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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Edwin Stobbs English

In memory of:

Fireman Edwin Stobbs English

February 10, 1941
North Atlantic

Military Service


Age:

22

Force:

Merchant Navy

Unit:

Canadian Merchant Navy

Division:

S.S. Brandenburg (Leith, Scotland) (129385)

Additional Information


Born:

May 15, 1918
Québec, Quebec

Son of Thomas English and Janet Kitwood, of Québec, Québec. During the First World War, Thomas enlisted on 3 December 1915 with the Royal Marines Divisional - Engineers Corps of the British Army, regimental number 5569. He was repatriated in 1919 with the Montreal Heavy Brigade.

On 10 February 1941, the Brandenburg sailed from Real, Portugal, to Leith, Scotland, with convoy HG-53. At 6:33 am, she was torpedoed by U-37 west of Gibraltar and sank immediately, in position 36°10'N/16°38'W, with her captain, 21 crew members, an artilleryman and a castaway from the cargo ship Courland, sunk the previous day by the same submarine. The sole survivor of the 54 people on board the Brandenburg was rescued by HMS Velox (D-34) and landed in Gibraltar.

Commemorated on Page 132 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

HALIFAX MEMORIAL
Nova Scotia, Canada

Grave Reference:

Panel 18.

Location:

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:

1914-1939
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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Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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