Canadian Virtual War Memorial
James Crawford Irving
In memory of:
Leading Coder James Crawford Irving
August 21, 1944
Military Service
V/17668
23
Navy
Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
H.M.C.S. Alberni
Additional Information
Son of Henry and Mildred Irving, of London, Ontario.
Robert Webb, a childhood friend submitted the following information:
'Jim and I were neighbours and best boyhood friends in London from 1929 until 1938 when my family moved from London to Hamilton. Jim was a cheerful, extroverted companion of my youth who was my fishing buddy and Boy Scout friend. He became a King Scout before he enlisted in the RCNVR.
' 'In July 1944, while serving overseas as a member of the RCAF, attached to the RAF, we became aware that the Alberni was in Portsmouth U.K. and Jim was able to get some shore leave. We met in Norwich near the airfield where I was then stationed. ..
I cherish the snapshots we took and the memory of his 'cheerio' goodbye as his train left. It was only a few weeks later on 21 August, 1944, that the Alberni was sunk by enemy action. His mother wrote to tell me of her loss and to say how, in his last letter he had described our happy reunion.' cheerful, extroverted companion of my youth who was my fishing buddy and Boy Scout friend. He became a King Scout before he enlisted in the RCNVR.' 'In July 1944, while serving overseas as a member of the RCAF, attached to the RAF, we became aware that the Alberni was in Portsmouth U.K. and Jim was able to get some shore leave. We met in Norwich near the airfield where I was then stationed. .. I cherish the snapshots we took and the memory of his 'cheerio' goodbye as his train left. It was only a few weeks later on 21 August, 1944, that the Alberni was sunk by enemy action. His mother wrote to tell me of her loss and to say how, in his last letter he had described our happy reunion.'
Commemorated on Page 342 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 12.
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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Photo of James Irving -
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Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star September 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star September 1944. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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H.M.C.S. Alberni – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
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Photo of James Crawford Irving
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