Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic

To be commemorated May 3:

Battle of the Atlantic [more here] Commemoration

Date: May 03, 2009 Time: 13:30
End date: May 03, 2009

Details: Veterans and serving members of the military gather to commemorate the 66th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Location:
The Anchorage
Marina Park
Thunder Bay ON

Contacts:
Lieutenant Marshall Erickson - Erickson.B1@forces.gc.ca

Battle of the Atlantic

Date: May 03, 2009 Time: 10:30
End date: May 03, 2009

Details: Traditional parade and ceremony. Event starts at Confederation Square with a parade to the National War Memorial.

Location:
National War Memorial, Confederation Square
Ottawa ON

Sponsors:
DND/CF

Contacts:
CPO CLeroux - cleroux.JAR@forces.gc.ca

Battle of the Atlantic Ceremony

Date: May 03, 2009 Time: 09:45
Topic: Battle of the Atlantic; Second World War; Navy

Details: Annual commemorative ceremony to honour lives and ships lost during the Battle of the Atlantic from 1939-1945.

Location:
HMCS CHIPPAWA
1 Navy Way
Winnipeg MB

Contacts:
HMCS CHIPPAWA Ship's Office - -

Battle of the Atlantic Ceremony

Date: May 03, 2009 Time: 13:00
Topic: navy, Battle of the Atlantic, SWW

Details: Annual commemorative ceremony to honour lives and ships lost during the Battle of the Atlantic from 1939-1945.

Location:
HMCS QUEEN
100 Navy Way
Regina SK

Contacts:
HMCS QUEEN's Ship's Office - -

Battle of Atlantic Ceremony

Date: May 03, 2009 Time: 14:00
Topic: Event

Details: The Battle of Atlantic Parade & Ceremony will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #480. Event will include Army,Navy,Air Cadets,Armed Forces Members and Legionnaires. Other dignitaries will also be present.

Location:
Royal Canadian Legion Branch # 480
389 Richmond Road
Westboro ON

Contacts:
David Lewis - rcl480@rogers.com

At Halifax, from David Pugliese's Ottawa Citizen blog:

The Canadian Navy is preparing for the upcoming Battle of the Atlantic and Victory at Sea commerative events in Halifax. This will be the 66th anniversary.

The events and ceremonies are dedicated to the 4,234 Canadian sailors, airmen and Merchant Navy who lost their lives between September 1939 and May 1945 keeping open the shipping routes linking North America with Europe during the longest single campaign of the Second World War, according to the Navy.

Throughout the week, the naval white ensign, in honour of the Battle of the Atlantic, will be flown from flagstaffs at Province House, City Hall, Pier 21, Camp Hill Veterans Hospital and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

As the Canadian Navy commemorates the sacrifices and historic accomplishments of Canada and her allies during BOA services across Canada this year, it also recognizes the fact that the ninety-ninth anniversary of the founding of the Canadian Navy on the following Monday, May 4, 2009 marks the one-year countdown to the celebration of the Canadian Naval Centennial (CNC) on May 4, 2010.

In addition to BOA events, other commemorative events taking place in the HRM during the week include a full military honours memorial service for Rear-Admiral William Moss Landymore on Friday, May 1st at 10:30 a.m. at Canadian Forces Base Halifax Faith Centre and the Annual Liberation of Holland ceremony at Pier 21 on Monday, May 4th at 6 p.m.

The following is a list of the local activities that are being held:

Wed, April 29 7 p.m. 11TH ANNUAL BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC MUSICAL GALA at Pier 21

This year’s concert is dedicated to the 65th Anniversary of the loss of HMCS Athabaskan on April 29, 1944. The concert features the Stadacona Band of Maritime Forces Atlantic, with singers Liz Rigney and CPO1 Keith Davidson, the Nova Voce Provincial Men’s’ Choir and the 12 Wing Shearwater Pipes and Drums. The event is a Queen Elizabeth II (QE11) Foundation fundraiser for the Camp Hill Veterans’ Hospital.

Fri, May 1 10:30 a.m. MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR REAR-ADMIRAL LANDYMORE
St. Brendan’s Chapel

Following the memorial service, the ashes of RAdm Landymore will be embarked in HMCS Toronto for an at-sea committal.

