The Second World War
The Merchant Navy  - The Merchant Navy

Between 1939 and 1945, Canadian and Allied merchant ships and their crews transported personnel, munitions, weapons, and food across the world's oceans as part of the Allied war effort. Enemy action sank some 70 Canadian and Newfoundland merchant vessels. Over 1,600 Canadians and Newfoundlanders, including eight women, were killed.

Hospital Ship - Lady Nelson

Wilfred Whitern's painting of the Canadian hospital ship Lady Nelson shows the brightly lit vessel in its distinctive paint scheme identifying it as a non-combatant.

Like all hospital ships, the Lady Nelson was painted white, with a broad green stripe and red crosses on its hull. At night, lights illuminated these markings, along with Red Cross flags and a red cross on the funnel. The Canadian military chartered the Lady Nelson, a Canadian National Steamships liner sunk, salvaged, and rebuilt as a hospital ship. While the medical staff, including Whitern, were military, the ship's crew were members of the merchant navy.

Hospital Ship - Lady Nelson
Painted by Wilfred Leonard Whitern in 1944
Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19740551-001