Editorially speaking…
I’m sorry to say that I let last week’s Chronicle go to press without acknowledging this year’s Battle of the Atlantic Day...
On the first Sunday each May, “the Royal [Canadian] Navy family gathers to commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic – to honour the struggle, sacrifice, and loss, but also to celebrate the heroism and courage in the face of daunting obstacles: horrible weather and high seas, rough little ships and cramped quarters, and the ever-present threat of attack by submarines lurking below”.
Coincidentally, a front-page story in the Times Colonist of May 5 reported the passing of Cdr. Peter Chance at the age of 103.
I’ve almost given up reading obituaries these days, unless a name or photo piques my interest, because they’re so time-consuming. Which is why Cdr. Chance’s lengthy obituary caught my attention. Its mention of his having survived the sinking of HMCS Skeena was the final hook.
The destroyer Skeena was my father’s favourite of the ships he served on during his 20 years in the RCN and his service in the Battle of the North Atlantic. Luckily for him, he’d been reassigned by the time she was lost off Iceland in October 1944.
HMCS Skeena, one of Canada’s Second World War navy and one of too many casualties.—uboat.net
Besides my voluminous reading, I’ve had the advantage of my father’s firsthand descriptions: of torpedoed ships, of pulling oil-soaked survivors from the water, of depth charging an invisible enemy. And, always, the never-ending battle against the brutal North Atlantic weather.
So, to all who served in the Battle of the North Atlantic, to my father, my humblest apologies.
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From the Fraser Valley Current a story on how the City of Mission is seeking local songwriters to “reimagine moments from the community’s past”.
Many B.C. musicians have incorporated provincial history in their music (check out Tiller’s Folly and John Gogo to name just two). Had I the talent I’d love to “reimagine” some of my favourite historical events and characters in song.
But I’ll leave it to the professionals—and enjoy.
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From Chronicles readers, two examples of the many wonders of our digital world:
As you can see, above, last week’s post on infamous Ripple Rock and the sinking of the USS Saranac inspired Bill Irvine to colourize the black and white archival photo that ran with the text.
And colourizing wizard Nigel Robertson took a daguerreotype of long ago Victorian Mary Cridge that I’d posted on Facebook to new heights. Compare the two:
The original size, above left. —Author’s Collection
Unreal!
My name’s there to watermark the photo on FB, by the way. Mary’s photo is one of many postage stamp-size daguerreotypes in a small album of Victoria families I bought 40 years ago. I’d never attempted to reproduce them until I bought a new Epson scanner recently. The result is as above, top right.
Compare it to Nigel’s handiwork!
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And speaking of Nigel Robertson, this week’s full-colour reproduction of an old postcard is of Goldstream’s Niagara Canyon E&N Railway trestle.
—Nigel Robertson
From reader Gord Miller a gentle slap on the wrist:
“In your post of May 2 2024 on Ripple Rock, you describe the hydrographic ship Wm. J. Stewart as part of the Canadian Coast Guard fleet. It was NOT. It was a Canadian Hydrographic Service vessel. Usually described as CSS Wm J Stewart. CSS [Canadian Scientific Ship or Canadian Survey Ship]. The successors to the Stewart become part of the Coast Guard fleet in 2005 when the Coast Guard and Fisheries and Oceans Canada were merged.”
Thank you, Gord. As we used to say in the militia, I stand corrected.