HMCS Louisburg

I had received this comment on my blog Souvenirs de guerre…

Someone had written this comment:

My father, who survived the sinking of HCMS Louisbourg in the Mediterrean  in 1943, did not have very happy memories of the contemptuous and injust way Quebec sailors were treated on their ships and even after the war.

My father sustained an injury to his backbone, and his lungs were affected by toxic fumes caused by the fire on board the ship. This French-Canadian who was decorated never received a war veteran pension and we had to live in poverty until we settled in Sept-Îles during the industrial and housing boom of the town.

My father was even sent to the brig in Gibraltar because he defended himself against a Canadian who was constantly insulting him and other francophone crew members!!!

My father died in 1973.

This person never wrote back.

I went on sailing on Google and found a lot of pictures.

Here are a few…

HCMS Louisburg…

This how it was called, HMCS Louisburg and not Louisbourg.

Here is a painting I also caught in a net on the Net…

This is a list of sailors who died.

Flower Class Corvette
Builder: Morton Engineering and Dry Dock, Quebec City PQ
Commissioned: 2 Oct 1941
Fate: Torpedoed off Oran 6 Feb 1943
Casualties: 2 officers, 35 ratings, 5 RN

The Casualty Roll

AB	ALDRED	L.	V 22924	RCNVR	ONT,TORONTO
STO 1	ANDERSON	A.F.	V 14692	RCNVR	BC,VANCOUVER
L/SIG	ANDERSON	C.F.	V 8276	RCNVR	ONT,HAMILTON
OS	ANNABLE	G.C.	V 33367	RCNVR	QUE,MONTREAL
AB	BANKS	M.A.	A 4891	RCNR	BC,VANCOUVER
AB	BENJAMIN	S.	V 2320	RCNVR	NB,ST JOHN
AB	BETTESS	E.	V 24438	RCNVR	MAN,WINNIPEG
L/CDR	CAMPBELL	W.F.	O 11898	RCNVR	SASK,SASKATOON
STO 1	COURNOYER	R.	V 4453	RCNVR	QUE,MONTREAL
ERA 4	FORREST	G.A.C.	V 33125	RCNVR	QUE,MONTREAL
ERA 4	GARDEN	R.V.	V 25691	RCNVR	NS,ENFIELD
OS	GAUVIN	J.M.R.	V 35564	RCNVR	QUE,MONTREAL
TEL	GILBERT	W.M.	V 13821	RCNVR	ALTA,CALGARY
AB	GRAVES	C.S.	A 1369	RCNR	NS,NEW GLASGOW
AB	GRIFFIN	E.F.	V 22559	RCNVR	ONT,TORONTO
AB	HALL	J.	V 18600	RCNVR	ONT,BELLEVILLE
AB	LEWIS	W.E.	V 1595	RCNVR	PEI,ALBERTON
STO 1	MacGREGOR	D.	V 19596	RCNVR	ONT,WINDSOR
SIG	MacLEOD	G.I.	V 319	RCNVR	NS,SYDNEY
STO 1	MacPHAIL	S.J.	V 456	RCNVR	NS,PICTOU
CODER	MacPHAIL	J.A.	V 1588	RCNVR	PEI,QUEENS CO
AB	McCLELLAN	J.F.	4612	RCN	SASK,MOOSE JAW
LS	MacDONALD	D.M.	V 6251	RCNVR	ONT,OTTAWA
AB	McDONALD	R.J.	V 11491	RCNVR	SASK,SASKATOON
CERA	McNEILL	D.	V 23718	RCNVR	QUE,VERDUN
CODER	MERRYWEATHER	H.	V 12751	RCNVR	ALTA,EDMONTON
OS	MORIN	J.G.E.V.	V 3985	RCNVR	QUE,LEVIS
O/TEL	NINIAN	T.M.	V 13776	RCNVR	ALTA,CALGARY
SIG	PATERSON	R.L.	V 24617	RCNVR	MAN,WINNIPEG
STO 2	RICE	S.N.	V 31943	RCNVR	ONT,TORONTO
TEL	ROBINSON	E.	V 22987	RCNVR	ONT,TORONTO
PO TEL	SMITH	A.J.	V 9368	RCNVR	MAN,WINNIPEG
L/S	STEVENSON	J.C.R.	V 5282	RCNVR	NS,HALIFAX
AB	TANNER	J.A.	V 22913	RCNVR	ONT,SAULT STE MARIE
AB	VIKSTROM	J.R.	V 33099	RCNVR	QUE,MONTREAL
STO	WATSON	N.R.	V 9654	RCNVR	MAN,WINNIPEG
LT	WILSON	E.	O 78775	RCNR	ONT,OTTAWA

The HCMS Louisbourg was part of the Flower class.

HCMS Levis

It was built by Morton Engineering and Dry Dock, in Québec. It was commissioned on October 2, 1941.
The Louisbourg was torpedoed off the coast of Oran on February 6, 1943.