Canadian Virtual War Memorial
William Frank Kerby
In memory of:
Seaman William Frank Kerby
November 15, 1941
Mediterranean Sea
Military Service
23
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Empire Pelican (London, England) (168172)
Additional Information
January 1, 1918
Barry, Wales
Son of Williem Frederick Kerby and Amy Rosina Elson of Vancouver, British Columbia. Husband of Mrs William Frank Kerby. William served with the British Army during the First World War.
On 14 November 1941, the SS Empire Pelican was en route from Barry, Wales, to Malta in the Mediterranean when she was torpedoed by a Regia Aeronautica aircraft 10 miles (16 km) south-west of the island of La Galita in northern Tunisia. The attack caused the death of 45 crew members. The 11 survivors were taken prisoner of war.
Commemorated on Page 165 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 18.
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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