Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Joseph Griffiths Bell
In memory of:
Coder Joseph Griffiths Bell
September 20, 1943
Military Service
V/35750
21
Navy
Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
H.M.C.S. St. CROIX
Additional Information
Son of Joe G. and Edith Laura Bell, of Sarnia, Ontario.
Commemorated on Page 135 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 10.
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.
Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Digital Collection
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Details
Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Telegram 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Photo of Joseph Griffiths Bell – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me -
Details
Photo of Joe Griffiths Bell – Bell, Joe Griffiths - Coder. Born 18th February, 1922, at Brantford, Ont. Educated at Brantford and Sarnia Public Schools, and Sarnia Collegiate Institute and Technical School. Entered the service of the Bank 22nd October, 1940. Served at Sarnia and Parkhill, Ont. Enlisted 9th May, 1942, from the latter branch in R.C.N.V.R. Ordinary Coder 9th July, 1942; Coder 28th May, 1943. Initial training in Canada and Newfoundland. Served in H.M.C.S. MORDEN on North Atlantic convoy from November to December, 1942. Hospitalized at St. John's, Nfld., due to injuries received in fire at Knights of Columbus Hostel. On shore duty at St. John's to April, 1943. Member of Naval Championship basketball team. Served in Destroyer H.M.C.S. ST. CROIX on convoy duty from April to September, 1943. Officially presumed to have been lost in action at sea 20th September, 1943, with 145 other members of the crew of the H.M.C.S. ST. CROIX, when it was torpedoed in the North Atlantic.From a memorial booklet prepared by the Canadian Bank of Commerce.
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