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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Lionel Fraser

In memory of:

Second Mate Lionel Fraser

July 29, 1942
North Atlantic

Military Service


Age:

24

Force:

Merchant Navy

Unit:

Canadian Merchant Navy

Division:

S.S. Prescodoc (Fort William, Ontario) (161514)

Additional Information


Born:

December 22, 1917
L’Isle-Verte, Quebec

Son of Pierre Anselme Fraser, seaman, and Cécile Chouinard, of L'Isle-Verte, Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec. Brother of Petty Officer Malcolm Fraser, regimental number A-635, who drowned accidentally on 24 July 1940 while on duty aboard the HMCS Madawaska (Z21), Captain Aurèle Fraser of the Canadian Merchant Navy, Daniel F. Fraser of the lighthouse boat Isle-Verte, and Théobald Fraser, keeper of the Île-Rouge lighthouse.

Sailing without escort, on 29 July 1942, at 10:19 am, she was torpedoed and sunk by U-160 northwest of Georgetown, Guyana, position 08°50'N/59°05'W. Sixteen sailors perished. The survivors were rescued by the Yugoslav cargo ship SS Predsednik Kopajtic and landed at Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Commemorated on Page 138 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 20.

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.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Photo of LIONEL FRASER– Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

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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