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Mess Deck, HMCS Rainbow, around 1910
Mess Deck, HMCS Rainbow, around 1910

This photograph taken around 1910 shows a below-decks scene in the Canadian cruiser HMCS Rainbow.

Many of the ship's crew ate, slept, and lived in these mess decks while off duty. Racks visible in the background securely held plates and bowls, while sailors used movable tables and benches for eating and other activities including reading (second from left), and sewing or mending clothing (third from left). While most people in the picture are sailors, at least one (far left) is a Royal Marine, a reminder that Rainbow's crew included British personnel, because Canada never had marines.

VR991.370.4
CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum



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HMCS Niobe Gun Crew and Gunnery Target
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Ceremony on the Quarterdeck, HMCS Niobe
HMCS Rainbow Arriving at Esquimalt, British Columbia, 1910
HMCS Rainbow's Officers Greeting Dignitaries
HMS Shearwater and HMCS Rainbow at Esquimalt, 7 November 1910
Gun Practice aboard HMCS Rainbow
Mess Deck, HMCS Rainbow, around 1910
Walter Hose, Commander of HMCS Rainbow
HMCS Rainbow Sailors and Capstan
HMCS Rainbow "Cleared for Action"
HMCS Rainbow in Drydock, Esquimalt
Commander Walter Hose, HMCS Rainbow
Sailor Standing by HMCS Rainbow's Wheel
Sailor with Sennet Hat and Camera, HMCS Rainbow
HMS Algerine in Esquimalt, 1914
Canadian Submarine at Esquimalt