Category Archives: Old Website

Was Nootka Lighthouse Also Attacked in WW2?

page 1 of H. F. Chamberlin letter letter courtesy of Zellie Chamberlin Sale

 

Howard Frazer Chamberlin was on Nootka lighthouse in 1942 according to the interview by the Naval Reserve (see letters at left). But there is a problem here.

When I received a copy of this letter I thought it was referring to the attack on Estevan Point which supposedly helped introduce conscription in Canada during the Second World War. But if you check the dates, this seems to have occured almost a month later to the day that the Estevan Point shelling happened. According to all records, the shelling of Estevan Point took place nightfall of June 20, 1942. 

page 2 of H. F. Chamberlin letter letter courtesy of Zellie Chamberlin Sale

This letter seems to show that there was another attack at Nootka lighthouse about a month later on the evening of July 18, 1942. In fact the lightkeeper states that he phoned Estevan Point Wireless station to see if they were being plastered again! (my emphasis – JC) But Estevan returned the call and said that they had heard nothing so it must have been nearer Nootka. From working with explosives in mining and prospecting, Howard Chamberlin knew the difference between industrial explosives and high-explosives. 

The only thing that appears to be at odds here is that he feels the vibration from the explosions as from underwater. I wonder if he was hearing depth charges going off? This is just one month later than the Estevan incident. I will bet that the Navy and the Naval Reserve were on high alert during this time and expecting the worse. Perhaps a floating log triggered the release of a few depth charges. 

A transcript of the original letter(s) follows:

                        From H.M.C.S. “Pryer”
To COAV
Esquimalt BC
                        Nootka Lighthouse
                        2200 / 19 / 7 / 42
Subject
            Interview With Mr. H. F. ChamberlinLightkeeper 

I was sitting in the kitchen of the Light
house, overlooking the sea, and having
a cup of Tea at 1902 hours July 18/42, when
I both felt and heard an explosion from
a southerly direction. (out to sea) and
this was followed by six other shocks
at intervals of about one (1) minute
between shocks.
I was naturally surprised and could
see the vibrations from the shocks in
the cup of Tea.
As an old Miner and Prospector I can
easily tell the difference between “blasting”
and “submarine” shocks, and the shock
I both heard and felt were definitely from
seaward, and from the “feel” of the vibration
I would say from underwater.
The first shock occured at 1902 and the
last shock at 1911, as I noted the time of last shock.
I phoned the wireless station at Estevan Point
and asked them if they had been “plastered” again, and
they informed me that they had felt or heard nothing.
It was at 1915 when I phoned Estevan Pt. Wireless.

Page 2
(same as Page 1 but with signature at bottom) 

Witness
      Chief Skipper J. D. McPhee, R.C.N.R.
            Commanding Officer
                  H.M.C.S. “Pryer”

*********************************

– Howard F. Chamberlin (Lightkeeper on Nootka 1936 – 1941) 

Langara Island 1943 – 1945

– Norma (Kinnear) Money and Willa (Kinnear) Studiner (daughters of William Norman Kinnear, Senior Keeper on Langara 1943 – 1945)

Original interview from the Pine Tree Line1 website which is now hosted on this site.

The duplex – light tower barely visible on right side

Comments by Ren L’Ecuyer 2 – The Kinnear family lived at the lighthouse complex on Langara Island in the 1943-1945 time period. I was fortunate to communicate with Norma Kinnear in February 2004. I had requested her assistance in trying to recreate what once existed at Langara Island. The following detail is a series of questions and answers – all of which provide additional information on what occurred at Langara Island during this period of time. 

Q#1 – Can you please provide the names of your parents, your sister and yourself? I assume there were just two children when you went to Langara Island. 

A#1 – Father: William Norman Kinnear. Mother: Doris May Kinnear. Sisters: Willa Margaret Kinnear and Norma Kathleen Kinnear. 

Q#2 – How old were you and your sister when you arrived at Langara Island? 

A#2 – My sister (Willa) was seven and I was eight. 

Q#3 – Was Langara Island the first location for your father as a light keeper? 

A#3 – Yes.  Continue reading Langara Island 1943 – 1945

Radiotelephone Frustration – McInnes Island c. 1970s – 2000

What a convenience! What an expense! What a frustration!

Radio telephone

Anyone who has used a radio-telephone on the BC coast will agree with me. It was great to have semi-private communications rather than using the government-installed ALAN (Automated Lightstation Alarm Network) phone which was not private, and also broke down. It was expensive to have a privately owned radio-telephone but so nice to be in contact with the rest of the world. 

But sometimes this convenience just added a few more gray hairs to my head. Here’s one example of a conversation! (there are probably many more if anyone wants to add one) 

**********************************

[heard over the radio-telephone speaker, a ringing sound of a telephone as I keyed the microphone (pressed the press-to-talk (PTT) button to get contact with an operator)] 

Operator: Swindle Island [our normal Telus stand-by channel to receive/place phone calls] 

Myself: Hello operator, this is McInnes Island  . May I have privacy please. 

