The Athabascan (Part 2 of 5)

Heroes Remember

The Athabascan (Part 2 of 5)

We came back and when we got back there, there was another further explosion and immediate blackness. So the captain went over to where you could see all these bobbing lights. They had these RCN life jackets on, little lights were twinkling all over. So he got as close to the main group as he could and then threw all of the nets over the shore, over the side, and ordered all the boats to be let go too. When I was on the gun they were calling for volunteers to give a hand on the upper deck, the "iron" deck they call it, back aft, to get the survivors on board. So I went from my gun down below and when I got down to the port side where the motor cutter was the officer of the deck at that time was asking for a volunteer to go down and let her go. So I climbed in the motorboat and went down with her, to lower it down to the water edge, you see. And I said to this particular Lieutenant Furor for me to go along side and see if I could get some more survivors and bring them onboard. He said, "No, no, no." I said, "Okay, fine." On the way through I tried the engine but it wouldn't run so I went up and let the boat rope go and when it came back there were two other people in the boat, I don't know who even ordered them or who asked them or anything else. I don't know how they got in the boat. So anyway we got in there and the motor wouldn't go so we were drifting. Next thing we know, Haida was gone and we were left there, five miles off the French coast before D-Day. So we floated around and I ordered a, well I had a little more experience than anyone else on board so I ordered the floorboards, there were no paddles or nothing, everything was taken out, all the spare gear was taken out of the boat, so I ordered the other guys to get a hold of the floor boards, rip them up and use them as paddles and I tore the door off the, the canopy in front and the three of us paddled over enough to get two or three on board and we tried the engine again. It ran for a little while.

Mr. Hannam talks about the Athabascan, and his experience with it (part 2 of 5). He talks about helping rescue the survivors from the Athabascan, and how he ended up adrift searching for survivors, in a boat (from the Haida) with an engine that wouldn't work.

Jack Hannam

Mr. Hannam was born in Vancouver, BC on June 19, 1924. At the age of five, shortly after his father's death, he moved to Victoria. His father survived the sinking of the HMCS Charlottetown in the St. Lawrence River but was tragically run down by a drunk driver. He started with the Merchant Marine at the age of 15 and then went on to the navy when he was 17. He joined the reserves Sept. 9, 1941. He served first on the HMCS Camrose and later on the HMCS Haida in both the North Atlantic and off North Africa.

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:30
Person Interviewed:: Jack Hannam
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Atlantic Ocean
Branch:: Navy
Units/Ship:: HMCS Haida
Rank:: Leading Seaman
Occupation:: Seaman

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Date modified:: 2024-12-30