Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Frederick Augustin Slaven
In memory of:
Chief Radio Officer Frederick Augustin Slaven
January 19, 1942
Offshore, North Carolina
Military Service
43
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
RMS Lady Hawkins (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (155047)
British War Medal, Victory Medal
Additional Information
February 3, 1898
Balham, England
Son of James Slaven and Louisa Augustine Thomas of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England. James served in Iran with the British Army.
Brother of Corporal Richard Eugene Slaven, regimental number 24879, 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada), Canadian Expeditionary Force, wounded in action in French Flanders in the First World War.
He enlisted in the First World War on 22 September 1914 at Camp Valcartier, Quebec, service number 25537. He fought in France with the 1st Canadian Army Service Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was repatriated on June 28, 1919 and demobilized in Montreal, Quebec, on June 30.
The Lady Hawkins was torpedoed on 19 January 1942 at 7:43 am by U-66 and sank east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA, position 35°N/72°30'W. The attack caused the death of 251 people and left 71 survivors. The master, 86 crew members, one gunner and 163 passengers (including four DBS) were lost. The chief officer, 20 crew members and 50 passengers were picked up after five days by the Coamo and landed at San Juan, Puerto Rico on 28 January.
Commemorated on Page 228 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.
Digital Collection
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Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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