Description
Mr. Tanner describes being turned down, because of his age, for service in the Canadian Merchant Navy and joining the Norwegian fleet, whose hiring age was younger.
Allen Tanner
Allen Tanner was born on December 1, 1925 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After finishing Grade Nine, he went to work for a Norwegian shipping firm on the Halifax dockyard. As a member of the Navy League, he served in an Honour Guard for the Queen when she visited Halifax in 1939. Too young to join the Canadian Merchant Navy, he joined a Norwegian ship, whose crew shortage made him a welcome addition. Mr. Tanner worked on board a freighter, but was lured to work on tankers due to the higher pay they offered.
Transcript
I wanted to get involved because my other three brothers was in the service. So I worked for a Mont Steading company, a Norwegian shipping company and he came one day and asked me would I want to join a ship in the harbour and it was called the Sirehei loading some newsprint and that was on Wednesday and they shipped me right down to Tobin Street. There was a Norwegian council and a doctor there examined me for medical reasons. Norwegians were hard up for crew and they made an exception as I was too young, because I tried to join the Canadian Merchant Navy, but I was too young and they wouldn’t take me. So I got the opportunity to go