Norman Crewe
Backgrounder
Norman Crewe was born the son of a British merchant mariner in Burgeo, Newfoundland - a separate British dominion at the time. In 1940, Crewe moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and at the insistence of his friends, joined them in the Canadian Merchant Navy which transported vital Allied supplies, equipment, and personnel during the Second World War.
Crewe served a year in the Pacific, then made more than a dozen transatlantic crossings in enemy-infested waters, transporting everything from eggs to munitions and explosives. Crewe experienced the war firsthand, sailing in convoys under enemy attack. The distressing sights and cries of his fellow sailors – whom he could not assist – with their red emergency lights bobbing in icy waters, haunt him still.
Following the war, Crewe worked at the Halifax Dockyard and spent six and a half years back at sea aboard HMCS Sackville during this distinguished corvette’s time as a civilian oceanographic research vessel. A long-time advocate for the rights of Merchant Navy veterans, and with more than half a century of service with the Royal Canadian Legion, Crewe continues to dedicate his time and energy to honouring his fallen comrades.
Norman Crewe and his wife Amelia (Mellie), inseparable since 1946, continue to call Halifax home to this day.
Canada’s Merchant Navy during the Second World War
The oceans were dangerous yet strategically vital trade routes during the Second World War. Merchant navies carried the raw materials, foodstuffs, armaments, and other goods that secured final Allied victory in 1945.
Throughout the war, Canadian, Allied, and neutral merchant fleets lost 4,200 vessels, mainly to enemy action. In excess of 62,900 sailors perished, including more than 1,600 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who are now commemorated with the Sailors Memorial located in Halifax’s Point Pleasant Park as well as in the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance housed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Their sacrifice is also remembered each year during Remembrance Day ceremonies, on Battle of the Atlantic Sunday (first Sunday of May) and on Merchant Navy Veterans Day, observed each 3rd September since 2003.