Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Charles Francis O'Neill
In memory of:
Fireman Charles Francis O'Neill
January 21, 1944
London, England
Military Service
45
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Botwey (Liverpool, England) (147357)
War Service Badge Class A, British War Medal, Victory Medal.
Additional Information
May 25, 1898
Dublin, Ireland
Son of Francis O’Neill and Mary Charlotte Josephine Adams of Truro, Nova Scotia. Husband of Hazel Brunt of Truro. Father of Reginald Francis, George Alfred, of Gunner Russell Charman, service number F-79532, in the 3rd Battery of the 5th Anti-Armor Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery, killed in action on 10 August 1944 in France, Carl Manly , Vincent Leonard, Lilian Marion and Helen Vera O'Neill.
During the First World War, Charles Francis enlisted on 29 May 1917 in Truro, Nova Scotia, at the Nova Scotia Forestry Depot, service number 2329541. He fought in France with the 75th Company of the Canadian Forestry Corps. He was discharged on 13 March 1919 in Halifax.
He died on 21 January 1944 at Dalwich Hospital in London, England, possibly from injuries sustained when his ship, the SS Botwey, was torpedoed on 26 July 1941 by U-141, 365 miles (588 km) away from Bloody Foreland, in the North Atlantic, position 55°42'N/09°53'W. There were no casualties.
Commemorated on Page 203 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 23.
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
Photo of CHARLES FRANCIS O'NEILL – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
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