Canadian Naval Service Monument

Esquimalt, British Columbia
Type
Other

A monument commemorating the founding of the Canadian Naval Service was unveiled on May 4, 1998, by Vice-Admiral (retired) Nigel Brodeur and Captain (Navy) Jason Boyd, Base Commander. Vice-Admiral Brodeur's grandfather was Canada’s first Naval Minister and instrumental to the establishment of the service. His father, Rear-Admiral Victor Brodeur, served in the Navy as the Commander Pacific Coast during the Second World War and was the first Francophone from Quebec to join the admirality.

To the left of the monument is a seven bladed propeller removed from HMCS Annapolis (DDH 265). This propeller was a revolutionary design at the time. The hull of the vessel is now an artificial reef. The propeller on the right was removed from one of the three HMC Submarines Ojibwa 72, Okanagan 74, and Onondaga 73. It is not likely that it is from Onondaga, as that sub is in Pointe au Pere, Rimouski, Quebec as a museum vessel. The subs were built at Chatham Dockyard in the United Kingdom and were identical to the Royal Navy Oberon Class conventionally powered submarines.

The Canadian Naval Service, now known as the Royal Canadian Navy, was established on May 4, 1910. A plaque identical to the one on this monument is located on the Wall of Valour at Canadian Forces Base Halifax. The founding of the Canadian Naval Service was designated a national historic event by the federal government on the recommendation of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

Inscription

  • THE FOUNDING OF THE CANADIAN
    NAVAL SERVICE
  •  
  • The Royal Canadian Navy, founded in
    1910 as the Canadian Naval Service, was
    the first national service of its kind. It
    played a key role in the Dominion’s
    contributions to the Allied effort during
    the First World War, notably in military
    recruitment and training, organization
    and operation of an Allied convoy
    service, coastal patrol, and provisioning
    British naval forces on the Atlantic coast.
    The establishment of the navy was an
    important expression of autonomy at a
    critical time in Canada’s development
    from colony to nation.
  •  
  • Historic Sites and
    Monuments Board of Canada
    and Parks Canada
  •  
  •  
  • LA CRÉATION DU SERVICE NAVAL
    DU CANADA
  •  
  • La Marine royale du Canada, premier
    service national du genre, fut fondée
    en 1910 sous le nom de Service naval du
    Canada. Elle joua un rôle clé dans l’effort
    de guerre du Dominion pendant la
    Première Guerre mondiale, notamment
    par le recrutement et la formation,
    l’organisation et les opérations d’un
    service de convois alliés, la surveillance
    côtière et l’approvisionnement des
    forces navales britanniques sur la côte
    atlantique. La création de la marine
    permit au Canada d’affirmer son
    autonomie à un moment crucial de sa
    transition de l’état de colonie à celui de
    nation.
  •  
  • Commission des lieux et
    monuments historiques du Canada
    et Parcs Canada

Visitor information

Location
Canadian Naval Service Monument

Naden Way
Esquimalt
British Columbia
GPS Coordinates
Lat. 48.433149
Long. -123.4180109
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