HMCS DAERWOOD

The entry of Japan and the United States into the war in 1941 had two wide-reaching effects on Canadian Coastal defence policy. German U-boats began operating off the American coast, and it was naturally foreseen that this would probably result in increased danger to shipping in eastern Canadian waters, requiring a corresponding step-up in the already intensive anti-submarine campaign. Naval authorities on the west coast, on the other hand, were now faced with the likelihood of Japanese submarine and mining activities for the first time, and further coastal defence in that area seemed imperative. Canada, in short, found that the enemy was at “her gates, both east and west”. To meet the double exigency, coastal defence facilities had to be augmented as quickly as possible; or, as the Chief of Naval Staff put it, “…every shipbuilding yard should be worked to capacity until we see light ahead.” [1]

HMCS DAERWOOD

A large part of the increased building programme was devoted to the construction of minesweepers for both coasts. Much of the danger to shipping in coastal waters arose from magnetic mines, and it was recognized by the Naval Service that the existing steel-hulled Bangors, Suderoys, and “Fundy” Class minesweepers were only partially adequate, degaussing being difficult and not completely effective. [2] Smaller wooden minesweepers, which could be degaussed more easily and effectively, seemed the logical answer for inshore requirements. The order of two 105’ wooden minesweepers for the east coast in the spring of 1941 was followed early in 1942 by an order of eight similar vessels to be built in British Columbia for west coast defence.  [3]

The first of these motor minesweepers was the future HMCS DAERWOOD, laid down at Vancouver Shipyards Limited on 3 December, 1942 as CN 483. As with other vessels of this type, construction proceeded rather slowly, and it was not until April of 1944 that she was ready for commissioning. On completion, she was equipped with LL and SA gear for the destruction of sonar-acoustic and magnetic mines, two depth-charge throwers, and two twin Lewis and one twin Colt M-70 anti-aircraft weapons. A single-shaft, 500 horse-power Diesel engine gave her a speed of 11.5 knots during trials (April 14-17). Her other specifications were as follows:

• Standard displacement:                              228 tons
• Length, overall:                                             119’ 4”
• Breadth, extreme:                                           22’ 0”
• Draught forward:                                              7’ 2”
• Draught aft:                                                       8’ 8”
• Complement:                                                3 officers, 19 men.

HMCS DAERWOOD was commissioned at Vancouver Shipyards Limited 22 April 1944, thereby becoming the first of Canada’s 105’ Wooden Minesweepers to enter service on the west coast.  She bore a name of some significance in Canadian History.  It had been decided that she should be named for the town of Selkirk, Manitoba; but since there was already a Selkirk in the British Navy at the time, a different but equivalent title had to be devised.  Lord Selkirk, whose name looms large in the opening of the West, held the hereditary title of Baron Daer; and the name was first applied locally in 1812, when Captain Miles Macdonnell, agent for Lord Selkirk, built an encampment called “Fort Daer” on the site of the present town of Pembina, North Dakota.  A small tributary of the Red River near Selkirk was later named “Daer Creek”.  HMCS DAERWOOD, in short, bore the name of Selkirk.

For the first ten months of her commission, HMCS DAERWOOD, carrying pennant number J-367, was based at Esquimalt, maintaining a busy schedule of daily patrols in the inshore waters.  The main danger to west coast shipping, particularly in 1944, arose from drifting mines; and this, coupled with the occasional presence of potential mine-laying Japanese submarines, kept DAERWOOD and her sister vessels on continual patrol.  In this capacity, she frequently worked with HMCS CRANBROOK, also from Esquimalt.  As winter approached, the sea duties of the 105’ wooden minesweepers became less arduous, but with the return of spring, DAERWOOD was spending an average of twenty days per month at sea.  Her Reports of Proceedings for this period are not available, but contemporary records of the Esquimalt base suggest that she probably assisted in the destruction and removal of the many mines that floated easterly from Japan on the Pacific currents, as well as participating in the occasional search for downed aircraft.  Following the completion of her refit on 16 March, 1945, DAERWOOD was detached from the Esquimalt Force and added to the force at Prince Rupert, whence she resumed her uneventful but necessary patrols of coastal approaches.

With the surrender of Germany in May, 1945 and the turning of the Japanese tide in the Pacific, tension slackened on Canada’s west coast.  For the next three months, HMCS DAERWOOD and her sister vessel COQUITLAM were employed as examination and traffic control craft at the entrance to Prince Rupert, checking the status of all ships entering port and directing them through the boom defences of the harbour.

Following the cessation of war with Japan, DAERWOOD remained only a month at her harbour duties, and on 2 October she began the gradual but inevitable process of preparing to pay off.  The month of November was spent in winterizing and destoring, at the conclusion of which on the 28^th she was paid off and towed to Lynn Creek, Vancouver.  The next day, she was secured to trots at Bedwell Bay, where she was handed over to War Assets Corporation for disposal.  In August of the following year, she was purchased by J. A. Neilson of Vancouver.

An unspectacular record cannot be dismissed simply because it is unspectacular, and consequently the value of HMCS DAERWOOD must not be assessed as unimportant.  The 105’ wooden minesweeper, like their larger sisters on the east coast, have not, unfortunately, gained a recognition commensurate with the service which they performed; yet it was largely through their unremitting efforts that shipping invariably left and entered the west coast harbours of Esquimalt, Vancouver and Prince Rupert with their valuable cargoes intact.  That they were taken for granted is perhaps the highest compliment to the efficiency with which they carried out their task.