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.

"Crossing the Line" Certificate, SS Stanley Park

David McMillan received this certificate following his crossing of the equator in the SS Stanley Park on 13 December 1944.

As is typical of such certificates, it identifies the date and location of the crossing, in this case north of Brazil. The certificate also bears the signatures of "Neptunus Rex" (King Neptune) and the ship's master, or captain. Aside from the illustrations at the top of the page, the certificate is quite plain; other examples, especially in peacetime, were much more ornate.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19860141-020