I have been looking for primary naval sources for Halifax for the summer of 1940. LAC and Héritage have war diaries for the RCA coastal batteries, but have come up short for the RCN as far as I can see. I’m not looking for convoy data per se but something like Command/Station war diaries, etc. Relevant warship proceedings might also help, but it’s the activity at Halifax that is of interest. Any ideas? Any secondary sources recommended?
Not entirely sure what your looking for but if it’s RCN records (Navy Bases etc - which I have NOT looked for myself), I believe you’d use this info......as Naval Bases and shore establishment were all “names” like Esquimalt, Naden etc etc, I believe you’d put that in the “keyword” example to look for records. I’m not positive, as I myself have never looked for Naval shore establishment records Second World War (1939-1945) and Korean Conflict (1950-1953) Ship logs for Canada's naval vessels (RG24-D-2) can be identified using Collection Search: Enter RG24-D-2 and a keyword; for example, the name of a ship: "Beaver." This series is not available on microfilm. War Diaries, Ship Logs and Operations Record Books - Library and Archives Canada British Columbia HMC Dockyard Esquimalt HMCS Naden HMCS Nanoose Bay Nova Scotia HMC Dockyard Halifax HMCS Shelburne HMCS Protector Naval reserve division - City - Province HMCS Brunswicker - Saint John New Brunswick HMCS Cabot - St John's Newfoundland and Labrador HMCS Carleton - Ottawa Ontario HMCS Cataraqui - Kingston Ontario HMCS Champlain - Saguenay Quebec HMCS Chippawa - Winnipeg Manitoba HMCS d'Iberville - Rimouski Quebec HMCS Discovery - Vancouver British Columbia HMCS Donnacona - Montreal Quebec HMCS Griffon - Thunder Bay Ontario HMCS Hunter - Windsor Ontario HMCS Jolliet - Sept-Îles Quebec HMCS Malahat - Victoria British Columbia HMCS Montcalm - Quebec City Quebec HMCS Nonsuch - Edmonton Alberta HMCS Prevost - London Ontario HMCS Queen - Regina Saskatchewan HMCS Queen Charlotte - Charlottetown Prince Edward Island HMCS Radisson - Trois-Rivières Quebec HMCS Scotian - Halifax Nova Scotia HMCS Star - Hamilton Ontario HMCS Tecumseh - Calgary Alberta HMCS Unicorn - Saskatoon Saskatchewan HMCS York - Toronto Ontario AND, if that doesn’t work, I would contact LAC directly, ask them.....they will tell you what records they have and how to access them (if they are on line, or you may have to visit LAC)
And of course, this site usually has a lot of great information Ships, Bases and Training Establishments of the RCN - For Posterity's Sake Official History of the RCN (this downloads automatically to you computer) http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/mdn-dnd/D2-132-2002-2-2-eng.pdf
I am trying to identify primary and good quality secondary sources, and was hoping to find something like these TNA records for the Nore. I am interested in any naval activities at, or in the vicinity of, Halifax during June, July and August 1940. So reports of proceedings for ships present, whether RCN, RN or Allied may be useful. War diaries and ORBs for the other services, so far as they relate to naval matters, may also be useful. I am familiar with LAC and Héritage but naval records seem to be underrepresented in their collection in comparison with the other services and wonder if there are any records held elsewhere. I am aware of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. I am also familiar with the official histories, but perhaps there are obscure references in the records that members have come across and could highlight or biographies that they have read and would recommend.
