Christening Bells Project

The bell of HMCS SWANSEA, one of many ship’s bells in CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum’s collection.

One of the most memorable traditions for sailors and their families involves the use of ship’s bells as baptismal fonts for shipboard christenings.

Children of the ship’s company baptized according to this custom can also have their names inscribed on the ship’s bell. Since the shipboard bell is considered such a significant part of the ship’s equipment and history, this is both an honour and a privilege.

On occasion, ship’s bells have also been used to record other events in the lives of crew members. HMCS RESTIGOUCHE’s bell is inscribed with the 2 September 1941 wedding date of her commander, Desmond William Piers, to Janet Atken. Piers went on to become one of the most distinguished and admired figures in the navy’s leadership, and a formidable adversary at sea as he shepherded merchant convoys across the submarine-infested North Atlantic.

Unfortunately, an individual searching for her or his name on a specific bell from a ship of Canada’s Navy may be in for a time-consuming task. The business of tracking down the actual bell itself can prove difficult.

Since a ship’s bell is among its most significant artifacts, when a ship decommissions, there is often demand from many quarters for this item. Bells may go to naval and civilian museums for safe-keeping and display.

In the case of Canadian ships named for towns and cities, the ‘home’ community sometimes receives the bell, and shows it off at city hall. For example, the city of Miramichi is now in possession of HMCS MIRAMICHI’s bell. On occasion, bells end up in unlikely places like retail stores or even in private hands.

To simplify things, CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum is in the process of making information on the inscriptions from bells it holds in its collection accessible through this web site. Christening information from the bells held by the Museum is being entered into a searchable data archive that is accessible to any interested web site visitors. The accessible information for each of the bells entered into this archive includes the ship name, current location of the bell, and each child’s name and date of his or her christening.

Information from bells held by other institutions and organizations, including municipalities and Legions, is being added to the christening bell data as it becomes available. The Naval Museum of Halifax (NMH), for example, has the following christening bells in its collection, and enquiries about these bells should be directed to their website email address, which is – marcommuseum@forces.gc.ca

As a service to the relatives of crew members, and children christened, we also include inscriptions and dates for the bells of;

• HMCS ANNAPOLIS (II), a bell currently held by the town of Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia;
• HMCS SASKATCHEWAN, which is at the Vancouver Island Military Museum in Nanaimo, BC;
• HMCS CORMORANT, now on loan to a Navy League Cadet Corps in BC;
• HMCS UGANDA, which is still used for baptisms, and is located in St. Brendan’s Chapel (part of the Stadacona Faith Centre), CFB Halifax.

The bell of HMS FROBISHER, now part of the museum collection. This bell was once at Royal Roads Military College, when the college was located in Hatley Park, Colwood, British Columbia (now the home of Royal Roads University).

The following bells held at locations throughout Canada, mainly by Naval Reserve Divisions, are also included:

• HMCS SCOTIAN Bell – Halifax, NS;
• HMCS QUEEN CHARLOTTE Bell- Naval Reserve Division, Charlottetown, PEI;
• HMCS HUNTER Bell – Naval Reserve Division, Windsor, ON;
• HMCS HOCHELAGA Bell – CFB Borden, Simcoe County, ON;
• HMCS CATARAQUI Bell – Naval Reserve Division, Kingston, ON;
• HMCS BORDER CITIES Bell (re: HMCS Hunter’s wardroom bell) – Windsor, ON;
• HMCS BURLINGTON Bell – Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps – RCSCC Iron Duke, Burlington, ON;
• HMCS NOOTKA Bell – Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps – RCSCC Campbeltown, Holden, AB.