Canada's Naval History

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First World War (1914-1918)
War in the Pacific

At the outbreak of war in August 1914, only three obsolete ships and two recently-acquired submarines protected Canada's west coast. Canadians feared that German cruisers might attack merchant ships or bombard cities and towns. After these attacks failed to materialize, many vessels and personnel were transferred to the Atlantic to deal with the growing German submarine threat.

Sailor with Sennet Hat and Camera, HMCS Rainbow

A Canadian sailor, wearing a straw sennet hat, takes a photograph aboard the cruiser HMCS Rainbow in Pacific waters.

Standing beside a binnacle holding one of the ship's compasses, the sailor looks down at the folding camera's viewfinder, with his right hand ready to trip the shutter and take a photograph. The cap tally on his hat is marked "RNCVR Pacific", a reference to the Pacific Division of the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve. Between 1914 and 1917, Rainbow made several patrols off the coast of North and Central America, sailing as far south as Panama. This photograph was likely taken during one of these cruises.

VRP991.363.25
CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum