MOOSE JAW — Last week I came across a black and white photograph from the Second World War labelled AB Norman Price, Moose Jaw, with PO Wren Cordite. The man and pup pose for the camera aboard the HMCS Uganda, a ship with a remarkable story.
The HMCS Uganda was the only Canadian ship to fight against Japan in the Second World War and was unique in voting itself out of the war.
In May 1945, war in Europe was winding down but the HMCS Uganda was busy attacking Japanese airfields and defending the fleet from air raids in the Pacific, even surviving a kamikaze strike. When Victory in Europe was declared, Prime Minister Mackenzie King stated that only volunteers would be sent to the Pacific theatre to help finish the war over there. However, what did this mean for the HMCS Uganda? They were already over there. Would they volunteer again?
A vote was held on board, and almost two-thirds chose not to volunteer for more service. Many of the sailors were married and had been away for four to five years. The HMCS Uganda had no choice but to return to Canada. The ship left for Canada at the end of July 1945 and arrived on Aug. 10, 1945, the same day Japan proposed a conditional surrender. The war officially ended three weeks later.
Norman Price, pictured in this image, served on the HMCS Uganda during the Second World War and was fortunate to return home.
Also researched was “Cordite,” the loyal pup in the photograph.
“She served as the ship’s pet in the Pacific theatre, a mongrel that walked aboard the cruiser at a British port … She discovered that the air-conditioned operations room was the most comfortable spot in the ship and spent a good deal of her time there, according to the Ottawa Evening Citizen on June 14, 1945.
Kelsey Lonie is collections manager at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 001 Museum, Regina
