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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Richard Pirt Scanlon

In memory of:

Private Richard Pirt Scanlon

April 30, 1941

Military Service


Service Number:

H/26522

Age:

23

Force:

Army

Unit:

Corps of Military Staff Clerks

Additional Information


Born:

March 16, 1918
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Enlistment:

April 22, 1940
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Son of Mrs. Louisa Scanlon, of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Commemorated on Page 43 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada

Grave Reference:

Panel 14.

Location:

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:

1914-1939
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

Send us your images

  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Photo of RICHARD PIRT SCANLON– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Attestation paper– Stenographer Richard Scanlon enlisted in Winnipeg 22 April 1940.
  • Telegram– Mrs. Scanlon was sent this telegram to advise her that her son was missing at sea on May 4, 1941.
  • Circumstances of Death– Information card for Pte Scanlon.
  • Halifax Memorial– Naval memorial for those missing at sea in Halifax, N.S.
Pte Scanlon was among the large group of passengers on board the merchant ship SS Nerissa which was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland as it was headed for Liverpool.  Most of those on board perished.  A fictionalized account of the sinking of the ship has been written by the grandson of one of the Army survivors titled Red Devils and Heroes.

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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