Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Henry James Rees
In memory of:
Chief Radio Officer Henry James Rees
October 12, 1940
West of the Hebrides Islands
Military Service
22
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Saint Malo (Ottawa, Ontario) (142298)
Additional Information
January 1, 1918
Toronto, Ontario
Son of Hugh Ernest Rees and Mary McNaughton from Toronto, Ontario. During the First World War, Hugh served with the Worcestershire Regiment, regimental number 17710, and later with the Labour Corps, regimental number 378626. He was awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.
300 miles (483 km) west of the Hebrides Islands, Scotland, on 12 October 1940, at 23:25, the Saint Malo was sailing with convoy HX-77 when she was torpedoed by U-101. She broke in two and sank, position 57°58'N/16°32'W.
Commemorated on Page 217 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 17.
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 the Toronto Star April 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram March 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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