[“privacy” allowed us to have some modicum of secrecy on the radio-telephone line as it blanked out our side of the conversation to other listeners so they could not hear our registration number or other personal details e.g. bank account numbers, etc.]  Continue reading Radiotelephone Frustration – McInnes Island c. 1970s – 2000

Do You Have a Photo of Me Mid-1978?

– Rand Grant (relief keeper on Triple Island June – July 1978)

Melville Island - looking NW from Triple - photo Rand Grant (Flickr)

The story is in reference to the photo at right, Rand writes: 

The large Island is Melville. Prince Rupert lies just beyond this. The tanker is on it’s way into Prince Rupert Port. One of the deepest and busiest on the west coast of British Columbia. 

One evening back in ’78 [while stationed on Triple Island], I noticed an Alaskan Cruise ship on it’s way by. I walked up to the roof; it was a beautiful summer evening; I was curious, so started waving my arms over my head, back and forth. I actually witnessed that ship light-up with so many flash-bulbs that it made me laugh.  Continue reading Do You Have a Photo of Me Mid-1978?

Cape Scott Before the Lighthouse 1942 – 1943

In July 1942, seventeen (17) years before the present lighthouse at Cape Scott was lit, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) established a radio detection finding (RDF) transmitter and receiver at the point. Work was started in July 1942 and the station was online in December 1942. It continued in operation until September 1945. (please see reference notes below). 

Ernest J. Ferguson

Late in 2005 the lighthouse keeper at Cape Scott, Harvey Humchitt, received an inquiry from Ernest J. Ferguson who was reminiscing about his earlier life and wanted to visit Cape Scott, his old haunt from 1942. He was a well-retired RCAF Pilot Officer who started on Cape Scott in July 1942 as a Leading Aircraftman (LAC). 

In his email he wished to visit the area once more but Coast Guard would not permit it because of his age (he was 85 years old this year [2006]). Since then he has written Harvey and myself and given us a few black and white photos and stories of his time setting up No. 10 Radio Detachment on Cape Scott.  Continue reading Cape Scott Before the Lighthouse 1942 – 1943

Porlier Pass Lighthouse 1949 – 1965

– Denice Goudie (grandaughter of Henry Edward Brown, Senior Keeper on Porlier Pass 1949 – 1965) 

Please go to the Porlier Pass lighthouse website, a project of Dennice Goudie, and read the rest of her account and recollections of life at Porlier Pass and a history of her grandfather. 

Building on Race Point demolished in 1996 - photo - Chris Mills

Grandfather of this researcher Denice Goudie, Henry Edward Brown (November 29, 1899 – September 27, 1974) served as lighthouse keeper at Porlier Pass between 1949 and 1965 which was established 15 November 1902; automated April 1996. 

Every summer and most school holidays of my memory were spent at the north end of Galiano Island. At first in the house which stood further up the hill; lit by coal oil lamps, outhouse, water by bucket from the cistern and after that house burned down a 3 bedroom house that can be viewed from Virago Point Light, looking toward Race Point.  Continue reading Porlier Pass Lighthouse 1949 – 1965

Canadian Government Pension Plans for Retiring Lighthouse Keepers

All Canadian government employees who are eligible for retirement are eligible for:
The Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP)
Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
Old Age Security (OAS) pension at age 65

You are entitled to a Public Service pension (immediate annuity), if you retire:(source)

  • at or after age 60 with two (2) or more years of pensionable service; or
  • at or after age 55 with 30 or more years of pensionable service.

A Public Service pension is calculated according to the following basic pension formula:(source)

2 per
cent

 X 

number of years of
pensionable service

 X 

your average salary for the five
consecutive years of your highest-paid
service

 

Maximum Pension Payable To You Is ONLY For 35 Years Which Equals 70%.

Continue reading Canadian Government Pension Plans for Retiring Lighthouse Keepers

My Rowboat On Langara Island

by Jeannie (Hartt) Nielsen (daughter of Ed Hartt, Senior Keeper on Langara 1957 – 1963) 

painting - Phyllis Ray

My dad built me a 8 foot plywood rowboat on Langara. It was my pride and joy. I often rowed it in the “cut”. This was a sheltered cove where the supply workboat brought our groceries and fuel, and hooked slings onto the skyhook to bring the goods onshore. 

Often the cut would become choked with kelp, fouling the workboats prop. I would take a machete, throw my boat in, and spend the warm summer days leaning over the side of the boat and chopping the heads off the kelp. They would then sink to the bottom, leaving the area clean.  Continue reading My Rowboat On Langara Island

Lighthouse Poetry

I am not a poet, or I should re-phrase that and say that I can write about lighthouses, but I cannot write poetry about lighthouses, so I went on the Internet and started looking.

On my old site I had two links to lighthouse poetry, but only one seems to be working now.

Dan’s Lighthouse website has quite a few poems, most with a religious tone to them, but interesting reading. His poetry webpage is found here. Continue reading Lighthouse Poetry

Video – I Want to Marry A Lighthousekeeper

Anyone remember this song? I was on McInnes Island when I first saw the movie “A Clockwork Orange [1971]” and heard the song. We did not have a TV station, but we did have a TV and a cassette player.

http://youtu.be/dKhso6odZpI Continue reading Video – I Want to Marry A Lighthousekeeper