John Wallace Thomas

John Wallace Thomas CBE (1888–1965) was a Newfoundland merchant mariner who served with distinction in the First and Second World Wars.

Statue of John Wallace Thomas in Ottawa (Ontario)

Early life

Thomas was born in Newfoundland in 1885.[1]

Service history

Royal Naval Reserve
Blue Ensign flown by merchant vessels under the command of officers in the Royal Naval Reserve.

At the age of 20, Thomas left his hometown of Rose Blanche-Harbour le Cou for British Columbia to become a captain.[2] The Pacific fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway tended to hire its officers from the Royal Naval Reserves, and much was made of their long and faithful service to the company,[3] including John Wallace, RNR.

Second World War

Thomas commanded the 26,000-ton Empress of Scotland (originally named RMS Empress of Japan) throughout the Second World War. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his handling of the ship during an attack by the Luftwaffe off the coast of Ireland on November 9, 1940. Captain Thomas was the only member of the Canadian Merchant Marine to receive the CBE during the war.[4]

Thomas died in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1965.[1] He is one of fourteen figures from Canada's military history to be commemorated at the Valiants Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario.

Notes
  1. "MERCHANT NAVY VETERANS". mastermariners-capital.ca. Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  2. "Newfoundlanders abroad". Corner Brook Western Star. Newfoundland. January 21, 1949.
  3. Tate, E. Mowbray. (1986). Transpacific Steam: The Story of Steam Navigation from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Far East and the Antipodes, 1867-1941, p. 238.
  4. "Hr Le Cou Man in Honours List". Corner Brook Western Star. Newfoundland. July 15, 1944.

References


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