Emmett
Ronahan, Great-Grandfather of Brendan Ronahan
Emmett Ronahan was born on October 10th,
1918, in Fernwood P.E.I. In 1943, he signed up for military service in the navy.
Emmett
was an anti-aircraft gunner and leading seaman on the HMS Puncher, which was
stationed in the North Sea. He went
mostly between Halifax and the Mediterranean, escorting convoys. The HMS
Puncher was one of two aircraft escort carriers serving with the Royal Canadian
Navy. An escort carrier is a regular merchant ship with the upper
superstructure removed and replaced with a flight deck. It was used to defend
merchant convoys from air attack.
During
his tour of duty, Emmett was the unofficial ship photographer. On the back of
many photographs of aircraft and ships in Emmett’s possession are the words
“Unsuitable for transmission through the post (Not for Publication)” and
“Official photograph not to be communicated to the Press”. These directions
were designed to help protect military strategies from becoming public
knowledge.
On
one of his many trips across the Atlantic, the Allied ship beside the Puncher
was torpedoed by a German U-boat, and Emmett assisted in retrieving survivors
from the icy waters. In one instance, an aircraft aboard the Puncher crashed
upon landing; this jammed the aircraft’s gun trigger, and the sporadic gunfire
that followed wounded 5 sailors.
After the war, Emmett left the navy and became a butcher in Summerside.
He later owned his own meat market, and went on to become a meat inspector for
the province. On June 2nd, 1989, Emmett died peacefully at the age
of 71.
-Brendan Ronahan
It is 1:24 pm and I read from an earlier post that you journey to Vimy at 1:25pm. I am currenly on a VIA train bound for Ottawa. ( I left Toronto at 9:25am four hours earler.)
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of my journey is to attend a 95th Vimy Anniversary Recee French Embassy. I plan to share the story of Curley Christian, Canada's only quadruple amputee to survive either of the world wars. Think of him whilst here. In 1936 Curley was part of the original pilgrimmage to see he monument unveiled.
Cheer and bon voyage.
Kathy of The Legacy Voices Project
Great work David..I see my keys were sticking a bit in my above post. It should read "95th Vimy Anniversary reception at the French Embassy"
ReplyDeleteThank you for keeping us updated. Happy to hear all is going well. Looking forward to following this amazing venture. A BIG thank you to yourself and all TOSH staff who have given generously of their time to provide this amazing opportunity for our kidz. Greatly appreciate all you do!
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