Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of William and Mary Ashley, of Nipigon, Ontario.
Digital gallery of Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
Orville William Ashley, Able Seaman, was one of 17 Canadian sailors who died when the H.M.C.S. Levis was torpedoed by U74 in the early morning of September 19, 1941. This casualty list was published in the Globe and Mail on September 29, 1941. All are commemorated at the HALIFAX MEMORIAL Nova Scotia.
An eighteenth sailor died, he was Ordinary Coder DERYCK HODGSON PICKUP aged 19, of the Royal Navy, son of James Thomas Pickup and Harriet Pickup of Newhey, Lancashire he is commemorated at the PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
This account of the loss of the Levis appeared in the Globe and Mail September 29, 1941. Part 1.
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
This account of the loss of the Levis appeared in the Globe and Mail September 29, 1941. Part 2
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
Source: Hamilton Spectator, September 27, 1941
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
This photograph of the H.M.C.S. Levis is from the Readyayeready website.
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
This account of the sinking of the H.M.C.S, Levis is from the Uboat.net website. The number of survivors is in error. There were 40 survivors from a crew of 58.
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
A photograph of the torpedoed H.M.C.S. Levis under tow is from Norman Mansfield
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Digital gallery of
Able Seaman Orville William Ashley
Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Image gallery
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Orville William Ashley, Able Seaman, was one of 17 Canadian sailors who died when the H.M.C.S. Levis was torpedoed by U74 in the early morning of September 19, 1941. This casualty list was published in the Globe and Mail on September 29, 1941. All are commemorated at the HALIFAX MEMORIAL Nova Scotia. An eighteenth sailor died, he was Ordinary Coder DERYCK HODGSON PICKUP aged 19, of the Royal Navy, son of James Thomas Pickup and Harriet Pickup of Newhey, Lancashire he is commemorated at the PLYMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL
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This account of the loss of the Levis appeared in the Globe and Mail September 29, 1941. Part 1.
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This account of the loss of the Levis appeared in the Globe and Mail September 29, 1941. Part 2
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Source: Hamilton Spectator, September 27, 1941
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This photograph of the H.M.C.S. Levis is from the Readyayeready website.
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This account of the sinking of the H.M.C.S, Levis is from the Uboat.net website. The number of survivors is in error. There were 40 survivors from a crew of 58.
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A photograph of the torpedoed H.M.C.S. Levis under tow is from Norman Mansfield
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
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Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 22 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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HALIFAX MEMORIAL Nova Scotia, Canada
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.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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