Canadian Virtual War Memorial
John Hilton Harper
In memory of:
Second Mate John Hilton Harper
August 31, 1942
North Atlantic
Military Service
24
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Winamac (London, England) (149732)
Additional Information
January 1, 1918
Vancouver, British Columbia
Son of Harold Hilton Harper and Kate Hyne of Vancouver, British Columbia.
On 28 August 1942, convoy TRIN-3 left Trinidad for Sao Miguel in the Azores. On 31st August, the convoy was dispersed by U-66, which torpedoed the Winamac 390 miles (628 km) east of Trinidad. The ship burnt and sank rapidly, in position 10°36'N/54°34'W. The captain, 26 crew members and 3 gunners lost their lives. The 21 survivors were rescued by the cargo ship SS Empire Lugard and landed in Trinidad.
Commemorated on Page 151 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 20.
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
Newspaper clipping – From a World War 2 issue of the Vancouver Province c.1942. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper Clipping -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Vancouver Sun. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
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