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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Adrien Poitras

In memory of:

Able Seaman Adrien Poitras

February 6, 1941
North Atlantic

Military Service


Age:

51

Force:

Merchant Navy

Unit:

Canadian Merchant Navy

Division:

S.S. Maplecourt (Montréal, Québec) (141766)

Citation(s):

British War Medal, Victory Medal

Additional Information


Born:

January 9, 1890
Mont-Louis, Quebec

His full name is Théophile Adrien Poitras.

Son of Théophile Poitras and Marguerite Henely from Mont-Louis, Québec.

During the First World War, he enlisted on 22 March 1918 with the 1st Central Ontario Regiment, regimental number 3034344. In England, he was transferred to the War Burial Detachment on 17 May 1919 and on the 18th crossed into France to carry out this arduous task. Repatriated to Canada on 23 August 1919, he was demobilized on the 25th in Quebec City, Quebec.

A member of convoy SC-20, this ship was torpedoed at 13:53 on 6 February 1941 by U-107 and sank 120 miles (193 km) west of Rockall, an isolated rock between Ireland and Iceland, position 55°39'N/15°56'W.

Commemorated on Page 212 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 18.

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

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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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