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Burial at Sea

A group of men in uniform standing on the deck of a ship at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

This photograph shows the funeral service for Ordinary Seaman Kenneth William Watson aboard HMCS Assiniboine. The honour guard is standing on deck holding rifles as the body of the sailor is about to be committed to the sea. The 18-year-old from Revelstoke, British Columbia was the youngest sailor on the ship when it battled the German submarine U-210 on 6 August 1942. Watson was killed by a shell as he supplied his gun crew with ammunition.

More than 3,200 Canadian men and women lost their lives at sea during the world wars.