A Legacy of Individualism

Cullen A. Bird, Grade 12, Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School, Burlington, Ontario

by Cullen A. Bird, Grade 12, Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School,
Burlington, Ontario

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There is nothing more challenging than creating something from nothing. For the Canadian Navy, 1910 to 1939 was a time in which it was struggling for its own identity. In the face of constant uncertainty the Royal Canadian Navy evolved to personify a service branch that followed British traditions but possessed uniquely Canadian attributes, a force that in time won the hearts of Canada’s government and public. During its infancy the navy was exemplified by individuals, not always Canadian-born but Canadian in heart, who ensured its survival and growth.

The political will that drove the navy stemmed from the need to defend a country surrounded by oceans on three sides. It began as the Fishery Protection Service, which was charged with the task of preventing illegal fishing in Canadian waters. This evolved into a national naval force with the introduction of the Naval Services Act on 10 January 1910 by the Liberal government of Wilfrid Laurier.1 The prime minister set the tone for the navy’s development by acquiring two warships in the same year, the cruisers Niobe and Rainbow. This began a legacy of swift action that would be repeated four years later.

It was a group of exceptional individuals who made the quick decisions necessary to ensure the safety of Canada during the navy’s first thirty years. This can is clearly exemplified by the acquisition of the submarines CC1 and CC2 at the outset of WWI. On July 29th, 1914, J.V. Paterson of the Seattle Construction and Drydock Company offered to sell two Chilean-contracted submarines to the Canadian government.2 What it came down to was a hurried purchase of the craft under the noses of Chilean and American authorities. British Columbia premier Sir Richard McBride hurriedly exchanged telegrams with Ottawa before approving a B.C. treasury cheque to buy the submersibles in secret.2 On the night of August 4th, 1914, the same day the war broke out, the two submarines “hoisted the White Ensign” and set course for Esquimalt, B.C.2 At the time of the purchase U.S. President Wilson was in the very act of signing the neutrality proclamation that would ban such transactions.2 Such a move clearly showed both government and navy as able to unite in times of great difficulty to do what was best for Canada, despite the self-interested nations who opposed them.

It was not only the government who was inclined to taking unorthodox steps to build a navy. World War I would see other examples of tremendous initiative, this time coming from Canadian businessmen. Chief of Naval Staff Charles Kingsmill used the Toronto financier Aemilius Jarvis’s connections in the United States to secure several large American yachts.3 Jack Ross, a Montreal millionaire, bought his way into the navy after being rejected on medical grounds. He purchased the high-speed, 153-foot-long yacht Tarantula in 1914 and donated her to the RCN.3 He was promoted to lieutenant, commanding the ship he had just purchased. With Canada at the time unable to build its own warships such patriotic initiative was invaluable. It was these converted yachts and other vessels of the St. Lawrence patrol which gave Canada’s east coast any measure of protection against the German U-boats.

Beyond swift action made necessary by impending war, the Canadian Navy has a history of outstanding visionary ability in lean years of peace. This legacy was given to it by Chief of Naval Staff Walter Hose. In the midst of a shrinking post-WWI economy, the Naval Act of 1922 reduced the personnel of the Canadian Navy to 366 officers Cullen A. Bird and men, and closed the Royal Naval College for lack of funding.4 Faced with a much reduced budget Chief of Naval Staff Walter Hose decided to focus his meager resources on the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve. He was convinced that this would increase support for the Navy and keep its values alive through the hard times. Captain Vernon W. Howland, RCN, wrote of his experience as an officer in the RCNVR:

Most of the officers of the Division spent many hours of each week working at the barracks on various projects . . . . It must be emphasized that this was done with virtually NO MONEY. No one got paid, no money was available for the bits and pieces needed to build training aids. The officers reached into their already thin wallets and the chiefs and petty officers “liberated” bits and pieces from places of employment.5

That there were men willing to keep the naval traditions alive on their own time and without pay was an astounding testament to the naval enthusiasm in Canada, and reflected well on Walter Hose’s prediction. He would save the navy a second time before his retirement during the Great Depression. In 1933 the Treasury Board proposed cutting the 1933-1934 naval budget from $2.422 million to $0.422 million, but Hose argued so firmly against it that the proposal was dropped.5 The navy twice came close to being eradicated in all but name, yet a single man changed its history through sheer force of personality.

World War II lay ahead as the early era of the Royal Canadian Navy drew to a close in 1939. The Navy had progressed from two outdated cruisers and a mismatched collection of armed fishing vessels to a fleet of six modern destroyers and four mine sweepers.6 This navy’s identity and character would be shaped further in the coming years, but it would keep to core principles shown by earlier individuals, principles of determination, individual initiative, and service above self. The infancy of the RCN was dominated by uncertainty and necessity, two extremes that were handled admirably by the men who served the navy. These men left a legacy of distinguishing qualities that the Canadian Navy will continue to draw on today.