Safety on the high seas

One of the 2021 National Capital Region banners.
Photo: Canadian Heritage

Purr! It’s me, Simone the cat. We kitties are quite curious and that means I find museums especially interesting. But curiosity sometimes gets us into trouble—that’s why cats need to have nine lives!

My great-great-great grandfather had an adventurous life. He served on a British warship in the late 1940s. He was a cuddly, furry friend who brought the human sailors some comfort when they were far away from home. He also hunted the rats on the ship to help keep food from being ruined.

I learned from his old stories the importance of trying to stay safe at sea. My relative often talked about how his sailor friends were always ready to grab their life preservers if their ship ran into trouble. He also mentioned that military aviators wore them too, in case their planes crashed in the water. That is why my favourite museum exhibit was a life vest from a Canadian warship that served in the Gulf War.

More than 4,000 Canadians served in this tense conflict in 1990-1991 and it was an important event in our military history. Did you know that it was the first time that women in the Canadian Armed Forces served in combat roles? In fact, I saw a picture in the museum of a street banner that has been hanging in downtown Ottawa this year that shows a female sailor on one of our ships during the Gulf War. Trailblazers like her made big waves for the many more female Canadian service members who would follow. I salute them all for their courage.