Able Seaman Joseph Alphonces Nolan

Son of William Nolan and Margaret MacLean of Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Brother of Private John Hector Nolan, regimental number 415087, of the 40th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, who fought in the First World War in France and Belgium.

On 24 February 1941, at 2:20 a.m., the 46-ship convoy OB-288 was dispersed west of Rockall, a rocky massif between Ireland and Iceland, by the attack of U-96. The Sirikishna is torpedoed on the port side. At 8:36 a.m. she received a coup de grace and sank rapidly, broken in two, position 58°00'N/21°00'W. She was the flagship of the convoy. The captain, the commodore, 5 naval personnel, the 34 crew members and the two gunners lost their lives.