Able Seaman Hilbert Joseph Peart—Perished at Sea April 29, 1944

Hilbert Joseph Peart was born in Canso, Guysborough County, on February 28, 1916, the youngest of Roy Walter and Elizabeth Lillian “Bessie” (Scott) Peart’s five children. Roy was the son of William Henry and Ida Alice (Hadley) Peart, Philips Harbour, while Bessie was the daughter of Joseph B. and Sarah A. Scott, Guysborough.

Able Seaman Hilbert Joseph Peart

Roy and Bessie were married in Boylston on December 30, 1908, and established residence in Cooks Cove. Their first child, Dorothy Jean, was born in Guysborough on February 14, 1910, but died in infancy. Over the next four years, four sons joined the Peart household—James Scott (DOB June 4, 1911) and William “Bill” (DOB May 2, 1912) were born in Guysborough, while Raymond Roy (DOB March 13, 1914) and Hilbert were born in Canso, where Roy worked as a “fireman” aboard one of the local fishing boats.

Raymond Roy died in Canso from a combination of bronchitis and pneumonia on November 9, 1917. Sometime before 1921, the family unit disintegrated when Bessie and Roy parted ways. At the time of the 1921 census, Bill was residing in Guysborough with his grandparents, William and Ida Peart, while Hilbert was living in Canso, the “adopted son” of Patrick and Alice Dollard (no apparent relationship). The Nova Scotia census data contains no record of James Scott or parents Roy and Bessie.

Hilbert was still living in Canso with the Dollard family at the time of the 1931 census. While he was listed as a student at the time, he left school shortly afterward and went to work in the local fishery. By the mid-1930s, Hilbert had relocated to Halifax, where he worked for National Fish Co. as a “seaman” aboard a steam trawler. His duties included “fishing, curing and packing.”

On October 17, 1939, Hilbert enlisted with the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve at Halifax. He identified his father Roy Peart, 451 Agricola St., Halifax, as his next of kin. At the time of his enlistment, he expressed an interest in working as a “railway labourer or [joining the] Coast Guard” after completing his military service.

Hilbert commenced his service aboard HMCS Viernoe, the commercial vessel on which he was employed at the time of his enlistment. The Viernoe had received an RCN commission only six days before Hilbert’s enlistment and operated out of Sydney, NS, as a “boom defense” vessel. Hlibert served aboard the Viernoe until May 31, 1940, at which time he was assigned to HMCS Stadacona Naval Base, Halifax.

In early August 1940, Hilbert returned to the Sydney area when he was assigned to HMCS Protector, the RCN’s Point Edward Naval Base. While stationed there, he met Mary Dorothy Boudreau, daughter of Alphonse and Minnie (Robinson) Boudreau, D’Escousse, Isle Madame. The couple were married at Sacred Heart Church, Sydney, on November 30, 1940.

In late March 1942, Hilbert travelled to Halifax to join the crew of HMCS Grandmère, a minesweeper assigned to the Western Local Escort Force, which provided protection for convoys. The vessel operated out of Sydney, which was convenient as Dorothy had established residence in the city. In fact, during the early years of their marriage, Dorothy gave birth to two children—a daughter Patricia Elizabeth (c. 1941) and a son Roy Alphonse (c. 1942).

After logging 315 days of Atlantic service aboard the Grandmère, Hilbert was transferred to HMCS Niobe, the RCN’s overseas headquarters at Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland, on March 21, 1943. The location also served as a “transit camp” for RCN crewmen as they transitioned from one assignment to another. On June 19, 1943, Hilbert was posted to HMCS Athabaskan.

Crew of HMCS Athabaskan

Commissioned at Newcastle-on-Tyne on February 3, 1943, the Athabaskan was the first of three RCN ships to bear the name. A tribal-class destroyer assigned to the British Home Fleet, the vessel suffered a series of mishaps during its brief time in service.

In late March 1943, the Athabaskan commenced active duty, patrolling the area between Iceland and the Faroe Islands in search of “blockade runners.” Heavy seas encountered during the assignment damaged the vessel’s hull, resulting in a five-week repair job in a South Shields dry dock, east of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

Shortly after returning to duty, the Athabaskan was assigned to Operation Gearbox III. The assignment was the third mission connected to Allied efforts to secure possession of the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, located in the Barents Sea, north of Scandinavia. After the outbreak of war, German forces had occupied the island, which contained valuable coal deposits.

The first two operations—joint Norwegian and British efforts—established an Allied presence on the island. The third mission transported reinforcements and supplies to the garrison stationed there. Several ships departed from Iceland on June 7. As the Athabaskan made its way northward from the UK to join the convoy, the ship collided with a boom defence vessel at Scape Flow, located in the Orkney Islands, on June 18. The incident forced the destroyer to sail to Devonport, where it spent one month undergoing repairs.

Upon returning to sea, the Athabaskan operated out of Plymouth, UK, throughout the summer months, conducting anti-submarine patrols in the Bay of Biscay, north of Spain and west of France. On August 27, the destroyer was engaged in an anti-submarine pursuit off Cape Ortegal, Spain, when a German squadron of 18 Dornier Do 217 aircraft attacked its Support Group.

The planes carried under their wings a new weapon deployed in combat for the first time only two days earlier—the Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb, a radio-guided weapon equipped with a small rocket engine. The aircraft would launch the bomb at a distance from a target sufficient to avoid retaliatory fire.

