Remembering Canadian heroes of the Battle of the Atlantic

Battle of the Atlantic warships between 1939 to 1945. PHOTO: Courtesy of the Navy League of Canada.

Bells still toll for the souls of the boys and men who gave their lives at sea and in air on the Atlantic 81 years ago.

One ring of the bell for each ship lost; another ring for the loss of each squadron.

Former mayor Dave Aspden (2006-2010), and a member of the Canadian Naval Memorial Society, says all ships, like the Corvette HMCS Barrie, had a bell commissioned for its Atlantic Sea voyages.

On the first Sunday of May, bells will toll near the Cenotaph, calling out to all to remember our young Canadians’ sacrifices for our freedom, Aspden said.

“They sacrificed everything. They’re heroes. And some of them never came home,” he said.

On the 80th anniversary of the battle, Commodore Jason Armstrong of the Royal Canadian Navy said More than 2,000 sailors, 900 Royal Canadian Air Force members and 1,700 merchant navy personnel gave their lives during the Battle of the Atlantic.

It was the longest battle in the Second World War.

Troops from across the region will amass at Barrie’s Chase McEachern Way on Sunday shortly after 10:30 a.m. and parade along Bayfield Street South to Dunlop Street East.

The soldiers, including the 400 Squadron Pipe Band will make their way to Meridian Square for the memorial.

There, they will be greeted by four solemn navy cadets with reverse arms, standing as the honour guard at the Cenotaph in memory of the fallen.

With files by CTV News Alessandra Carneiro