Canadian Virtual War Memorial
John Ritchie
In memory of:
Chief Engineer Officer John Ritchie
January 14, 1942
North Atlantic
Military Service
65
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Friar Rock (Panama)
Additional Information
January 1, 1877
Aberdeen, Scotland
Husband of Elizabeth V. Hogg from Verdun, Montréal, Québec. Father of Jean and Winifred Elizabeth Ritchie.
On 13 January 1942, the Friar Rock left Sydney, Nova Scotia, with convoy SC-64. Forced to turn back at 9:48 am, she was torpedoed by U-130 around 110 miles (177 km) south-west of Cape Race, Newfoundland. She received her first coup de grâce at 10:32 am, followed by a second at around 10:45 am. She quickly sank by the bow, in position 45°51'N/50°52'W. The attack killed 31 crew members. The survivors were rescued by HMS Montgomery (G95).
Commemorated on Page 218 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.
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