Interwar Years
The 1920s: A Navy Struggling to Survive

Following the end of the First World War, the Royal Canadian Navy faced significant threats to its continued existence. In the face of significant cutbacks, the navy focused on maintaining a small force to train sailors and to protect the country's coasts against enemy ships.

HMS Raleigh Aground, 1922

This photograph shows the British cruiser HMS Raleigh aground off Point Amour, Labrador.

The Royal Navy remained a presence in Canadian waters during the 1920s, and Raleigh, a heavy cruiser, was the flagship of Sir William Pakenham, the Admiral of the America and West Indies Station. Eleven sailors died after the ship ran aground in a heavy fog. The ship itself was declared a total loss and subsequently stripped of salvageable materials and blown up. Recently, the Canadian navy's Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) has worked to remove unexploded ordnance from the site.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19750148-068