The Second World War
The Merchant Navy  - SS Stanley Park: Merchant Ship

David McMillan's photographs capture wartime and early postwar merchant navy scenes and experiences, mainly aboard the Canadian merchant ship SS Stanley Park. Completed in mid-1943, the Stanley Park was one of around 400 merchant ships built as part of Canada's war effort; postwar, it served with a number of foreign owners until its 1969 scrapping in Italy.

Gun Crew at Practice, SS Stanley Park

The crew of SS Stanley Park's 4-inch gun, dressed for hot tropical weather, practice with their weapon.

The heaviest weapon aboard the ship, the 4-inch gun was intended for use against enemy surface raiders or surfaced submarines, as well as against enemy aircraft. While submarines posed the most significant enemy threat to Allied merchant ships, surface raiders, often disguised as friendly or neutral merchant vessels, were also a danger. Aircraft attacks were also a threat for much of the war, particularly in the waters around the United Kingdom and off the European coast, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19860141-051