Canadian Virtual War Memorial
James Walker
In memory of:
Able Seaman James Walker
August 21, 1944
Military Service
V/17999
20
Navy
Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
H.M.C.S. Alberni
Additional Information
James Walker was born in St Marys, Ontario on 12 February 1924 and raised in Blanshard Township where he was educated at 55 #8 at Rannoch. Son of James and Agnes S. Walker, of Lakeside, Ontario. After leaving school, he worked initially for Maxwell's and then at Coronation Dairy. In his spare time, he paraded with the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion of the Perth Regiment. James Walker was enroled in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve on 3 March 1942 on a part time basis, and was placed on active service 8 April 1942. He did his basic training at HMCS Prevost, the naval army in London and was then sent to HMCS Cornwallis in Nova Scotia from 7 June to 21 July 1942 for gunnery training. Returning to HMCS Provost in July, Able Seaman Walker was drafted to HMCS Cornwallis on 22 September and HMCS Alberni at Halifax on 6 October 1942. Able Seaman Walker has no known grave but is commemorated by name on the Halifax Memorial as well as on a bronze plaque on the Cenotaph located in St. Marys, Ontario.
Commemorated on Page 470 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 11.
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.
Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Digital Collection
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Details
Photo of James Walker -
Details
Photo of JAMES WALKER – Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
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