Canada's Naval History

The Second World War
The Merchant Navy - SS Stanley Park: Merchant Ship

David McMillan's photographs capture wartime and early postwar merchant navy scenes and experiences, mainly aboard the Canadian merchant ship SS Stanley Park. Completed in mid-1943, the Stanley Park was one of around 400 merchant ships built as part of Canada's war effort; postwar, it served with a number of foreign owners until its 1969 scrapping in Italy.

Holiday Portrait, SS Stanley Park

Two of Stanley Park's crew pose for a festive portrait during Christmas week in 1944.

Standing on the ship's rail near its bow, they lean against a davit, used to raise and lower objects over the ship's side. With their ship in the tropics, they are dressed casually and comfortably for celebrations in hot, humid weather.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19860141-053