Canada's Bastions of Empire by Bryan Elson

Author:Bryan Elson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Formac
Published: 2014-10-15T16:00:00+00:00

HMCS Tuna was the former yacht Tarantula, purchased privately from its American owner by Mr. J.K.L. Ross, and sold to the Navy for one dollar. She was armed with a 3-pounder gun and two 14-inch torpedo tubes.

The staff of Militia District 6 (6th Division) managed mobilization for the entire Maritimes. The initial call-out was three thousand from the whole of the district, of which 2,600 were from Nova Scotia and 1,500 from Halifax. Since the garrison took priority, Nova Scotia was underrepresented in the first overseas contingent, and thereafter men could be spared for overseas only when replaced for garrison duties by new recruits, which were virtually nonexistent for the reasons explained above.

The Halifax Rifles and the Princess Louise Fusiliers were similarly constrained regarding overseas service. To add insult to injury each of the infantry units was responsible for setting up a recruiting system to engage and equip overseas volunteers before dispatching them for France, a semi-mythical destination much wished for by the men of the garrison, but seemingly forever out of reach.

Admiral Robert Phipps Hornby was always ready to resist any reduction of the fortress defences, and indeed continued to press for their improvement. But he recognized that the navy could and should make a vital contribution itself. The Royal Canadian Navy had already taken up and converted Petrel and Constance for minesweeping duties, an essentially passive role. But shortage of personnel and suitable vessels meant that patrols in the approaches were at best irregular, and it was even difficult to support the examination service. But the most important requirement was an active port defence, based on submarines and torpedo boats, a threat that could not be disregarded by any attacker. The Royal Navy being fully committed elsewhere it would be up to its Canadian counterpart to do whatever it could.

What it did was to accept the irregular services of the wealthy sportsman J.K.L. Ross, scion of a Montreal family whose wealth was based on the building of the Canadian Pacific Railroad. He spent his fortune lavishly on yachts, automobiles, and race horses, and generally lived the life of a typical playboy. But appearances were deceptive. At the beginning of the war he presented Prime Minister Borden with a $500,000 cheque, “to be used for the preservation of Canada and the empire.” He was a captain in Montreal’s Black Watch militia regiment, but being found unfit for overseas service volunteered for the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, and immediately undertook a private mission, probably with the knowledge of and secret encouragement of the naval service.

Proceeding to New York, he purchased the steam yacht Tarantula from the millionaire businessman William K. Vanderbilt. She had been built in Britain from a design similar to that of the Royal Navy’s torpedo boats. Propelled by three steam turbines, among the earliest vessels to be so equipped, she could reach a speed of twenty-five knots. Vanderbilt had used her to commute to his downtown office, arousing great resentment whenever her wake damaged vessels moored alongside.

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