Chief Radio Officer Robert Walter Heather

Son of Harry George Heather and Ada Lillian Adams of Toronto, Ontario. During the First World War, Harry enlisted on 3 December 1915 with the 123rd Battalion (Royal Grenadiers) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Transferred to the 3rd Battalion, he fought in France where he was wounded in action on 30 August 1918 at Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France. He survived the war. He was awarded the British War Badge number 287234, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

On 5 December 1940, the Silverpine was sailing with convoy OB-252 and straggled astern when she was torpedoed 300 miles (483 km) west of Black Rock, Ireland, and sunk by the Italian submarine Argo, position 54°14'N/18°08'W. Her captain, 7 British officers and 25 crew members, including several Chinese, lost their lives. The 19 survivors were brought back to Londonderry, Northern Ireland.