| Rank | Petty Officer |
| Service # | A5688 |
| Unit # | Army, R.C.N.V.R. |
| Resident | Chatham |
The son of Captain and Mrs. F. W. Bonnett of 8 Violet Street, Chatham.
Originally, he joined the Army [A5688], and transferred to the RCNVR. Captain Bonnett was the training officer of the 2nd Kents. The CDN 24/12/43 reported that Leading Seaman Bonnett had been on convoy duty on the east coast. He was spending a Christmas leave with his parents.
While serving aboard the minesweeper HMCS Goderich, they rescued forty-four men at sea “during the worst storm of the war”. L/S Bonnett was coxswain of the sea-boat which was launched to make the rescue. The violence of the storm broke a tanker in half which had been under tow; leaving the 44 men stranded on the stern of the ship. The forward section sank immediately with the loss of eleven crewmen. It had taken the Goderich three days to locate the wreck and rescue the remaining crew. According to the crew of Goderich, the survivors were in a “most pitiful” state. The crew could not go below deck due to it being unsafe and being trapped in fear of it sinking. As a result, all stayed on deck through the bitter storm ready to launch a sea boat at a moments notice. Many of the crew suffered frost-bitten hands and feet and exposure. L/S Bonnett was able to ‘rescue’ a lamp from the stricken tanker as a souvenir. CDN18/03/44
Transferred then to the Corvette Mayflower.
Discharged October 1945.
Robert passed away 19 July, 2013.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
| Sources | IODE(P), CC-HR |
| When Enlisted | January 1941 |
| Next of Kin | Mother- Mrs. F. W. Bonnett |
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