Leading Stoker George Rosie

Son of George and Isabella Rosie, of Bethune, Saskatchewan. George Rosie volunteered for assignment with the Royal Canadian Naval Combined Operations and while the time of his posting is not known, he was eventually based at H.M.S. Quebec, a 'stone frigate' a Combined Operations training base located in Inversary Castle at Inversary, Argyllshire on Lock Fyne, Scotland. The North American Invasion took place in November 1942, it is assumed that George Rosie, a Leading Stoker, as the 'chief engineer' aboard one of the landing craft transporting army troops to their landing destination somewhere in Tunisia or Algiers, North Africa. On completion of their mission, the naval personnel presumablywere embarked on MV 'Ettrick' for transport back to their in the Clyde, H.M.S. Quebec at Inverary. The 'Ettrick' was a training and transport ship, a passenger liner converted for troop transport purposes. On Sunday, November 15, 1942, she was on her way back from the North Africa Invasion to Inversary when she was torpedoed and sunk by U-155 at 36.13N - 07.54W, approximately 110 miles west of Gibralter, with a loss of life of 18 , 9 of which were RCN or RCNVR personnel and 6 of the ship's crew. The information provided herein was largely obtained through the research efforts of Frank Saies-Jones and Mrs. Janice MacCallum, Curator and Assistant Curator respectively of the Naval Museum of Alberta, from the resources available in the John Burgess Library. The primary source of the information is provided in St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War 1941-45, Volumes 1 and 2.