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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Bernard Arthur Lewis

In memory of:

Commissioned Gunner Bernard Arthur Lewis

October 22, 1940

Military Service


Age:

35

Force:

Navy

Unit:

Royal Canadian Navy

Division:

H.M.C.S. Margaree

Additional Information


Son of Arthur J. and Margaret Ann Lewis; husband of Dorothy Ruth Lewis, of Victoria, British Columbia.

Commemorated on Page 15 of the Second World War 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 4.

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.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star November 1940. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Calgary Herald. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Vancouver Sun. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Biography– Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Calgary Herald. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Calgary Herald. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • HMCS Margaree– HMCS Margaree was a D-class destroyer, formerly HMS Diana of the Royal Navy, built in 1931 by Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Hebburn-on-Tyne.  The ship served in the British Mediterranean Fleet and Home Fleet before being transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940.
While escorting convoy OL8 from the UK to Canada, Margaree collided with the freighter MV Port Fairey on 22 October 1940 and sank.  Of her crew of 176, 142 were lost at sea, including Commissioned Gunner Bernard Arthur Lewis.
  • Memorial– The Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Image taken in February 2018 by Tom Tulloch.
  • Memorial Plaque– The panel on the Halifax Memorial at Point Pleasant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on which Bernard Arthur Lewis's name is inscribed.
Image taken in February 2018 by Tom Tulloch.

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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