Canadian Virtual War Memorial
Robert Nathaniel Laird
In memory of:
Utilityman Robert Nathaniel Laird
November 14, 1941
North Atlantic
Military Service
19
Merchant Navy
Canadian Merchant Navy
S.S. Crusader (Panama) (220650)
Additional Information
June 11, 1922
Verdun, Montréal, Quebec
Son of Herbert Francis Laird and Mary Downey of Verdun, today Montréal, Québec.
The Crusader was to join the SC-53 convoy, but due to fog she never did. On 14 November 1941, at 03:37, she received three torpedoes from U-561 and sank in the North Atlantic, position 49°30'N/37°15'W. The only survivor out of a crew of 34, Edward Barreto, of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was taken prisoner and brought to the Marlag und Milag Nord camp at Westertimke, north-east of Bremen, Germany. Upon her liberation in 1945, the story of this freighter will be known.
Commemorated on Page 273 of the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.
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