This oil painting on canvas (61 x 72 cm) was done at Halifax in 1941. The vessel in the background is not identified, but H83 was HMCS St. Laurent, one of the most active warships in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Built in Britain and delivered to the RCN in 1937, St. Laurent was one of six destroyers in Canadian service at the outbreak of the Second World War. With a crew of ten officers and 171 other ranks, she displaced 1,390 tons and had been designed to accompany large warships (cruisers and battleships) in fleet actions and to protect them against attacks by small craft. To this end, her main armament consisted of four 4.7-inch guns. As the war progressed, however, she was modified for antisubmarine work. That meant the installation of improved asdic (sonar) equipment, more depth charges, and finally the fitting of "Hedgehog" a device that launched small mortar bombs at submerged U-boats.
The St. Laurent began her wartime career escorting convoys in the Western Atlantic. In the spring of 1940 she was despatched to Britain and participated in the evacuation of British troops from France. On 2 July, 1940 the St. Laurent rescued more than 850 persons after the liner Arandora Star had been sunk by a German submarine. The Canadians had mixed views about this operation because most of the victims were German and Italian civilians who had been interned in England before being despatched to Canada aboard the Arandora Star. Eventually the Italian government conveyed its appreciation by way of neutral Brazil. This was but one of many incidents in the destroyer's history. In December 1941, assisted by three other Canadian ships, the St. Laurent sank U-356 during a protracted convoy action. Her crew battled a major fire aboard a steamer in March 1944 but they had to leave the scene when a U-boat warning was received. Proceeding to the area where the U-boat had been reported, the St. Laurent joined HMCS Swansea, HMCS Owen Sound and HMCS Forester in the pursuit and destruction of U-845. Soon afterwards, she took part in Operation "Neptune", the naval operation in support of Allied landings in Normandy. Worn out by long, arduous service, St. Laurent was paid off in October 1945. Of the six destroyers in RCN service at the start of the war two others, Saguenay and Restigouche, had survived with St. Laurent to the end of hostilities in Europe; the Fraser, Skeena and Ottawa had been lost.
Born in Allendale near Barrie, Ontario, Edwin Headley Holgate (1892-1977) served in the First World War as a driver with the Canadian Field Artillery. In the postwar period he was closely associated with artistic trends and subjects rooted in the Canadian experience; in 1931 he became the eighth member of what had until then been the Group of Seven. Holgate later became a founding member of the Canadian Group of Painters. As an official war artist he was a member of the RCAF from February 1943 until September 1944, and was engaged mainly in portraiture. Following the war Holgate settled in Morin Heights, QuÄbec and painted Laurentian landscapes. The proximity of a radar base allowed him to maintain ties with the RCAF and he became an honourary member of the base mess. For additional information about this artist's career consult Dennis Reid, Edwin Holgate (Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, National Museums of Canada, c1976; Canadian Artists Series 4). Close examination of this painting reveals much about naval construction and equipment. The crow's-nest, a traditional vantage point for observation is retained, but we also see some aerials associated with electronic equipment. Note the oval shape on the side of the superstructure; this is a Carley float, used in rescues at sea and as a lifesaving device should the vessel be torpedoed. The second turret has a large shield overhanging the first turret and protecting the gunners of the first turret from the flash of the second gun. We also see some dockyard equipment, notably the foot of a large crane.
Courtesy: Canadian War Museum, National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada (11489)
