The Royal Canadian Navy
approaches its centenary year in 2010, the time is right for a retrospective look at some of the individuals who have played an influential role in shaping its past - and by extension, its present and future.
  Individuals like Henry William Bruce, who in the 1850s was instrumental in starting the first on-shore base for Britain's Royal Navy (RN) at Esquimalt, BC (now the home of Canada's navy on the West Coast). Esquimalt was part of a worldwide network of coaling stations vital to the Royal Navy's defense of the British Empire.
  Bruce's long career spanned the days of sail as a boy seaman in Nelson's navy to the emergence of Canada's fledgling navy on the west coast.
  Without the tenacity of Walter Hose, it is debatable whether Canada's Navy would even exist today, much less be on the verge of celebrating its first century. Rear Admiral Hose fought many battles to ensure the survival of the fledgling Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), in his words "the Ugly Duckling" of Canadian National Defense. More info available...

Royal Canadian Navy 2010 Centennial Events

Click this link to get an overview of Centennial events across Canada. More info available...

Getting "Tiddley"
There is nothing uniform about uniforms. Their purpose may be to impose group identity on the individual, but in practice the need to be distinct often wins out over uniformity.  Canadian sailors, like sailors the world over, have devoted much attention to the business of appearing   More...

British Columbia's Submarine Fleet
Only days before the outbreak of World War One, in the summer of 1914, British Columbia (BC) was offered a unique chance to make a substantial contribution to the defense of Canada's vulnerable West Coast.   More...

Chapter and Verse
There was a well-founded tradition in the Royal Navy and in the Royal Canadian Navy of using Biblical quotations as shorthand for sending messages.  Many pithy, witty or just plain snippy words to the wise were relayed via Biblical quotes, which had the virtue of being concise, to the   More...

Christening Bells
For centuries, ship's bells have played both a practical and symbolic role in the life of naval vessels and their crews. One of the most memorable traditions for sailors and their families involves the use of ship's bells as baptismal fonts for shipboard christenings. Children of the ship's company baptized according to More...

Rear Admiral Walter Hose
is the man credited with saving the Canadian navy. During his watch as Director of the Naval Service (DNS), then as Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), 1921-1934, Hose fought many battles to ensure the survival of the fledgling RCN, in his words "the Ugly Duckling" of Canadian National Defense. More...