HALIFAX — As Bill Cox looks at old photos from his time in the Second World War, the images bring forth memories.
Even at the age of 104, he can put names to faces among his crewmates on the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) destroyer HMCS St. Laurent.
"I think I was on that one ship for two-and-a-half years maybe," says Cox.
A fifth-generation shipbuilder from Shelburne, N.S., Cox started out with the war effort doing what he knew best – building and repairing ships.
At one point, he even worked with others from Shelburne at a facility in Montreal, constructing torpedo vessels for the RCN.
Then word came HMCS St. Laurent needed a shipwright. Rumour has it the two sailors initially assigned to the task suffered from seasickness, so Cox answered the call of duty and signed up.
The year was 1942 and Cox was in his early 20s.
His job as a shipwright was to keep the vessel in "ship shape," doing necessary repairs and maintenance.
It was no easy task as the vessel traversed the harsh and hazardous North Atlantic, escorting merchant marine vessels back and forth between Canada and the U.K.
"We were usually on convoy duty, from St. John's, Newfoundland to port in Scotland, back and forth."
Those trips took place during what would be the longest military campaign in the Second World War.
The voyages escorting supply ships across the Atlantic were risky as they were targeted by German U-Boats – often with deadly consequences.
Between 1939 and 1945, the Battle of the Atlantic claimed the lives of 4,200 Canadians and 33 navy warships.
Aboard the St. Laurent, that danger came close to home during Cox's first year onboard.
"We encountered a German submarine ahead of us. We finally fired enough ammunition at it that we put it out of business," he recalls.
"We went alongside of it and dropped charges and sank it, and picked up survivors."
When asked if he was scared Cox says "no."
"We were there to do that, we weren't there to be afraid," he says.
For his time in service, Cox received a number of honours, including the British Empire medal.
That particular distinction, in recognition of his work as part of a volunteer fire party that helped a vessel on fire at sea.
The fire took two days to extinguish and saved a number of survivors.
The medal was awarded to servicemen and women by King George VI. In Cox's case, the citation noted his "bravery and undaunted devotion to duty."
By the time the war ended, Cox had married his sweetheart from his hometown of Shelburne, and moved back there to help raise his growing family, continue shipbuilding, and serve two terms as mayor.
He considers his time in the RCN as something he felt he had to do.
"We volunteered," he says, "At a time of war, it's natural to become a member of the armed forces."
Natural for Bill Cox – as he looks back on a life spent in service.
