Bell commemorates sailors, flyers
In a presentation at Government House on Tuesday, Lt.-gov. Judy Foote accepted the Newfoundland Escort Force Bell commemorating Allied naval and merchant sailors and air personnel who lost their lives between September 1939 and May 1945 while maintaining the vital supply lines from North America to Europe during the Second World War. The Newfoundland Escort Force was established in St. John’s 77 years ago. The presentation culminated a unique international project, 13 years in the making. Since May 2005, members of HMCS Sackville in Halifax, the Royal Naval Association – Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and members of the Crow’s Nest Club in St. John’s have joined forces to connect their wartime port cities with specially crafted ships’ bells. Most recent is the Newfoundland Escort Force Bell, the third and last in the series, following the North Atlantic Convoy Bell, on display in Halifax, and the Newfie-derry Run Bell in Londonderry. The Newfoundland Escort Force Bell will be kept in Government House. Present for the ceremony were representatives from HMCS Sackville, Canada’s Naval Memorial, the Royal Naval Association – Londonderry, and the Crow’s Nest Club. Unveiling the Bell are Jim Reddy (left), captain of the HMCS Sackville, Foote and Second World War veteran and Bomber Command pilot Arthur Barrett, 95, of St. John’s. In the unveiling, they removed the White Ensign flag, which was flown on Canadian and British Ships during the Battle of the Atlantic.