The Battle of the Atlantic Parade it set to take place tomorrow in Saskatoon to honour those who fought and lost their lives in the conflict.
Lieutenant Michael Blacklock says the Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous battle in the second world war, lasting 3,075 days between 1939 and 1945. The battle, between Europe and North America, was over key shipping routes.
“Canada joined that battle on September 10th, 1939, and played a really key role as an escort duty for hundreds of conveys that gathered in Halifax and Sydney, Nova Scotia, and were heading over to Europe.”
The Canadian navy had 3,500 personnel at the time. The battle took the lives of 2,700 navy and air force personnel and 1,600 Canadian merchant navy personnel.
The parade will depart from HMCS Unicorn on 24th Street at 10:30am.
“We’re going to march down 4th Avenue, going around City Hall, and then we’re going to haul back in front of HMCS Unicorn on 4th Avenue between 24th and 25th streets,” he explains. “There will be some speeches by our Reviewing Officer, and then there will be a moment of silence for all the ships lost in the Battle of the Atlantic, and then we will march off and head back into HMCS Unicorn.
Blacklock says the best place to watch the parade will be from the City Hall-side of 4th Avenue, closer to 24th Street.