Sat, May 2 11 a.m. MERCHANT NAVY AND NORWEIGIAN CEREMONY
MARITIME MUSEUM OF THE ATLANTIC

Wreath laying and commemorative ceremony at the small boats gallery in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

Sun, May 3 9 a.m. departure HMC Dockyard BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC-AT SEA CEREMONY IN HMCS SACKVILLE

Following the ceremony, the ashes of twenty veterans will be committed to the sea.

Sun, May 3 11 a.m. BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC CEREMONY
Point Pleasant Park – Sailors Memorial

And something often overlooked:

...
Battle of the Atlantic Ceremonies

The second most sacred day of the year for Canada's Air Force is one we share with Canada's Navy - the Battle of the Atlantic Parade. For six long, arduous years during the Second World War the sailors and airmen from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Navy, RCAF and United States Navy battled the U-Boat menace in the North Atlantic. On the first Sunday of May this long fight for oceanic supremacy is celebrated at cenotaphs across Canada with Navy and Air Force, serving and retired, commemorating the battle. Air Force personnel were responsible for destroying more than one-quarter of U-Boats sunk in the battle (212 out of 800).

Update: More from Maritime Forces Pacific [links added]:

Epic Battle Of The Atlantic Commemorated On Sunday

At 10:30 a.m. Sunday, May 3, serving military personnel and veterans of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Canadian Merchant Navy and others will participate in a remembrance service at the Victoria Cenotaph [emphasis added] marking the end of the longest battle of the Second World War.

More than 200 men and women from CFB Esquimalt, ships of the Pacific Fleet and Naval Reserve Division HMCS Malahat will follow veterans and the Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific from Ship Point below Wharf Street to the Legislature. Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps “Rainbow” of Victoria, “Beacon Hill” of Colwood, and “Admiral Budge” of Sidney will represent Victoria’s youth. The service begins with an address by Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile, Commander, Maritime Forces Pacific and includes representatives of area veteran’s groups.

The event also marks the last year of the Canadian Navy’s first centennial. From now through 2010 the Navy will celebrate a century of service to Canada.

It was the epic battle for the Atlantic Sea Lanes during the Second World War that secured the supply lines from North American to Great Britain and ultimately made the allied D-Day invasion possible. Escorting over 25,000 ships to Europe and fighting the Battle of the Atlantic was the mission of the Canadian Navy from 1939 to 1945. German submarines attacked 22 ships in the St. Lawrence River, some within miles of Quebec City. Of the 24 Canadian warships lost, eight went down in coastal waters, including the last, HMCS Esquimalt, on April 16, 1945. The Navy lost 2,300 sailors. Seventy-one Canadian or Newfoundland merchant ships were sunk and over 2,200 men and women died. The RCAF lost 700 air crew.

While Canadians seldom pause to consider it, sea-borne exports account for 40 percent of our gross domestic product. The security of the world’s oceans is vital to global stability and Canadian prosperity. This year’s ceremony occurs as HMC ships Winnipeg and Protecteur are deployed on operations. The Canadian Navy’s contribution to international maritime security signals to the world Canada’s resolve to act when necessary. On Sunday HMC Ships in harbour will “dress overall” from sunrise to sunset to mark the anniversary.

Upperdate: More on the Ottawa ceremonies, via David Pugliese's blog:

Battle of the Atlantic ceremonies will also be held in Ottawa (I had a previous post about those in Halifax). Here is the latest on the Ottawa events from DND:

OTTAWA, ONTARIO- - Canadians will attend ceremonies across the country Sunday, May 3rd to mark the sacrifices made by the many who fought on their behalf in the epic Second World War Battle of the Atlantic.

In Ottawa, there will be a parade from the Government Conference Centre to the National War Memorial at 10:25 a.m., followed by a ceremony at the National War Memorial, which will include Chief of the Maritime Staff Vice-Admiral Drew Robertson, veterans, serving members of the Canadian Forces, cadets, and other guests. Following the ceremony, there will be a reception for parade participants at the Government Conference Centre beginning at noon.

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 8th, 1945.

As the Canadian Navy commemorates the sacrifices and historic accomplishments of Canada and her allies during Battle of the Atlantic Sunday services across Canada this year it also recognizes the fact that the ninety-ninth anniversary of the founding of the Canadian Navy on the following Monday, May 4th, 2009 marks the one-year countdown to the Canadian Naval Centennial in 2010.