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The Second World War
War in the Pacific and South East Asia  - The Royal Canadian Navy and the Pacific Coast

The Royal Canadian Navy was active in operations along the Pacific coast from 1939 to 1945, patrolling British Columbia waters and helping to support the Allied war effort. West coast shipyards built ships for the navy and the merchant navy.

Soviet Dirk
Soviet Dirk

Soviet naval officer Commander Nikolai Ignatiev presented this officer's dirk to Canadian Lieutenant Commander Edward Harold Sweeney.

From June 1941, the Soviet Union was an important ally in the war against Germany, and Soviet merchant ships became regular visitors to Canadian and American west coast ports, transporting supplies and armaments for Soviet forces. Ignatiev, posted to Vancouver to pilot Soviet vessels safely into the harbour, struck up a friendship with Sweeney, the officer in charge of the operations of Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships (DEMS) from that port.

Dirk and Scabbard, Soviet Officer
CWM 19770432-003





Bangor Entering Esquimalt
HMCS Armentières, Esquimalt
Firefighting Practice at Esquimalt
HMCS Vancouver Alongside, Esquimalt
HMCS Kokanee
HMCS St. Catharines entering Esquimalt Harbour
The Naval Chapel
Fishermen's Reserve Vessel Z-126 Under Way in Heavy Weather
Confiscated Japanese Canadian Fishing Boats
R.B. Michelin, Fishermen's Reserve
HMCS Prince Robert Refitted as an Armed Merchant Cruiser
German Prisioners Leaving HMCS Prince Robert
Tropical Service Dress, German Merchant Navy
Prisoner of War Work Jacket
Japanese Shell Fragment
HMCS Prince Robert Alongside Pier # 1
Soviet Dirk
Soviet Merchant Ship