Son of George Hopson and Wealthy Mable Irene Johnson of Bayfield, Ontario. During the First World War, George enlisted on 8 September 1915 in Toronto, Ontario, with the 84th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, service number 164250. On 11 August 1916 he was transferred to the 75th Battalion and on 5 November 1916 to the 11th Canadian Trench Motor Battery. On 25 February 1917, he was gassed on Vimy Ridge, France, and brought back to England. Repatriated on 18 July 1917, he was demobilized on 16 February 1918. He was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
On 19 February 1941, the Empire Blanda was sailing with convoy HX-107 towards Grangemouth, England, when at 8.18 am, U-69 fired torpedoes in her direction 160 miles (258 km) south of Iceland. The explosion was so powerful that debris fell back onto the submarine. The Empire Blanda sank with her captain, 37 crew members, one gunner and a passage, position 60°45'N/18°36'W.
HALIFAX MEMORIAL Nova Scotia, Canada
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.
Pour plus d’informations, visitez la Commission des sépultures de guerre du Commonwealth (site disponible en anglais seulement).
L’image du coquelicot est une marque déposée de la Légion royale canadienne (Direction nationale) et est utilisée avec sa permission. Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus sur le coquelicot.