The Torch: May 4: Battle of the Atlantic Sunday

One of Canada's greatest contributions to the Second World War:

Battle of the Atlantic Parade and Ceremony

...Canadians will attend ceremonies across the country Sunday, May 4 to mark the sacrifices made by the many who fought on their behalf in the epic Second World War Battle of the Atlantic.

A ceremony at the National War Memorial will include Parliamentary Secretary of National Defence Laurie Hawn, Vice-Admiral Drew Robertson, Chief of the Maritime Staff, veterans, serving members of the Canadian Forces, and cadets, among other guests.

Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, will attend a service at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Pictou Landing, Nova Scotia, and lay a wreath commemorating the battle.

"During the darkest days of the Second World War, thousands of Canadian men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Merchant Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force faced perilous conditions that many of us can't even imagine. We will not forget their courageous contributions" said Minister MacKay.

In Ottawa, there will be a parade march from the Government Conference Centre to the War Memorial for a remembrance at 10:25 a.m., followed by reception for parade participants at the Government Conference Centre beginning at 12:00 pm.
The Battle of the Atlantic, the fight for supremacy of the North Atlantic, was waged from 1939 until 1945 and pitted Allied naval and air forces against German U-boats, whose primary targets were the convoys of merchant ships carrying vital life-sustaining cargo from North America to Europe.

Much of the burden of fighting the Battle of the Atlantic fell to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). At the outbreak of war, the RCN was comprised of only six destroyers and a handful of smaller vessels. By the end of the war, the RCN was the third largest navy in the world.

The Battle of the Atlantic ended with V-E Day on May 8, 1945.