Canadian Virtual War Memorial
William Matheson
In memory of:
Fireman William Matheson
February 6, 1941
North Atlantic
Military Service
38
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Maplecourt (Montréal, Québec) (141766)
Additional Information
Son of Samuel Haden and Eliza Ellam of Wolherhampton, West Midlands, England.
He was born William Haden, adopted by William Matheson, and took this surname. His brother, Private Ernest Haden, was adopted by Alexander and Jessie Urquhart of Milville, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and killed in action on 6 May 1917 at Vimy while serving with the Nova Scotia Regiment of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, regimental number 222561. He was buried under his baptismal name Haden.
William was a member of convoy SC-20, this ship was torpedoed at 13:53 on 6 February 1941 by U-107 and sank 120 miles (193 km) west of Rockall, an isolated rock between Ireland and Iceland, position 55°39'N/15°56'W.
Commemorated on Page 184 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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Details
Newspaper clipping – The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec) 5 Mar 1941, p. 9. -
Details
Memorial – Home child -
Details
Document – Home child
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