Canadian Virtual War Memorial
James Monister
In memory of:
Able Seaman James Monister
September 19, 1941
North Atlantic
Military Service
39
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. T.J. Williams (London, England) (221618)
Additional Information
January 1, 1902
Hermitage, Newfoundland and Labrador
Son of Morgan Monister and Hanna Jane Matthews of Fortune, Newfoundland. Husband of Florence Hatch of Fortune. Father of three children, including Mildred Katherine and Jessica Brenda Monister.
After leaving Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, on 11 September 1941 with convoy SC-44, the T.J. Williams was torpedoed on 20 September at 1:38 am by U-552 east-north-east of Cape Farewell, Greenland. The tanker sank rapidly by the stern in position 61°34'N/35°11'W. Fifteen crew members and two gunners lost their lives. The captain, 20 sailors and one gunner were rescued by the British corvette HMS Honeysuckle (K27) and landed in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Commemorated on Page 194 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.
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