Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Ignatius McNeil
In memory of:
Fireman and Trimmer Ignatius McNeil
November 6, 1942
Arctic Ocean
Military Service
33
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Empire Sky (Sunderland, England) (168916)
Additional Information
December 16, 1908
Inverness, Nova Scotia
His full name is John Ignatius McNeil.
Son of M. Mrs John R. McNeil of Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.
On 6 November 1942, the Empire Sky was sailing unescorted from Hull, England, to Archangel, USSR, now Russia, via Reykjavik, Iceland, Russia, via Reykjavik, Iceland, when she was torpedoed by U-625 at 10:24 pm about 20 miles (32 km) south-east of the island of Spitzberg, Norway. At 10:50 pm, the ship received the coup de grâce, exploded in a tremendous explosion and sank in position 76°20'N/17°30'W. The captain, 41 crew members and 18 gunners lost their lives. There were no survivors.
Commemorated on Page 190 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 21.
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
Photo of John Ignatius McNeil – John Ignatius McNeil (Right) 1907 - 1942 John S. MacNeil (left), Ralph J. McNeil (centre). Nephews of Ignatius McNeil. Picture taken in 1941
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