Veteran Sailor
Municipality/Province: Victoria, BC
Memorial number: 59021-015
Type: Statue - bronze, plaque
Address: 814 Wharf Street
GPS coordinates: Lat: 48.4232027 Long: -123.369153
Captain John Mason was the subject for Artist Nathan Scott's Veteran Sailor statue. Mason served in the Navy during the Second World War and the Korean War. The “square rig” uniform on the sailor statue was worn as a non-commissioned member of the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942. The HMCS Naden headband on his cap is the previous name of CFB Esquimalt, the Royal Canadian Navy`s main base on the Pacific coast.
The newspaper in the Veteran Sailor's hand is of note as it is the front page from ‘The Daily Colonist’, with an image of King George. Nathan used the actual V-E Day extra edition newspaper headlines as his main source.
The statue was commissioned by the Homecoming Statue Committee that was led by then Hon. Capt(N) Cedric Steele MSM CM. The force behind the addition of the statue were RAdm (Ret'd) Ken Summers who was a co- Chair along with Cedric Steele of the Homecoming Statue Committee. The statue was funded by public donations, the sale of commemorative bricks for the site and the sale of miniature statues.
Mason enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve at age 18 in December 1942 as a Stoker 2nd Class and served until he was discharged in 1945. He re-enlisted in 1949 and returned to the Navy as an officer. He later served during the Korean War onboard HMS Kenya. In 1958 onboard HMCS Chaudèrre, he was the first Engineering Officer to become Command Qualified. In July 1964, he took command of HMCS Algonquin, being the first officer of the Engineering Specialization in the history of the Royal Canadian Navy to command a destroyer. In 1972, he was posted to the Defence staff in London, England, and in 1976 to the Canadian Embassy in Oslo as the Naval Attaché for Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Retiring in 1978 at the rank of Captain.
The Veteran Sailor overlooks The Homecoming. It was at The Homecoming unveiling on May 4, 2010, that Captain John Mason arrived in his original uniform. It was decided then that the abundance raised by the Homecoming Statue Committee would be used for a second sculpture of Mason. Nathan was awarded the sculpture immediately and the Veteran Sailor was unveiled exactly a year later on May 4, 2011.
Inscription found on memorial
[plaque]
Founded in 1910, Canada's Naval Service wore the same uniform as the Royal Navy. The traditional "sailor suit" included bell bottom trousers, jumper, flannel "gun shirt" and square collar. The uniform was completed with a lanyard, silk, and a round cap with a ribbon that during peacetime identified the sailor's ship. In 1968 Canada adopted a single uniform for both officers and non-commissioned members of the Canadian Forces.
THE "VETERAN SAILOR"
The statue is of John Mason who enrolled in the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve at age 18 in 1942 as a Stoker 2nd Class. After serving in the North Atlantic for the duration of the Second World War he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto and returned to the Navy in 1949 as an officer. He later served during the Korean conflict. In 1964 he was the first Engineering Officer to command a destroyer. He retired in 1978 at the rank of Captain.
Street view
Note
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