HMCS Athabaskan, Memorial Plaques.

HMCS Athabaskan memorial plaque

Many thanks to Yvan Martineau who sent me this photo as well as the one below.
He said in part " On a recent trip to France, I came across this plaque in the little village of Brignogan in Britany. As you can see it is about the destroyer Athabaskan which was torpedoed near there . . . . "

Text of the plaque:

COMMUNE DE BRIGNOGAN
----
IN MEMORIAM ET PRO GLORIA
----
Le 29 avril 1944, le destroyer Canadien 'HMCS ATHABASKAN"
a été torpillé au large de cette côte, au cours d'un combat naval.
Des 261 marins alliés, 128 on trouvé la mort pour la
LIBÉRATION de la FRANCE et le retour à la PAIX.
91 d'entre eux reposent depuis en Terre Bretonne.
9 ont été inhumés à BRIGNOGAN.
"En leur mémoire, rappelons-nous que
Paix et Liberté ne sons jamais acquises"
Association "ATHABASKAN-BRETAGNE"

Names of HMCS Athabaskan crew killed

June 4, 2019 -- Yvan sent the above photo with the following comment: "Just got back from France and while there I found the list of the crew of HMCS ATHABASKAN and the names of those that lost their lives when it was torpedoed off the North west French coast. I thought it might be of interest to some people in Canada through your web site . . . . While the plaque (top photo) is in the village of Brignogan on the north coast of the peninsula, (this) list is in a naval war museum on Pointe de St-Mathieu, where there is a big lighthouse and fort at the north-west entrance to the Rade de Brest. "

Names of HMCS Athabaskan Crew Killed April 29, 1944.

A LA MEMOIRE DES 128 MARINS CANADIENS MORTS EN PARTICIPANT A LA LIBERATION DE LA FRANCE SUR LE HMCS ATHABASKAN COULE AU COMBAT PRES DES COTES DU FINISTERE LE 29 AVRIL 1944

In memory of the 128 servicemen of the Canadian navy killed in action on board HMCS ATHABASKAN which sunk off the coast of Finistere on April 29th, 1944, during the liberation of France

ADAMS John C.
AGNEW John
ALLISON Albert E.
AMIRO Irvin V.
ANNETT Robert I.L.
ARMSTRONG George A.
ASHTON Percy G.
BARRETT Arthur E.
BELL Donald A.
BERKELEY Alfred G.
BERTRAND Laurent J.L.
BIANCO Anthony D.
BIEBER Edgar E.
BLINCH Harry C.
BRANDSON Thomas L.
BRIGHTEN Victor H.
BURROW William O.
CHAMBERLAND Paul H.A.
COOKMAN Edgar A.
COONEY Stewart R.
CORBIERE Vincent G.
CORKUM Gordon F.
COTTRELL Sydney A.
CROFT Moyle H.
CROSS Alfred T.
DE ARMOND Gordon L.
DILLEN Stewart C.
DION Jean-Germain A.
EDHOUSE Donald W.
FLEMING Harold L.
FORRON Jack E.A.
FRALICK Earl I.
FRITH William A.
FULLER Eugene M.
GAETANO Valentino J.
GIBBONS Marshall L.
GOLDSMITH Thomas H.
GORDON Lloyd M.
GOULET Robert J.
GRAINGER Roy J.
GUEST Carlton G.
HAYES Chrisopher
HEATHERINGTON John T.
HENRY Robert J.
HESTON P.
HOUISON Geo. D.
HURLEY Michael P.
IRVINE Leonard C.
IZARD Theodore D.
JARVIS Edmund A.
JOHNSON Elswood S.
JOHNSON Lawrence R. (*Note*)
JOHNSON Richard R.
KELLY Lionel D.
KOBES John R.
LAMOUREUX Andre
LAWRENCE Ralph M.
LEA Eric E.
LEDOUX Louis
LEWANDOSKI Stanly (*Note*)
LIND Mekkel G.
LOVE Walter M.
LUCAS Donald O.
MACAVOY Gerald W.
MACDONALD Ashley K.
MACKENZIE Alexander
MAGUIRE John W.
MAHONEY John D.
MANSON John L.
MATTHEWS George H.
McBRIDE John L.
McCARROL Thomas G.
McCRINDLE William D.
McGREGOR William
McLEAN Daniel H.
McNEIL John J.
MEADWELL Richard G.
MENGONI Eric J.
METCALFE Donald I.
MILLAR Victor
MILLS Emest G.
MUMFORD Leonard K.
NASH Robert A.
NICHOLAS Joseph R.
OUELLETTE Joseph E.V.
PEART Hubert J.
PHILLIPS John D.
PIKE Brenton J.
POTHIER Chad. L.
RENNIE John E.
RIENDEAU Joseph A.L.
ROBERTS John C.
ROBERTS Raymond L.
ROBERTSHAW Eric
ROBERTSON Ian A.
ROBERTSON William
ROGER Leo A.
ROLLS Raymond B.
RUTHERFORD Norman
RYAN Norman V.
SAINT LAURENT Joseph L.M.
SAMPSON Francis L.
SANDERSON Earl H.
SENECAL Jean G.L.
SHERLOCK Albert V.
SIGSTON George D.
SINGLETON John C.
SKYVINGTON Francis G.
SOMMERFELD Samuel W.
SOUCISSE Paul E.
STEVENSON Elmer H.
STEWART John L.
STEWART William G.
STOCKMAN Ernest O.
STUBBS John H.
SUTHERLAND John W.
SWEET Charles C.
THOMPSON Harry
TUPPER Allister R.
VAIR James A.
VEINOTTE Joseph V.W.
WAITSON Maurice
WALLACE Peter W.
WARD Leslie
WATSON Reginald J.
WILLIAMS Kenneth W.
WOOD John A.
YEADON Robert L.

Notes:
(**) JOHNSON Lawrence R. -- Correct surname is "JOHNSTON" (mis-spelled on memorial).
(**) LEWANDOSKI Stanly -- Correct spelling is "LEWANDOWSKI Stanley" (mis-spelled on memorial).

Links to HMCS Athabaskan Items

HMCS Athabaskan.-- Excellent blog, with info from readers about various former crew members.
- HMCS Athabaskan.-- En Francais.
HMCS Athabaskan.-- Wartime log of J.L. Esperance, P.O.W., rescued from HMCS Athabaskan. Published April, 2014.
For Posterity's Sake.-- Has photo portraits of most of the crew and info on those rescued.
For Posterity's Sake.-- Ship's Company photos taken the same month the ship was sunk.
We Remember the Athabaskan.-- Published 2011.
Canadian Naval Review, Summer, 2009.-- (PDF file.) Article by Pat Jessup, about Harry Liznick, who was rescued from HMCS Athabaskan by the Germans and spent the rest of the war as a P.O.W.

Can you provide details or corrections?
Please email Charlie Dobie.

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