Home > CMH > Vol. 4 (1995) > Iss. 2
Abstract
Admirals and politicians alike must have winced at the headlines: “PACIFIC SERVICE PROTEST” was splashed across the Daily Sketch; “PACIFIC? NOT US!” proclaimed the Evening News, in one of the worst public relations disasters the Royal Canadian Navy faced during the Second World War. As the two newspapers—among many others—explained, the crew of one of Canada’s two cruisers, HMCS Uganda, while on operations in the Pacific theatre, refused to volunteer for further service when requested, forcing the ship to return to port. There were, however, no accusations of cowardice or disloyalty, either explicit or implied; rather, the press explained, “The crew...had volunteered for service anywhere when they enlisted originally. They resented being asked to volunteer again.” The result was that, when war ended in the Pacific on 14 August 1945, Canada had no ship to represent it there, despite plans that at one point had called for a fleet of 60 war vessels.
Recommended Citation
Rawling, Bill "Paved with Good Intentions: HMCS Uganda, the Pacific War, and the Volunteer Issue." Canadian Military History 4, 2 (1995)
