Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Albert Desaulniers
In memory of:
Fireman Albert Desaulniers
April 8, 1941
North Atlantic
Military Service
37
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Prins Willem II. (Rotterdam, Netherlands).
Additional Information
January 16, 1904
Shawinigan, Quebec
His full name is Joseph Denis Albert Lesieur dit Desaulniers.
Son of Denis Lesieur dit Desaulniers and Donalda Labelle of Shawinigan, Québec.
The ship Prins Willem II left Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 27 March 1941, bound for London, England. She had been trailing from convoy HX-117 since the night of 7 or 8 April due to drizzle and adverse weather conditions. At 02:16 am on 9 April 1941, the Prins Willem II was hit by a torpedo from U-98 and sank in three minutes in position 59°50'N/24°25'W. During the attack, three members of the crew lost their lives.
Commemorated on Page 125 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
Press Clipping – Photograph of the Steam Ship Prins Willem II sinking after being torpedoed 8 April 1941. -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Gazette. Submitted for the project:, Operation: Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Gazette. Submitted for the project:, Operation: Picture Me
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