Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Robert Cooper McLarty
In memory of:
Apprentice Robert Cooper McLarty
June 9, 1941
North Atlantic
Military Service
17
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
MV Silverpalm (London, England)(161341)
Additional Information
February 20, 1924
Vancouver, British Columbia
Son of Ivan Watson McLarty and Lily Ivy Lydia Cooper of Vancouver, British Columbia. During the First World War, Ivan enlisted on 15 March 1916 with the 102nd (Comox-Atlin) Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Prince George, British Columbia. He arrived in France on August 12, 1916, at Vimy, he was shot in the abdomen on April 9, 1917. Returning to action on 4 October 1917, he was again shot in the left thigh and eyes. He returned to Canada on 25 April 1919, and was demobilized on the 26th September. He was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and the Class A War Service Badge.
At 03:26 on 12 June 1941, U-371 fired two torpedoes at a Kent-type ship identified as the Silverpalm, which sank in 38 minutes, North Atlantic, position 56°27'N/25°12'W. The captain, 53 crew members, eleven gunners and three passengers lost their lives, leaving no survivors. The ship was last seen on 1 June and was reported missing on 8 June 1941, which explains this date in the records.
Commemorated on Page 189 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 18.
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
Biography – Robert C. McLarty -
Details
Cenotaph – Robert Cooper McLarty on Panel 18 of the Halifax Memorial
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