Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Russell Edward Fillmore
In memory of:
Able Seaman Russell Edward Fillmore
February 7, 1943
Military Service
42
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
MV Mary Slessor (Liverpool, England)(161149)
Additional Information
April 23, 1900
Dorchester, New Brunswick
Son of Havelock Fillmore and Harmen Mabel Estabrooks, of Westmorland County, New Brunswick.
On February 7, 1943, the Mary Slessor was sailing with convoy MKS-7 when the ships entered a minefield laid by U-118. Three ships hit the devices, exploded and sank, including the Mary Slessor, which sank in the Strait of Gibraltar with 28 crew members, two gunners and two passengers who were military personnel, position 35°55'N/06°02'W. The captain, 32 sailors, 12 gunners and three military passengers were rescued by HMS Landguard (Y56) and landed in Liverpool, England.
Commemorated on Page 134 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 23
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
Memorial – Inscription located at Sackville Cemetery, Sackville NB, Canada. (Photo credit: Captain (Ret'd) E.L.L. Gaudet, CD) -
Details
Memorial – Sackville War Memorial. Sackville NB, Canada. (Photo credit: Captain (Ret'd) E.L.L. Gaudet, CD)
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