‘It’s a date that’s never forgotten to us’
Memorial service held to honour 75th anniversary of the sinking of the S.S. Caribou
Nancy Kendall, Cassie Melnick and Kathleen Zegray couldn’t help but tear up when their grandmother was spoken of on Friday.
Gertrude Strickland was one of 136 people who died when the S.S. Caribou sank in the early morning hours of Oct. 14, 1942.
Strickland had travelled to North Sydney from Newfoundland with her husband, William Strickland, and daughters Catherine, Vera and Abigail.
Catherine had a doctor’s appointment in Cape Breton, however the appointment was delayed, forcing her to remain in North Sydney while her family returned to Rose Blanche, N.L., on Oct. 13.
But that would be the last time she would see her mother and two sisters.
The S.S. Caribou, a passenger steamship, left North Sydney for Port aux Basque, N.L. with some 237 passengers and crew around 9:30 p.m. that day. Hours later, at 3:40 a.m. on Oct. 14, the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat, which was patrolling the Gulf of St. Lawrence, sinking the ship and killing 136 people; 101 people survived.
“In the family story, Getrude was holding both her daughters and Mr. Strickland was holding on to her,” said Nancy Kendall, speaking of the moments leading to the sinking. “Because of the darkness and the confusion, they could only hold on for so long and, based on Mr. Strickland’s story (who survived the incident), he lost the grip of nanny’s hand and then his family was gone.”
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the marine tragedy and to honour the day, the North Sydney Historical Society held a memorial service at its museum in North Sydney on Friday.
More than 100 people attended the special service, including members of the Royal Canadian Legion as well as local residents and relatives of those lost in the sinking.
Ron MacDonald, a member of the North Sydney Historical Society, was overwhelmed by the turnout for the service.
“I’m so glad that we were able to do this as a historical society,” said MacDonald, who was in Grade 4 at the time of the sinking. “The Caribou was a real part of North Sydney — it was her home port — this was the connecting link to Newfoundland, which wasn’t part of Canada at the time.”
Kendall, who is a cousin to sisters Melnick and Zegray, said their mothers, who weren’t on the ship at the time of the sinking, never talked about the Caribou.
“It was so emotional for them and heartbreaking that they wouldn’t say a word about it and didn’t want to talk about it,” she said. “They kept thinking about their mother and sisters during the years, wondering what they would look like and whatnot, but never spoke about the sinking.”
Friday’s service began with the singing of Canada’s national anthem, followed by remarks by Joe Meaney, chairman of the North Sydney Historical Society, as well as MacDonald, who narrated the event.
The service also included musical selections by members of the St. Matthew Wesley Church choir.
Throughout the service, MacDonald read bits and pieces from the book titled “Night of the Caribou” by Douglas How, and during that time mentioned Gertrude Strickland, which brought tears to the eyes of Kendall, Melnick and Zegray.
“It was emotional for sure,” said Kendall. “It was bringing back a lot of memories for us because we asked growing up for more details about the sinking, and as our mothers got older, we really wanted to know the story in order to hand it down to our grandchildren.”
Today, the three continue to follow the sinking of the S.S. Caribou.
“It’s part of our history — it had such an impact on our family and it’s something that you never forget,” said Melnick. “Although we never new our grandmother or our two aunts, it means a lot to us. Pictures of them are in our homes all the time and when you look at them, you’re always thinking about them.”
“It’s a date that’s never forgotten to us.”
Zegray said her mother, who was originally from Newfoundland, enjoyed travelling to the province, but she was always afraid getting on the ferry.
“It was extremely hard on her,” she said. “She loved going to Newfoundland, but she was so afraid of water.”
MacDonald said the ceremony was emotional for all in attendance.
“I almost had tears myself,” he said. “When you think of the people dying because they had no way out of it, it’s not their fault, they were just there at the time it happened.”
To this day, when Melnick, a Glace Bay native, sees a Marine Atlantic ferry travelling to Newfoundland, she instantly thinks of the S.S. Caribou sinking.
“It reminded my mother of the sinking as well,” she said. “It’s something we all will never forget for as long as we live.”