Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Michael Francis O'Brien
In memory of:
Able Seaman Michael Francis O'Brien
March 30, 1941
North Atlantic
Military Service
30
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Eastlea Newcastle-on-Tyne, England) (148057)
Additional Information
January 1, 1911
Outer Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador
Son of Maurice and Margaret O'Brien, of St. John's, Newfoundland. Husband of Nellie O'Brien.
Brother of Able Seaman Maurice Joseph Francis O'Brien, regimental number C/JX-181095, who died on 2 December 1940 while serving on board HMS Forfar (F30) in the Royal Navy, and of Seaman David O'Brien, regimental number T124T, who drowned on 28 September 1942 while serving on board the Royal Navy tug HMRT Frisky (W11).
On 24 March 1941, at 10:58 pm, U-106 randomly torpedoed into a convoy and hit the Eastlea, which broke up and sank in 10 minutes about 130 miles (209 km) west-north-west of San Antonia, in the Cape Verde Islands, position 15°18'N/22°05'W. The attack took the lives of the 37 sailors on board. The Eastlea was reported missing on 30 March 1941.
Commemorated on Page 202 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 19.
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.
Digital Collection
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Details
Merchant Navy Monument in St. John's, NL -
Details
Dedication
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