McPHERSON, CLIFFORD ALBERT. Service No: V/19396. Rank: Able Seaman, Service: Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve, Unit Text: H.M.C.S. St. Croix.
Age: 23, LAS – Date of Death: 20/09/1943, HMCS St. Croix, sunk.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead, Grave/Memorial Reference: Panel 10.
Memorial: HALIFAX MEMORIAL. Found in “The Tilbury Story 1887 -1987”. Index of Overseas Deaths. TT 7/10/43.
The son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert McPherson, of Tilbury East, Ontario. Albert had been home on leave in July when he was called back before his furlough had expired. He had already made eight trips across the Atlantic before his last voyage.
HMCS St. Croix was a Town Class Destroyer (Pennant No. I-81) Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. (Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.A.), and launched 31 January, 1919. She was commissioned into the RCN 24 September, 1940 and sunk 20 September, 1943 at 57.30N and 31.10W approximately 500 miles SE of Greenland.
Canada had been desperately short of Naval ship at the start of WWII and the Americans had a number of surplus ships on their hands St. Croix had been built for the first Great War but she along with Annapolis, Columbia, Niagara, St. Clair and St. Francis were picked up for escort duty under the Lend – Lease Plan from the Americans.
Though an elderly “Four Stacker” ( referencing the four smoke stacks) she was still capable of sinking German submarines which she did on the 24th of July 1942 after catching an attacking sub on her Asdic (Sonar) and after three depth charge patterns found the remains of the attacker.
It was early in the evening of the 20th of September while escorting convoy ONS-18, a slow convoy bound from Halifax, NS. to England that they were overtaken by convoy ON-202 a fast convoy going in the same direction. It was reported that “the two convoys gyrated majestically about the ocean, never appearing to get much closer, and watched appreciatively by a growing swarm of U-boats. As darkness fell 63 merchant ships and their five escorts, were spread out in comparative disorder over miles of sea.
A short time later St. Croix was detached to investigate an aircraft sighting. It was when she slowed down upon reaching the contact point that she was struck by two torpedoes. At 21:51 on 20 Sep, 1943, the HMCS St. Croix (I 81) (LtCdr A.H. Dobson, RCNR, DSC) was hit in the stern by a third Gnat torpedo from U-305. The last word from St.Croix received by HMS Itchen escorting ON-202 was “Am leaving the office.” She sank within six minutes after being hit by the coup de grâce from the same U-boat at 22.44 hours. HMS itchen signall HMS Polyanthus to go to the assistance of St. Croix but she was sunk on the way with only one of her crew surviving.
The next morning, five officers and 76 men were picked up from two rafts and a half sunken whaler by HMS Itchen (K 227), which also had been attacked by U-305 with a Gnat at 22.53 hours, but was missed.
The HMCS St. Croix (I 81) was one of the first victims of the new developed acoustic torpedo Gnat.
McPHERSON, CLIFFORD ALBERT. Service No: V/19396. Rank: Able Seaman, Service: Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve, Unit Text: H.M.C.S. St. Croix.
The son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert McPherson, of Tilbury East, Ontario. Albert had been home on leave in July when he was called back before his furlough had expired. He had already made eight trips across the Atlantic before his last voyage.
