Remembering World War II

Angus Donald Smyth

Source: forposterityssake.ca Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Angus Donald Smyth Stoker A/2689 Royal Canadian Navy Reserve HMCS Lévis March 12, 1920 Judique, Inverness Co., NS September 7, 1940 Halifax, NS 21 5 feet, 5 inches Fair Blue Brown Single Farmer Roman Catholic Joan Smyth (Mother) Judique, NS September 19, 1941 21 Halifax Memorial, Nova Scotia Panel 6 Commemorated on Page 45 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on February 3 Angus Donald Smyth was the son of Patrick William and Joan Smyth, of Judique, Nova Scotia. A brother, Laughlin Jerome Smyth (1917-1994), also served with the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve on HMCS Prince Henry. He served on HMCS Orillia from February 1, 1941 until March 18, 1941 and then joined the crew on HMCS Lévis on May 16, 1941. HMCS Lévis was assigned to convoy escort duty in the Northwest Atlantic. In June 1941 the Corvette joined the Newfoundland Escort Force and was part of the 19th Escort Group escorting convoy SC-44 when torpedoed at 2:05 am September 19, 1941, by U-74. The explosion of the torpedo on the port side killed all but two of the ratings on the stokers' mess deck. Compartments up to the No. 2 bulkhead were flooded. The surviving crew abandoned ship to HMCS Mayflower except for a damage control party of 10 officers and ratings. The HMCS Mayflower took the Lévis under tow for approximately twelve hours; however, No. 2 bulkhead was buckled and not watertight and the ship sank at 5:10 pm later that day. 91 crew were rescued and 18 were killed as a result of the torpedo attack. The Lévis was the first Canadian Flower-class corvette to be sunk.