Canadian Virtual War Memorial
William Fleet
In memory of:
Boatswain William Fleet
December 10, 1941
Caribbean Sea
Military Service
60
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Nereus (Montréal, Québec) (163243)
First War : War Service Medal Class A, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Second War : Merchant Marine Medal (posthumous).
Additional Information
February 1, 1881
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Son of William Fleet and Rachel Penny, of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Brother of Mrs. S. Moore, of New Westminster, British Columbia.
During the First World War, he enlisted on 12 February 1916 in Edmonton, Alberta, with the 194th Overseas Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, regimental number 904105. On December 28, 1916, in England, he was transferred to the 49th Battalion. On 30 October 1917, he was wounded in action in France by shrapnel to the left hand. Returning to action on 28 November 1917, on 30 September 1918 he was again shot in the lower jaw and gassed. Evacuated to England on 21 December, he was repatriated to Canada on 22 March 1919 and demobilized on 9 June.
On 10 December 1941 the Nereus, which left St Thomas, in the Virgin Islands, with ore, was sailing alone when it disappeared at sea. No German submarine claimed to have sunk her. Her wreckage has never been found. Sometimes coal boats accidentally caught fire from coal residue accumulated in the hold.
Commemorated on Page 135 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 19.
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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Merchant Navy Monument in St. John's, NL -
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Dedication -
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Photo of WILLIAM FLEET – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
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