Canada's Naval History

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- - From RCN to Maritime Command
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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.

Thomas Moore in Summer Uniform

Thomas Moore, seen here in his white summer uniform, served in the British Merchant Navy during and after the First World War.

Moore, who joined the Merchant Navy as an apprentice in 1914, survived having one of his ships sunk and another damaged. In this undated photograph, he is posing with a sextant, a navigational tool. Beside him is one of the ship's lifeboats (left), and behind him is the arm of a davit, used to lower the lifeboat into the water. In the 1920s, Moore moved to Canada and became a veterinarian.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19810448-054