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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Malcolm Cann

In memory of:

Midshipman Malcolm Cann

November 1, 1914

Military Service

Service Number:

MO/401

Age:

19

Force:

Navy

Unit:

Royal Canadian Navy

Division:

H.M.S. Good Hope

Additional Information

Born:

April 20, 1895
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

Son of Hugh Bradford Cann and Augusta L. Cann, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Commemorated on Page 1 of the First 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 1.

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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  • Street– Street sign on Coronel Road in Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario. The name of the road commemorates the Battle of Coronel and the four midshipmen who were the first members of Canada's navy to be killed in action. (Submitted by Navy League Cadet Corps CHAMBLY, Barrie, Ontario. Image taken by Gregory J. Barker of Barrie, Ontario, in 2018.)

    Details

    Street
    Street – Street sign on Coronel Road in Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario. The name of the road commemorates the Battle of Coronel and the four midshipmen who were the first members of Canada's navy to be killed in action. (Submitted by Navy League Cadet Corps CHAMBLY, Barrie, Ontario. Image taken by Gregory J. Barker of Barrie, Ontario, in 2018.)
  • Photo of Malcolm Cann– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me

    Details

    Photo of Malcolm Cann
    Photo of Malcolm Cann – Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Group Photo– Cadet Malcolm Cann was a graduate of the first class of the Royal Navy College of Canada, set up in 1911 shortly after the Canadian Navy itself was established in 1910.

    Details

    Group Photo
    Group Photo – Cadet Malcolm Cann was a graduate of the first class of the Royal Navy College of Canada, set up in 1911 shortly after the Canadian Navy itself was established in 1910.
  • Group Photo– This photograph, taken in the Falkland Islands on 18 October 1914, shows some of the officers and midshipmen aboard HMS GOOD HOPE. Midshipman M. Cann is in the front row, fourth from the left. (Submitted by Navy League Cadet Corps CHAMBLY, Barrie, Ontario.)

    Details

    Group Photo
    Group Photo – This photograph, taken in the Falkland Islands on 18 October 1914, shows some of the officers and midshipmen aboard HMS GOOD HOPE. Midshipman M. Cann is in the front row, fourth from the left. (Submitted by Navy League Cadet Corps CHAMBLY, Barrie, Ontario.)
  • HMS Good Hope– HMS Good Hope - the Royal Navy Drake-class armoured cruiser that was the flagship of Rear Admiral Christopher Cradock's 4th Cruiser Squadron in the early days of World War I. Malcolm Cann was serving in HMS Good Hope and was killed when the ship was sunk by the German Navy's East Asia Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee, at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November 1914.

    Details

    HMS Good Hope
    HMS Good Hope – HMS Good Hope - the Royal Navy Drake-class armoured cruiser that was the flagship of Rear Admiral Christopher Cradock's 4th Cruiser Squadron in the early days of World War I. Malcolm Cann was serving in HMS Good Hope and was killed when the ship was sunk by the German Navy's East Asia Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee, at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November 1914.
  • Newspaper Clipping– This display of images appeared at page 17 in the November 1964 issue of The Crowsnest, the Royal Canadian Navy's magazine. (Submitted by Navy League Cadet Corps CHAMBLY, Barrie, Ontario.)

    Details

    Newspaper Clipping
    Newspaper Clipping – This display of images appeared at page 17 in the November 1964 issue of The Crowsnest, the Royal Canadian Navy's magazine. (Submitted by Navy League Cadet Corps CHAMBLY, Barrie, Ontario.)
  • Memorial Plaque– Royal Naval College of Canada plaque: To the glory of God and in fond memory of the following ex-cadet Royal Naval College of Canada Midshipmen killed in action on board H.M.S. Good Hope off Coronel Nov 1st 1914.

    Details

    Memorial Plaque
    Memorial Plaque – Royal Naval College of Canada plaque: To the glory of God and in fond memory of the following ex-cadet Royal Naval College of Canada Midshipmen killed in action on board H.M.S. Good Hope off Coronel Nov 1st 1914.
  • Memorial– The memorial plaque at Canadian Forces Base Halifax to Malcolm Cann and his three fellow RCN Midshipmen who died in HMS Good Hope at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November 1914 during World War I. The location of the main Canadian naval base, Halifax was where Malcolm Cann had undergone his initial training before joining HMS Good Hope.

    Details

    Memorial
    Memorial – The memorial plaque at Canadian Forces Base Halifax to Malcolm Cann and his three fellow RCN Midshipmen who died in HMS Good Hope at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November 1914 during World War I. The location of the main Canadian naval base, Halifax was where Malcolm Cann had undergone his initial training before joining HMS Good Hope.
  • Halifax Memorial

    Details

    Halifax Memorial
    Halifax Memorial
  • Panel 1 of the Halifax Memorial

    Details

    Panel 1 of the Halifax Memorial
    Panel 1 of the Halifax Memorial
  • Inscription on Halifax Memorial

    Details

    Inscription on Halifax Memorial
    Inscription on Halifax Memorial

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