Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Alexander Chisholm
In memory of:
Seaman Alexander Chisholm
October 15, 1942
North Atlantic
Military Service
36
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. El Lago (Panama) (221014)
Additional Information
October 4, 1906
Glassburn, Nova Scotia
His full name is Alexander John Chisholm.
Son of John William Chisholm and Mary MacDonald, of Georgeville, Nova Scotia.
Brother of Private Donald Joseph Chisholm, regimental number M-56663, Loyal Edmonton Regiment, killed in action on 25 December 1943 at Ortona, Italy.
On 11 October 1942, at 7:59 pm, U-615 opened fire by sending two torpedoes towards the El Lago, which was sailing with convoy ONS-136 442 miles (711 km) east-north-east of Cape Race, Newfoundland, in the North Atlantic. The stern sank immediately and the bow sank a few minutes later in position 51°03'N/46°15'W. Of the 39 crew members, 14 defenders and six merchant seamen repatriated following a sinking, the captain and an engineer survived and were made prisoners of war.
Commemorated on Page 112 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.
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