# Dedication of Battle of the Atlantic Memorial Garden



## Mainz (23 Mar 2010)

New Naval Monument to Honour Those Lost
in The Battle of the Atlantic

	The Officers and Crew of London’s Naval Division, HMCS Prevost, The Naval Officers Association of Canada, London Branch, and the Royal Canadian Naval Association, London Branch announce the dedication of the Battle of the Atlantic Memorial Garden.
	The dedication will take place during the Battle of the Atlantic Ceremony on Sunday, 2 May 2010 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at HMCS Prevost in London, Ontario.
	The Battle of the Atlantic Memorial Garden will be registered as a Canadian Military Memorial, and will be open to the public. It will be a stunning and moving memorial, created with extreme gratitude, for those who made the supreme sacrifice and whose final resting places cannot be marked by graves. 
	The memorial garden will be built into the grass hillside at HMCS Prevost. The grass will eventually be removed, and replaced with a 'sea' of creeping blue phlox. This is a ground cover which blooms a brilliant blue from early spring through mid summer. Across this garden, from west to east, will be a 'convoy' of 25 blue granite stones. Each stone will be engraved with the name of a Royal Canadian Navy ship which was lost during the Battle of the Atlantic. The date that each ship was lost will also be engraved on the stone. There will be a stone honouring the sacrifice of the Merchant Navy. These stones will be strategically placed according to the date of their sinking. Walking at the base of the hillside you will begin with the HMCS Fraser in June of 1940 and end with the HMCS Esquimalt in April of 1945.
	I am attaching images of the hillside as it is now, still covered with grass, and wooden stakes marking the future location of each stone. We are waiting anxiously for the weather to clear and the ground to dry, so that installation may continue. The stones will be in place for dedication during the Battle of the Atlantic Ceremony. 
	We anticipate a dignitary filled dedication of the garden during the ceremony in May. This is a great way to celebrate the Canadian Navy Centennial year of 2010. 

-30-
Note: News Directors/Editors:  For further information please contact:
Naval Cadet David Lewis, HMCS Prevost Public Affairs Representative at (519) 660-5296 david.lewis@forces.gc.ca


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## Snakedoc (24 Mar 2010)

Looks great, I look forward to seeing pictures of the final product!


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## Mainz (24 Mar 2010)

Lots of emails with lots of questions.

I quickly put up a webpage with up to date details.

Check out at

http://www.boamemorialgarden.com/


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## Edward Campbell (27 Apr 2010)

A reminder of the event which will happen this coming Sunday:






BZ to NOAC London and HMCS Prevost for this timely initiative.

I will attend; so will at least one other Navy.ca member - MARS. I hope some other members will attend, too.


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## Edward Campbell (12 Nov 2010)

Some of us, members of Milnet.ca, were involved in this project in one way or another. This report is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from _The Maple Leaf_:

http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/commun/ml-fe/article-eng.asp?id=6579 


> HMCS Prevost ‘hallowed ground’
> 
> by N/Cdt David Lewis
> 
> ...




This is a worthy project and we thank The Captain and Ship's Company of _HMCS Prevost_ and the London Branch of the Naval Officers' Association of Canada for their efforts. It is much appreciated.


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## mariomike (12 Nov 2010)

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> This is a worthy project and we thank The Captain and Ship's Company of _HMCS Prevost_ and the London Branch of the Naval Officers' Association of Canada for their efforts. It is much appreciated.



It certainly is.  The Naval Hymn came to mind when I read the story and saw the photos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnm-4kSLKdI
( I could not find a Canadian version. )


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## Edward Campbell (12 Nov 2010)

There is rather a lot of _appropriate_ music. For me, the first that comes to mind are anthems based on Psalm 107 (_They that go down to the sea in ships ..._). Of these Purcell's is, doubtless, the best known but I prefer Herbert Sumsion's modern anthem; perhaps its only because I can restrain my enthusiasm for the whole baroque thing.


Edit: spelling   :-[


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## Snakedoc (13 Nov 2010)

Great article by SLt Lewis and excellent project by HMCS Prevost and all those involved!


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## Stoker (14 Nov 2010)

Quite a fitting tribute to the ships and men lost.


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## Kat Stevens (14 Nov 2010)

Nice work, very nice story.  Now pack it all up and move it to Ottawa.







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