Canada's Naval History

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Birth Of the Navy

First World War

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Second World War

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Later Cold War
- - From RCN to Maritime Command
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Navy Today
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First World War (1914-1918)
The Home Front

The war at sea affected Canadians in a variety of ways. While extensive recruiting efforts at home sought men to become sailors in the Canadian and British navies, Canadian shipyards built warships and merchant ships to expand Allied navies and to replace vessels lost to submarine attack.

Llewellyn and Joseph Lush, 1914, Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve

This portrait shows brothers Lew and Joe Lush, who were members of the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve.

At the outbreak of the First World War, the Canadian and British navies both drew on naval reservists from Newfoundland. One brother's cap tally bears the name HMCS Niobe, which would have been under-crewed without Newfoundland reservists at the start of the war. The other brother's cap tally is for HMS Calypso, the Royal Naval Reserve's training ship in Newfoundland.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 20030109-011_8