This Memorial Cross was sent to Mary Jane McKinnon, the widow of Alexander McKinnon, a chief stoker aboard HMCS St. Croix.

Forty-year-old Alexander McKinnon from Rosemount (now Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie), in Montreal, Quebec, had considerable naval experience. In the 1920s, he served in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve and the Canadian Government Merchant Marine. Re-joining the navy in 1940, he was posted to HMCS St. Croix in June 1943. Stokers like McKinnon worked in hazardous posts well below the waterline, where they were at direct risk from exploding torpedo warheads, and from where escape could be difficult.

Memorial Cross, Chief Stoker Alexander McKinnon, HMCS St. Croix
Tilston Memorial Collection of Canadian Military Medals
CWM 19830518-003