A Second World War veteran in Sydney says he has no regrets about quitting school to join Canada’s war effort.
Ninety-seven year old George Cann signed up for the Merchant Marines in 1941 at 14 years old. He sailed on more than a dozen ships delivering supplies to the Allied forces in Europe.
More than 220 of their ships were destroyed by German U-Boats after departing Sydney Harbour before the war ended in 1945.
Cann says although he survived, one “horrific” memory stands out. He helped remove the remains of crews killed when a merchant vessel and oil tanker collided near Newfoundland in heavy fog. CKOA spoke with Cann about his service.
A monument at Sydney Harbour pays tribute to the Merchant Navy’s service during the Second World War. Roughly 1, 500 seamen were killed during the conflict between 1935 to 1945.
