HMCS Red Deer: Minesweeper, Rescuer, Survivor

“The ship was built as a minesweeper, but we didn’t have many cases of mines being laid in Canadian waters,” explains Red Deer historian (and now city councillor) Michael Dawe. “It was mainly used as an escort for the convoys that were going around the Atlantic Ocean.”

Not only did the HMCS Red Deer outlast the Battle of the Atlantic, it played a hero’s role on January 12, 1942 near the shores of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia.

The SS Cyclops, a steam merchant, had been sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat. While an estimated 87 crew members died, the Red Deer rescued 95 others.

Rescue of the survivors of the sinking of the SS Cyclops, Jan. 2, 1942. (Red Deer Digital Archives, P7542)

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill once said World War Il would not have been won if it weren’t for the heroic Navy.

“The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war,” Churchill said. “Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome.”

Dawe says ships like the HMCS Red Deer made it possible for merchant vessels to get supplies overseas.

“The German U-boat activity had been very severe. The Allies were losing just massive amounts of ships and they came up with this idea of convoys where they would go in groups, and there would be escort ships that would go out and try to fend off submarines,” says Dawe. “There was still incredible loss of life, but the losses were much reduced with the success of the convoys.”

Ultimately, the Red Deer would provide escort from Newfoundland in the north to Bermuda in the south.

The HMCS Red Deer also provided surveillance of German U-boats during the battle of the St. Lawrence which was the first time an enemy had inflicted casualties in Canadian inland waters since the U.S. did so during the War of 1812.

Dawe says despite there being only two locals who served on the Red Deer, residents built a strong connection with the crew.

Officers of the HMCS Red Deer. (Red Deer Digital Archives, P7537)

“The community kept in real touch and they sort of adopted the ship. They would send gifts or little parcels to the ship’s people,” he says. “Lt. Arthur Moorehouse would keep the mayor and council and the community informed of what they were doing and it ended up being a very warm relationship.”

Petty Officer Jack Ralston, born in Brandon, Manitoba, eventually became a resident of Red Deer and was the first local recognized as having served on the HMCS Red Deer. His sister Margaret Bedard, who now lives near Vancouver, says the family grew up in north Red Deer.

“When he’d come home on leave, we were big shots because we lived in north Red Deer, and they weren’t always big shots back then,” she quipped.

“He enjoyed being on the boat and he was happy to be in the service. When they’d gone on one rescue, they couldn’t pick up survivors, they just had to plow through them because a German submarine was nearby. He said that was awful not being able to stop and pick them up.”

Following his service, Ralston spent several years working for the District of North Vancouver before passing away in Coquitlam, B.C. in 1986.

Ralston’s cousin, James Layton Ralston, served as Canada’s Minister of Defence from 1926-1930 and again from 1940-1944 while HMCS Red Deer was in action.

A letter from Jack Ralston to his mother, dated Sept. 5, 1940, while serving on the HMCS Annapolis, prior to the commissioning of the HMCS Red Deer. (Stuart Bedard)

Jack Ralston was long thought to be the only Red Deerian to have served on the Red Deer. It was later determined another, Metro “Matty” Makoweichuk. had also worked on that ship as a coal stoker.

Makoweichuk was born Aug. 5, 1919 in Alberta’s Smoky Lake District. One of his sons, Mike, says his father was happy for having been able to serve.

“He was also happy to be able to return alive; Remembrance Day was always important to him,” Mike told rdnewsNOW from his home in Calgary.

Mike added the cenotaph in downtown Red Deer held a special place in Matty’s heart, saying his father was overjoyed when the community came together to prevent it from being relocated when the City once pondered the future of Ross Street.

Makoweichuk passed away August 26, 1981 and was laid to rest in the Field of Honour at Red Deer Cemetery.

The bell of the HMCS Red Deer. (Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery)

Don Jackman was another Red Deerian who volunteered with the Navy League of Canada following World War ll. Jackman organized a reunion for those who served on the HMCS Red Deer at the Red Deer Legion in 1987. Michael Dawe was there and recalls that it was well-attended.

The HMCS Red Deer was decommissioned on October 30, 1945. It was then placed in strategic reserve in Quebec and retrofitted for further service. However, it would wind up being scrapped in 1959.

In April 1947, following WWII, the original bell from the HMCS Red Deer was presented to former Red Deer Mayor H.W. Halladay. The bell would go on to be used for a number of years by the 126 Red Deer Sea Cadets, and eventually found a home at the Red Deer Museum.

It’s now also used by the Red Deer Legion during annual Remembrance Day ceremonies.

rdnewsNOW offers a special thanks to Michael Dawe, the City of Red Deer, Bev Hanes at the Red Deer Legion, Valerie Miller with the Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery, the Red Deer and District Archives, the Bedards (Ralston), and the Makoweichuks for their contributions to this story.

by Josh Hall | @Vancan19

HMCS Red Deer: Minesweeper, Rescuer, Survivor

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