Canadian Virtual War Memorial
John William Wilkinson
In memory of:
Quartermaster John William Wilkinson
December 30, 1940
North Atlantic
Military Service
35
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. City of Bedford (Liverpool, England) (147284)
Additional Information
January 1, 1905
Lancashire, England
On 30 December in fog 280 miles south of Iceland HX 97 ran into Convoy OB 265 coming in the opposite direction. City of Bedford collided with the Elder Dempster Lines cargo ship Bodnant, causing both ships to sink. All of Bodnant's crew survived, but 48 of City of Bedford's crew were killed.
Commemorated on Page 248 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 17.
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.
Digital Collection
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Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Montreal Star. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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