North Sea

The Second World War

Date

1939 - 1945

Geographical parameters

The North Sea and all waters to the eastward, between Southend and the Shetland Islands, except coastal waters of Norway.

Context

Eligible to all “ships which were employed as escorts to coastal convoys on the East Coast of the United Kingdom. Also ships and submarines which were employed on patrol duty in the area and took part in a successful action.” An area battle honour formally entitled “North Sea 1939-1945” with year dates according to the service of the unit concerned ^{Footnote 1}.

Description

With the German occupation of Holland, Belgium and France in 1940, the eastern coast of the United Kingdom became a dangerous place for Allied shipping. Not until the Allied landings in 1944 had secured large portions of the continent would there be any great deal of coastal shipping to be found in these waters.

On 16 February 1945 Escort Group 9 was escorting a convoy southwards through the Firth of Moray when HMCS Saint John picked up a radar contact. The contact proved to be a bottomed U-boat and Saint John laid down a pattern of depth charges that brought oil and wreckage to the surface. The victim was U 309, although it took some time for this to be established; it would prove to be the fifth U-boat sunk by the Canadian ships of Escort Group 9.

Awarded to:

Ships in commission

• HMCS Calgary - 1945 ^{Footnote 2}

Ships not currently in commission

• HMCS Alberni - 1944 ^{Footnote 3}
• HMCS Annan - 1944 ^{Footnote 4}
• HMCS Camrose - 1944 ^{Footnote 5}
• HMCS Copper Cliff - 1944 ^{Footnote 6}
• HMCS La Hulloise - 1945 ^{Footnote 7}
• HMCS Monnow - 1945 ^{Footnote 8}
• HMCS Nene - 1945 ^{Footnote 9}
• HMCS Orkney - 1945 ^{Footnote 10}
• HMCS Port Colborne - 1945 ^{Footnote 11}
• HMCS Restigouche - 1940 ^{Footnote 12}
• HMCS Saint John - 1945 ^{Footnote 13}
• HMCS Ste. Thérèse - 1945 ^{Footnote 14}
• HMCS Sorel - 1942 ^{Footnote 15}
• HMCS Thetford Mines - 1945 ^{Footnote 16}