The Second World War
The Merchant Navy  - Serving with the Merchant Navy

During the Second World War, Canadian and Allied merchant mariners faced the constant hard work of operating and maintaining their ships, the threat of enemy attack, and the dangers of accidents and storms.

Shaft Tunnel, SS Kelowna Park (CAN)

In the SS Kelowna Park's dark, narrow shaft tunnel, a sailor inspects the shaft that drives the ship's propeller.

In the Kelowna Park, as in many other ships, the drive shaft was contained in a narrow tunnel running from the engine room near the middle of the ship to the propeller at its stern. Connecting the engines to the propellers, the drive shaft was supported by bearings that needed frequently to be monitored. The artist, Canadian cartoonist Peter Whalley, was a young merchant sailor during the war, serving in the Kelowna Park from November 1944 to March 1945.

Shaft Tunnel, SS Kelowna Park (CAN)
Painted by Peter Graham Whalley Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19970014-037