One Name on a Memorial

Abstract

Across Canada, lists of names are carefully carved into memorials. Russell McConnell is such a name and researching his story and those of others allows us to reveal who these men and women are, and what we might share in common with them. Sub Lieutenant McConnell was serving with the Royal Canadian Volunteer Naval Reserve was aboard Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Raccoon when the ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat on September 7, 1942. Today Russell’s name is found at a number of sites across Canada. These include the cenotaph at Royal Roads University, the Sailors Memorial in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and at Forillon National Park in Gaspé, Quebec.