C A N A D A
'Friends Not Forgotten'
In Memory of Reg.#S/8719, Stan MacKenzie (center)
Last living crew
member of the 1944 voyage of the St. Roch, RCMP schooner
The Most Northerly
Route --
Stan Mckenzie Looks Back at the St. Roch’s 1944 Voyage Through the Northwest
Passage
by S/Sgt. Lloyd P. Wallis (Rtd.)
'Former S/Cst. Stan McKenzie, 90, is the last living crew member of the 1944
voyage of the St. Roch, an RCMP schooner that sailed east to west, from Halifax
to Vancouver, through the most northerly route of the Northwest Passage.
The
St. Roch had sailed earlier through the North, west to east from 1940-42. It
was later the first ship to completely circumnavigate North America by sailing
south through the Panama Canal in 1950. (A Norwegian ship, the Gjoa, travelled
east to west 38 years previous to 1944, but did not sail as far north as the
St. Roch.)
McKenzie always felt he contributed to the sovereignty of Canada by being a
crew member on the 86-day voyage through the most northerly Arctic route, connecting
the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Sixty-five years after leaving the RCMP,
McKenzie joined the Nova Scotia Veterans’ Association and provides an
interesting account of his historical life experiences.'
Contributors and acknowledgements:
*Appreciation to Vet. Sheldon Boles of 'E' Div. by providing Stan's obituary,
*Appreciation to serving member Supt. Brian Brennan, 'H' Div. for Stan's photo (above) as well as aiming me towards the article from
The Quarterly written by
S/Sgt. Lloyd P. Wallis (Rtd.),
*Appreciation to S/Sgt. Lloyd P. Wallis (Rtd.) for the background story about Stan McKenzie and to The Quarterly.
'Maintain Our Memories'
J. J. Healy,
Reg.#23685