History

     Upon order in 1929 by CN Steamships, the Prince David, and sister ships Prince Henry and Prince Robert, were constructed by contractors Cammel Laird & Co. of Birkenhead, England. Named for CN top officials, they were completed in 1930 and began the Depression era by arriving in Vancouver where they were employed in the daily service along the B.C. Coast, from Seattle to Alaska.

      They all eventually set sail for the Atlantic in the early 1930s, and mainly chartered from New England to the Bermuda area, still under the CN banner. In March of 1934, the Prince David (while en route to Bermuda) struck a reef and was nearly lost. Fortunately, she was able to be repaired fairly quickly and returned to cruising the East Coast that same year.

      With the threat of war in the late 1930s, the RCN initially ordered only the Prince David and Prince Robert to be converted into armed merchant cruisers, as the Prince Henry was chartered in 1938 to a different steamship company, and had to be purchased again. She eventually joined her sisters in the conversion which was certainly no small or inexpensive task. The three ships were not completed until mid to late 1940, with the Prince David being the last to be commissioned in late December at Halifax under the pendant F89. She was employed under the command of Captain W.B. Armit, RCNR, as a convoy escort along the East Coast.

      The Prince David had an early close call with a German pocket battleship in the spring of 1941 while cruising alone in the open waters. Although a vulnerable target, both ships ended up retreating hastily; the Germans fearing the Prince David's resemblance to a more combatant cruiser.

      All three of the Princes were later reunited in May of 1942 to patrol the Pacific in wake of the Japanese threat. Although they were in no way equipped to do battle in the event of a warship attack, the Princes were successful in warding off the enemy and keeping the shipping ports safe. Actually, a propaganda movie entitled "The Commandos Strike at Dawn!" employed the Prince David that same year.

      In June of 1942 the Aleutian Islands were in the control of the Japanese forces, and the three Princes (along with two corvettes) set off to aid the Americans in escorting ships from the Kodiak base to the outer islands. This continued on for two months until mid-November until they were ordered to return to the B.C. Coast to resume their former responsibilities.

      It was during this time that the threat of Japanese warships became a real concern on the West Coast. The Princes did not have the capability to ward off an attack of that nature, and the decision was made to convert both the Prince David and the Prince Henry into medium-sized Landing Ship Infantry. The Prince Robert would be converted into an auxiliary anti-aircraft cruiser, thus separating her from her sister ships in terms of duties.

      Both the Prince David and Prince Henry were fitted to carry eight 20-ton landing crafts, and the installation of better armament equipped the Princes for anti-aircraft protection. Large sick bays were also incorporated on the ships as high numbers of casualties were anticipated during the Landing Craft runs. In December of 1943, the Prince David was recommissioned and left Esquimalt under her final commanding officer Captain T.D. Kelly, RCNR.

      The Prince David was soon ordered to New York where they would load and transport some 437 American soldiers to England. On arrival in Clydebank, the two ships undertook a final fitting with more radar and communications equipment. This was to better prepare them for the landings in Normandy, which was to be known as "Operation Neptune."

      After very successful pre-invasion training exercises, the Prince David picked up her landing craft which was to be the 529th Flotilla, under the command of Lieutenant R.G. Buckingham, RCNVR. Six Canadian landing craft, as well as two Royal Navy landing craft. The entire month of May was devoted to training, with King George VI reviewing the invasion fleet at Southampton on May 24th.

      June 2nd saw the two Princes embarking troops which included 418 soldiers for the Prince David, 132 being part of the 8th Infantry Brigade Reserve from Quebec. The ships set off for France the evening of the 5th and were destined for the British JUNO sector of the beaches. Both ships played a role in "Force J" which was under command of Commodore G.N. Oliver, RN, of the HMS Hilary.

      D-Day was not very successful for the Prince David, in terms of only one landing craft making it ashore safely. It was a long tumultuous morning for the Princes, and despite most of the boats hitting mines and obstacles, the main objective was indeed accomplished: getting the troops ashore. Some had lost their heavier equipment in the wrecked landing craft, but managed to make it ashore and carry out their own particular D-Day objectives. With many wounded and some casualties on board, the Prince David left for Southampton. The rest of the month saw her make two more trips to France, then back to England for boiler cleaning.

      On July 24th, the Princes set off for Gibraltar, to take part in the invasion of southern France called "Operation Dragoon." They arrived on the 31st, and the Prince David was to be one of two attacking forces. Under command of Captain S.H. Morris, the Prince David served as HQ ship of the "Romeo Unit", which also included the Princess Beatrix and Prince Albert, along with five American torpedo boats. She carried French commandos from North Africa as well as two English nurses. Taking the gun batteries at Cap Negre was the main objective of this force.

      "Operation Dragoon" commenced on the 15th of August, and the Prince David arrived just off of Cap Negre in the early hours of the morning. Landing craft put the commandos ashore and they soon had the batteries under their control. With some wounded on board, the Prince David later set sail for Corsica. Close to three thousand troops were transported to the French coast in two additional trips for reinforcement.

      A pleasant turn of events occurred in mid-September, when the Prince David sailed with 530 troops to force the already evacuating Germans out of the Aegean Islands. Instead of the expected resistance, they were met with Greeks who happily welcomed the landing craft as they came in. They received an even greater welcome the next day in Piraeus as the Nazis had recently retreated, and the feeling of liberation was in the air. The Prince David was in the vicinity preparing landing craft in anticipation of Greek Prime Minister Papandreou and his party who would soon be boarding the ship. He ended up transferring onto a Greek cruiser instead, which followed the Prince David to the island of Poros.

      There was to be quite a jolt around this time when the Prince David struck a mine while cruising up the channel near Salamis Bay. Although extensive damage was done to the plating, it did not seriously effect the capabilities of the ship and she was able to sail to Tunisia after quick repairs. There she docked until another trip to Gibraltar, and the patchwork job proved to be unstable when it fell off shortly after.

      In the beginning of 1945 she sailed directly to B.C. for refitting, as preparations had been made for transferring the two Princes on loan to the Royal Navy. This took place in June, however with the Pacific War officially terminated, the British did not take her over. Instead she was docked in North Vancouver, and later joined by the Prince Robert. Both ships were eventually sold in 1946 to Charlton Steam and Shipping Co. in England. The Prince David was renamed the Charlton Monarch and made long voyages from continent to continent, shipping cargo and transporting immigrants. Her final year was 1951 where she was sold in Swansea and broken up.

      A war-time quote may very well sum up the enormous impact the three Princes made on the RCN and Canada's role during WWII:

"In the reconstruction of ships nothing warrants higher praise than the conversion of the HMC Ships Prince Robert, Prince David and Prince Henry to their present status. The conversion of these ships was a unique experience for the Shipbuilders and Technical Officers of the Navy Headquarters and Esquimalt and turned out to be the first effort of Canada towards the building of modern anti-aircraft cruisers and well-armed landing ships. These ships are now the most heavily armed of their kind and size in the world and have made a name for themselves on the invasion beaches of Europe." (Roberts & Leacock)

Leslie Roberts & Stephen Leacock, Canada's War at Sea, Vol. II: "Canada and the War at Sea" (Roberts), Part III "Of Ships and Shipbuilding" (Wallace Ward & Alex. Morton), p.126, Alvah M. Beatty, Montreal, 1944.

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