A Canadian flag that had been draped over a stone monument at Kamsack’s Cenotaph Park was removed during a ceremony on Sunday afternoon to reveal the HMCS Kamsack Memorial Monument.
“It is my sincere pleasure to extend greetings on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on the occasion of the HMCS Kamsack Memorial Monument dedication,” Lieut.-Gov. Vaughn Solomon Schofield said in a message sent to the Kamsack branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, which headed the project to have the monument erected.
“As time passes, it is becoming increasingly urgent that we record the history of the Second World War,” Schofield said. “It would be tragic, indeed, if the sacrifices of Canadians who served on vessels like the Kamsack were forgotten.
“I am grateful to the Kamsack Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 24 for creating this monument,” she said. “Thank you for honouring the memory of the officers and crew who risked their lives to escort ships during the Battle of the Atlantic.
“Because of this monument, those who served aboard the Kamsack will not be forgotten.
“In the words of our Queen, ‘They will remain forever etched in the hearts of a grateful people and on the pages of our history as symbols of service, honour and dedication. In our minds and in our hearts always, we will remember them.’”
The Kamsack was ordered on February 1, 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program, according to information provided by the Legion branch. “She was laid down” on November 20, 1940 by Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company in Port Arthur, Ont. and launched May 5, 1941. Kamsack was commissioned on October 4, 1941 in Quebec and was paid off on July 22, 1945. She was purchased by the Venezuela Navy and wrecked during passage to Venezuela in December 1945.
Speaking on behalf of Premier Brad Wall and the Government of Saskatchewan, Terry Dennis, MLA for Canora-Pelly, said that despite the province’s geography, the navy has long had a close connection to Saskatchewan.
“Many men and women from this province joined the navy during the Second World War,” Dennis said. “With no real knowledge of what lie ahead, they bravely enlisted in service of their country.
“These people from farms, villages and small towns soon found themselves in the North Atlantic, at a time when Allied supply ships were lost to German U-boats faster than they were being built.
“Some would never make it back home.
“Just two weeks ago our government marked the anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic,” he said. “There could not have been a victory in Europe without victory in the Atlantic.
“Canada’s launch of a major naval recruiting and ship building program would help turn the tide. Today we commemorate the ship named for this community and all those who served on it; those who served in protection and defence of the freedoms and rights that we, as Canadians, enjoy.
“I want to acknowledge the ingenuity and daring of those who first put our armed forces in the water and celebrate the extraordinary women and men who have continued to keep us afloat this past century.
“I also want to thank those who endeavor to remember and celebrate our rich naval heritage,” he said, thanking Jim Woodward and all executive members of the Kamsack Legion.
“You have certainly done that, and so much more, in this, the 90th anniversary of the local branch, and we’re all grateful for the good work you’ve done. That includes this monument and today’s dedication honouring the memory of HMCS Kamsack.”
In his comments, Mayor Rod Gardner talked about how the members of Kamsack Eastern Star had provided support to those who served on the HMCS Kamsack, knitting such items as socks and then sending the ship a washing machine.
In his address, Jim Woodward, president of the Kamsack branch of the Legion, thanked everyone for attending “this momentous event.”
“Seventy-five years ago Kamsack was honoured to have a Canadian vessel named after our town,” Woodward said. “The name Kamsack was from a native word meaning ‘Something vast and large.’
“The Flower-class corvettes like Kamsack were brought in to serve the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War,” he said. They were different from earlier and more traditional corvettes, were named “Flower-class” to designate the class of ship and were named after communities to better represent the people.
There are many stories associated with the Kamsack; many were recorded by Frank Curry, a sailor from this ship, he said. At Kamsack members of the Eastern Star had knitted socks for this crew, sent care packages and letters up to the end, and when HMCS Kamsack was de-commissioned the Eastern Star received the ship’s bell which is in the community.
Canadian corvettes were developed for coastal auxiliary roles that were exemplified by their minesweeping gear, he said. Eventually the Canadian corvettes would be modified to allow them to perform better on the open seas.
The HMCS Kamsack was 205 feet long, and had a ship’s company of six officers and 79 men.
“This monument stands as a testament to the many people that served our country through adverse conditions that we can’t even comprehend today,” he said. “Even though HMCS Kamsack had no one from Kamsack serving on her, the sacrifices made were so that we may enjoy what we have today and have stood us well over many years.
“We see our new heroes, the mere handfuls, the ones that stand to the call to aid us when called on for such events as the devastating fire in Fort Mac. That’s the honour that comes from a monument like this. The hope for a better tomorrow is generated from the sacrifices made in the past.
“In the Royal Canadian Legion we end each meeting with the saying: ‘Lord God of hosts be with us yet. Lest we forget, lest we forget.’”
In his meditation, Rev. Stephen Ruten talked about Frank Curry, who had served on the 200-foot ship which was “a small corvette by modern standards, but as big as one of the biggest ships in ancient times.
“Curry wrote: ‘What a miserable, rotten hopeless life. I cannot imagine a more miserable existence than this of being caught on a corvette in the Atlantic. An Atlantic so rough that it seems impossible that we can continue to take this unending pounding and still remain in one piece. One’s joints ache and ache from the continuous battle of trying to remain upright. There are long, long hours of thinking what it all means. The vastness of the sea is beyond all description, but it does something way down deep inside me.’
“The vastness of the world, including the sea, should stir our worship and our sense of dependence on God.
“Curry wrote in his diary: ‘Saturday, January 24, 1942. Seas are running much rougher and huge swells are rolling us 40 and 50 degrees at a roll. Seamen joked that corvettes were so unstable that they would roll in wet grass.
“‘Thursday, January 29, 1942: Huge seas still running. We ran out of bread today and it will be a diet of hardtack from here on in. British escort arrived at dusk as we are now off the northwest coast of Ireland. We five corvettes gladly turned over our convoy to them and we, the Kamsack, Rimouski, Trail, Trillium and Napanee, headed on alone at full speed.’
“These are the words of just one man of hundreds who did service on the HMCS Kamsack,” he said. “They did faithful service in accompanying convoys of supply ships. They did their bit as we could say, and the corvette named after our town did its service.”
The program for the dedication of the monument, which was created under the guidance and labour of Robert Paluck of Sunset Memorials of Kamsack, included the singing of The Naval Hymn and Heart of Oak by members of the Kamsack Community Choir; the sounding of The Last Post and Reveille; the Act of Remembrance, and laying of wreaths on behalf of the Government of Canada by a member of the Kamsack RCMP, Province of Saskatchewan by Dennis, Town of Kamsack by Mayor Gardner and the Kamsack Legion by John Welykholowa, who had served in the Canadian Navy.
Positioned in the lawn surrounding the monument were 90 white crosses to represent the 90th anniversary of the Kamsack branch.
The reception concluded with the serving of refreshments and the cutting of a special cake at the Legion Hall.
