Canada's Naval History

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First World War (1914-1918)
The Merchant Navy

From 1914 to 1918, Canadian and Allied merchant ships and mariners transported personnel, munitions, weapons, and food to Great Britain and Europe as part of the Allied war effort. German U-Boats (submarines) and mines claimed tens of thousands of Allied lives and thousands of ships.

Artifact Record

Pin, RMS Missanabie

This souvenir pin is from the RMS Missanabie, a Canadian Pacific ocean liner sunk by a German U-Boat (submarine) on 9 September 1918.

The pin depicts a ship's wheel and Canadian Pacific's own red and white checkered flag. Like many other ocean liners, the Missanabie spent the First World War transporting troops across the Atlantic. Torpedoed by U-87 off the Irish coast, Missanabie sank quickly, with the loss of 45 lives. This pin belonged to Nimrod Folbigg, a Canadian soldier who was awarded the Military Medal and who may have travelled overseas in the Missanabie.

Missanabie Pin
CWM 19850316-014