Trident June 29 2009 - Tridentnews.ca

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TRIDENT, JUNE 29, 2009
Pilgrimage will mark 40th
anniversary of HMCS Kootenay crisis
The aluminum casing of the starboard gearbox has been
ruptured by the explosion.
The heat of the fire was so intense that it melted this engine
room ladder, which made access to the engine room by fire
fighting crews more difficult.
A funeral service, presumably on the quarterdeck of
Saguenay in Plymouth. Note Kootenay in the background,
with scorch marks on her starboard side amidships.
By Virginia Beaton
Trident staff
October 23, 2009 will be
the 40th anniversary of
the fire and explosion onboard
HMCS Kootenay.
During the Kootenay 40
Plymouth Pilgrimage, a group
of survivors of that incident
will travel to Plymouth, UK
to commemorate the Canadian
Navy’s worst peacetime
accident, which took place
off Plymouth on October
23, 1969.
Paying tribute to the fallen
is one of the three reasons
behind the pilgrimage,
according to Capt(N) (ret’d)
John Montague, who was a
young officer onboard the
ship during the fire. Montague
is a member of the ad
hoc committee that formed in
late 2007 to examine the possibility
of a 40th anniversary
event for Kootenay survivors.
“We had to leave behind
eight of our shipmates who
were killed in what is termed
the Kootenay tragedy,” Montague
stated.
Montague noted that at that
time, CF members who died
while serving abroad could
not be repatriated to Canada.
Four of Kootenay’s crew were
buried in Brookwood Cemetery
outside London, four
were buried at sea and another
died onboard Bonaventure
during the trip back to Halifax.
The government changed
its policy regarding repatriation
of fallen CF members
not long afterwards, Montague
observed.
Another reason for the pilgrimage
is “after 40 years, to
thank the wonderful citizens
of Plymouth. There are so
many stories about how they
looked after us, before and
after the accident.”
The third reason, according
to Montague, is for the survivors
finally to come to
terms with the accident, many
years after it took place. “A
lot of us haven’t found closure
yet. We’re hoping that
going to the cemetery where
we left our shipmates just
might help with that.”
Committee member Russell
Saunders, formerly a
marine onboard Kootenay,
traveled to the UK in fall 2008
to meet with members of the
regional Royal Naval Association
(RNA) and to arrange
logistics for the 2009 trip.
According to Saunders, the
Kootenay group will depart
from Halifax on October 1,
arriving early on October 2.
They will attend a graveside
service with a CF padre in
Brookwood that day.
While some former Kootenays
have attended the memorial
ceremony held at DCTF
Kootenay each year, others
have not. According to Saunders,
after the accident in
1969, some members of the
ship’s company were recovering
in hospital from the fire
and unable to attend any
funerals for their comrades.
“This will be the first Kootenay
funeral that many of our
shipmates have ever attended,
and that’s important.”
On Saturday, October 3,
there will be a meet and greet
with RNA members at the
mess at HMS Drake. Other
guests will include local citizens
who in 1969 provided
the Canadian sailors with
everything from hospitality
in pubs and free taxi rides, to
medical care. Among these
people is the former head
nurse who cared for the badly
burned sailors in the burn
unit in a Salisbury hospital.
“So it will be a nice reunion,”
stated committee member
John Gregory.
On Sunday, October 3 in
Plymouth, “There’s going to
be a military memorial service
at St. Andrew’s Church,”
stated Saunders. In addition
to the Kootenays, attendees
will include Plymouth’s Lord
High Mayor and the commodore
of the fleet there.
There also will be a seaside
service at the Mayflower
Steps in Plymouth. The Royal
Plymouth Corinthian Yacht
Club has offered its facility
for an awards ceremony on
Sunday evening and on Monday,
October 5 there will be a
tour of the naval museum at
HMS Drake.
Afilm crew will travel to the
UK with the group in order to
chronicle the entire event.
Saunders, Montague and
Gregory all agree that the
trip will be an emotional
event for the Kootenay survivors,
but also an occasion
to renew friendships and to
pay tribute to the fallen.
“This is something we all
want to do and it’s from the
heart,” stated Gregory.
On October 23 in Halifax,
MARLANT will commemorate
the 40th anniversary of
the Kootenay incident with a
wreath laying ceremony at
the Bonaventure monument
in Point Pleasant Park, a
service of remembrance at
St. Brendan’s Chapel and a
tree planting.
More information on the
Kootenay 40 Plymouth
Pilgrimage is available at
www.kootenay40.ca.
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