During the aerial attack, a glide bomb passed through the Athabaskan’s hull and detonated after exiting the ship. While the vessel was heavily damaged in the attack, it remained afloat. The British sloop HMS Egret, also targeted in the same incident, was not so fortunate. A glide bomb sunk the vessel, resulting in the loss of 198 lives. In response, Allied naval commanders immediately suspended the Bay of Biscay patrols.

The Athabaskan suffered four fatalities and several casualties in the August 27 incident. The vessel nevertheless pulled 35 Egret survivors from the water and despite a serious list to starboard successfully made its way to Devonport, UK, for repairs. The ship was back at sea before year’s end.

In December 1943, the destroyer returned to the Orkneys and escorted convoy JW55A to the Soviet Union. The vessel arrived in Plymouth in February 1944 and was assigned to the newly-formed 10th Destroyer Flotilla shortly afterward. The group commenced mine-laying and patrol missions off the coast of France as Allied forces began preparations for the D-Day landings.

On April 26, the Athabaskan assisted in the destruction of a German Elbing-class torpedo boat while on patrol off the coast of Ushant, France. During the early morning hours of April 29, 1944, the Athabaskan and her sister Tribal-class destroyer Haida were providing support for a British mine-laying operation near the mouth of the Morlaix River, France, when the vessel received orders to intercept German warships near Île Bataz, at the entrance to Morlaix Harbour.

There are varying accounts of the naval battle that ensued, as the encounter occurred under cover of darkness. Some members of the Athabaskan’s crew claim that the ship was first struck by shells from a German shore battery, followed by a torpedo launched from German torpedo boat T24. Another sailor claimed that a second torpedo struck the ship 15 minutes later, but naval authorities eventually concluded that a fire aboard the ship caused an explosion in its ammunition magazine.

The Haida managed to rescue 44 of the Athabaskan’s crew as the vessel slipped beneath the waters. A total of 83 survivors were taken prisoner by three German minesweepers that searched the area after the Haida’s departure. Altogether, 129 Athabaskan crew members perished in the sinking. Among them was its Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander John Stubbs, who was killed in action after declining rescue by the Haida and swimming back toward the ship to assist surviving crew.

While approaching daylight forced the Haida to depart the area, due to heightened risk of enemy attack, its motor cutter remained in the area. Manned by four crew members, the small vessel managed to rescue six Athabaskan survivors and two Haida crew members who had fallen from its scramble nets as the destroyer departed. While the German minesweepers initially pursued the motor cutter, they eventually abandoned the chase. After several breakdowns and encounters with enemy aircraft, the boat safely made it to the UK just before midnight April 29.

In the aftermath of the Athabaskan’s sinking, naval officials were unable to account for the fate of its missing crew members. On May 1, 1944, the Secretary of the Naval Board wrote to Dorothy Peart, who was now living at 106 Connaught Avenue, Glace Bay:

“It is with deepest regret that I must confirm the telegram of the 1st of May, 1944, from the Minister of National Defence for Naval Services, informing you that your husband, Hilbert Joseph Peart, Able Seaman, Royal Canadian Naval Reserve,… is missing from HMCS Athabaskan. According to the report received from overseas, your husband’s loss occurred when HMCS Athabaskan was torpedoed and sunk by enemy action on the 29th of April, 1944, in the English Channel.

“While Able Seaman Peart is reported as ‘missing,’ there is a possibility of his survival. It is understood that a number of the crew have been taken prisoners of war by the enemy. The Red Cross have been informed and are attempting to obtain from the German Government a list of those taken. Please be assured that as soon as any further information respecting your husband has been received you will be informed.”

For four months, there was no further word on Hilbert’s fate. Finally, on January 12, 1945, a document from the Secretary of the Naval Board confirmed that Able Seaman Hilbert Joseph Peart was now officially “missing, presumed dead, date 29 April, 1944, when HMCS Athabaskan was torpedoed and sunk by enemy action in the English Channel.”

On April 14, 1946, Roy Walter Peart passed away at 451 Agricola St., Halifax, at age 58. According to his death certificate, Roy had been employed as a “fireman” with Nova Scotia Light & Power Company for 22 years prior to his death. He was laid to rest in Camp Hill Cemetery, Halifax. Three months later, Hilbert’s widow Dorothy married Maurice Jeoffrey Fougere, son of Simon and Victoria (Frasie) Fougere, New Victoria, Cape Breton, in a ceremony that took place at 217 George St., Sydney, on July 3, 1946.

Able Seaman Hilbert Joseph Peart’s name and those of his 128 Athabaskan comrades were later engraved on the Halifax Memorial, erected in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, in 1967 to commemorate more than 3,000 sailors, merchant seamen and other military personnel who perished at sea during the two world wars and Korean conflict, and have no known graves.

In 2002, Jacques Ouchakoff, a French marine historian, located the shattered remains of the Athabaskan, scattered over the sea bed in 90 meters of water near Île de Batz. The government of France subsequently placed the wreck under the French Heritage Code, providing legal protection for the vessel and its contents. Two years after its discovery, the Royal Canadian Navy provided the French government with a brass plaque to be placed on the wreckage, in commemoration of its lost crew members.

Special thanks to Hilbert's grand-daughter Tanya Peart, Sydney, NS, who provided a photograph of her grandfather. Doris "Dee Dee" Blood, Middleton, NS, Hilbert's grand-niece, also contributed information on the Peart family.