Biographical Data

Ballantyne, William Hamilton Melrose

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Photo Credit: Unknown

 
 
Title Lieutenant (RCNR)
Official Number O-04130
 
Birth 18/11/1908 Death 14/04/1993
Place Victoria Place Campbell River
Area BC Area BC
Country Canada Country Canada
 
Titles
Honours
Awards
Qualifications
 
Biography
)He was qualified as a Secord Mate 1930.)
 
Military Service
He was appointed as a Coxswain (Fishermen's Reserve Section) RCNR (With seniority dated 25/07/1941). He served in HMCS Allaverdy as Second Coxswain 1941. (Transferred from Fishermen's Reserve Section to RCNR 12/03/1942) He was appointed as a Mate (Temp.) RCNR (With seniority dated 13/03/1942). He served in HMCS Allaverdy as Mate 1942. He served in HMCS Wolf. He served in HMCS Edmundston. He served in HMCS Givenchy. He was appointed as a Lieutenant (Temp.) RCNR (Seniority dated 13/09/1943 with seniority later backdated to 13/09/1942). In 1944 he served in HMCS Givenchy III for Combined Operations School (Navy) in Courtenay BC. On 22/11/1943 he served in HMCS Stadacona for passage to the United Kingdom for appointment as Combined Operations Training Officer 25/11/1943 He served in HMCS Niobe as Training Officer 11/1944. He served in HMC LCI (L) 277 (In command) 260th Landing Craft Infantry (Large) Flotilla for Operation Neptune 1944. In 10/1944 he served in HMCS Givenchy III for demobilization. (He was demobilized.)
 
Vessels Owned
Aircraft Flown
Named Features
 
Anecdotes
Pete Ballantyne reports that "At the age of 16 became a “cadet” or midshipman with the Canadian Government Merchant Marine serving aboard the SS Canadian Miller. At the end of his apprenticeship and while visiting his Mother at her summer cottage on Cortez Island, BC the depression hit and the Government mothballed and sold off the CGMM fleet. The depression years were spent working on towboats, logging, fishing-whatever there was that would keep food on the table. When war broke out The Navy said that they didn’t need him right away but he later joined the Fishermen’s Reserve. He was serving in HMCS Edmunston (K106) and was aboard K-106 on 20/ 06/42 when she rescued 31 crew members of SS Fort Camosun, disabled by a torpedo from the Japanese submarine I-25 off the coast of Washington. With the disbandment of the Fishermen's Reserve he elected to stay with the Navy and was posted to Courtenay/Comox, BC as the Navel Training Officer for the Combined Operations training facility located in the Comox Valley. After the war he worked in the logging industry before returning to the marine sector as a commercial fisherman. In the early 1970s he saw the future of the commercial fishing industry and didn’t like what he saw so he took advantage of the first Government fish boat “buyback” program and retired from the marine trade. In his retirement years he became an accomplished wood carver working mainly with Australian Gum Wood from 100 year old pilings salvaged from the Whaletown (Cortez Island)BC wharf. "
 
References
Government of Canada The Canadian Navy List Ottawa ON; Email Communication (Pete Ballantyne - Nauticapedia 05/11/2015);
Last update
2017-07-02 00:00:00

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