Canadian Virtual War Memorial
John William Dyson
In memory of:
Fireman John William Dyson
September 25, 1942
Military Service
23
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Boston (Portsmouth, Maine, U.S.A.) (223749)
Additional Information
January 1, 1919
Sydney, Cap-Breton, Nova Scotia
Son of John William and Phillis Dyson, of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England.
On September 25, 1942, at 4.37 p.m., the Boston, on route from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Londonderry, Northern Ireland with convoy RB-1, was torpedoed by U-216 610 miles (982 km) east-south-east of Cape Farewell, Greenland. The Boston sank in 7 minutes, in position 54°23'N/27°54'W. The attack claimed only one victim, Dyson. The captain, 52 crew members, three signallers and ten gunners were rescued by the SS New Bedford, which transferred them to the British destroyer HMS Veteran (D72). The next day, HMS Veteran was torpedoed by U-404, resulting in the death of 235 sailors (159 crew members of Veteran, the first mate of SS New Bedford, 47 survivors of SS Boston, 28 survivors of SS New York).
Commemorated on Page 130 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
Burial Information
HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada
Panel 21.
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.
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