Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Kenneth John Price
In memory of:
Able Seaman Kenneth John Price
September 19, 1941
North Atlantic
Military Service
21
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
MV Pink Star (Panama) (5606466)
Additional Information
January 1, 1920
England
His full name is Kenneth John Price.
Son of Lt. John Price, R.C.N.R., and Evelyn Mary Wilkes of Montreal, Quebec. In the First World War, John served as a lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve from 1914 to 1915, then with the Royal Artillery in France from 1915 to 1919, and as a captain in the Merchant Navy. During the Second World War, he enlisted on 3 September 1940 in the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve. He served with HMCS Stadacona, on HMCS Prince Henry (F70) from 1 December 1940 to 30 September 1941, promoted to temporary lieutenant, regimental number O-60270, on the 30th, and transferred to HMCS Windflower (K155) on 14 October 1941. He lost his life in a collision between this ship and the Dutch freighter Zypenberg on 7 December 1941. During his lifetime, he was awarded the Defence Medal, the General Service Medal (1916), the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. For the Second World War, he was posthumously awarded the 1939-1945 Star, the Atlantic Star, the 1939-1945 War Medal with Bar and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Bar.
On 20 September 1941, at 1:51 am, 275 miles (443 km) northeast of Cape Farewell, Greenland, the Pink Star was torpedoed by U-552 and sank immediately, position 61°36'N/35°07'W.
Commemorated on Page 214 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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