sighted. U-1228, which had not yet recorded an attack on enemy shipping, let loose a Gnat torpedo. Exactly four minutes later, HMCS SHAWINIGAN disappeared in a plume of water and a shower of sparks. All 91 members of her crew were killed. HMCS SHAWINIGAN was one of three Canadian warships that have been lost with all hands. SHAWINIGAN's final resting place is in the Cabot Strait, between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island.

    Details

    HMCS Shawingan
    HMCS Shawingan – Information of sinking courtesy http://www.naval-museum.mb.ca/battle_atlantic/shawinigan/index.htm SHAWINIGAN and the US Coast Guard cutter Sassafras were ordered to escort the ferry Burgeo from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. Since the tragic loss of the ferry Caribou, ferries on this route were always escorted. The three ships made an uneventful crossing to Port aux Basques on November 24, at which time SHAWINIGAN detached to continue anti submarine patrols in the area. SHAWINIGAN was scheduled to rendezvous with the Burgeo the following morning for the return to Cape Breton. But the corvette never made it. Nearby, U-1228, which had been ordered into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, was tarrying, trying to repair a faulty schnorkel. Without the tactical advantage that the device provided, its commander, Frederich-Wilhelm Marienfeld, feared his chances should he pass through the Cabot Strait. On the moonlit night of November 24, he tested his repairs, found them ineffective and decided to return to Germany. As he issued orders that would pilot his U-Boat back into the Atlantic, the SHAWINIGAN was sighted. U-1228, which had not yet recorded an attack on enemy shipping, let loose a Gnat torpedo. Exactly four minutes later, HMCS SHAWINIGAN disappeared in a plume of water and a shower of sparks. All 91 members of her crew were killed. HMCS SHAWINIGAN was one of three Canadian warships that have been lost with all hands. SHAWINIGAN's final resting place is in the Cabot Strait, between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island.

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