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They made the Ultimate Sacrifice
BATE, Leonard, L/Tel, V7646, RCNVR, MPK - 10 Feb 1942, HMCS SPIKENARD - Son of Leonard and Gertrude Bate, Dundalk, ON.
L/Tel Leonard Bate died when his ship, HMCS SPIKENARD, was torpedoed and sunk by U-136, about 465 nautical miles west of Malin Head, Ireland while escorting convoy SC-67. Of her crew of 65, there were only 8 survivors.
Leading Telegrapher Leonard Bate - Parents of Leading Telegrapher Leonard Bate, RCN, who live at Dundalk, have received word that their son is "missing, believed lost" in the sinking of the corvette Spikenard. His father, Leonard Bate, was reported missing in the last war but turned up as a prisoner in Germany, where he spent three years. At the age of 14 Bate was the youngest radio amateur in Canada. Before enlisting he worked at radio stations at Kirkland Lake and Timmins, he was the youngest professional radio operator. Telegraphist Bate was the first boy to enlist from his home town, and is survived by his parents who reside at Dundalk, Ontario.
Ships served in: TORONTO DIVISION RCNVR - Enlisted 27 Sep 1939 as an O/Tel, RCNVR HMCS STADACONA - Drafted to STADACONA 01 Oct 1939 as an O/Tel, RCNVR HMCS BRAS D'OR - Drafted to BRAS D'OR 01 Nov 1939 as an O/Tel, RCNVR * Rated Tel 31 Dec 1939 HMCS STADACONA - Drafted to STADACONA 01 Feb 1940 as a Tel, RCNVR NCSO HALIFAX - Drafted to NCSA HALIFAX 02 Mar 1940 as a Tel, RCNVR HMCS STADACONA - Drafted to STADACONA 17 Apr 1940 as a Tel, RCNVR ANDRÉE DUPRÉ - Drafted to ANDRÉE DUPRÉ 01 May 1940 as a Tel, RCNVR HMCS STADACONA - Drafted to STADACONA 20 Oct 1940 as a Tel, RCNVR HMCS SPIKENARD - Drafted to 28 Nov 1940 SPIKENARD as a Tel, RCNVR * Rated A/L/Tel 01 Jun 1941
(LB01) - Documents from the Service File of Leonard Bate (LB02) Article on L/Tel Bate Missing believed lost (LB03) OS Leonard Bate. Leonard was 18 years old at the time of this photo. Courtesy of Tara Danard
(LB04) Tel Leonard Bate (right) with Tel Lionel Kennedy on HMCS ANDRÉE DUPRÉ - May-Oct, 1940 (LB05) Sailors on board HMCS SPIKENARD K198. L/Tel Leonard Bate with the "x" beside his head
Wartime memories - submitted by Barbara Holliday - My Dad, E.M. Lionel Kennedy, told me years ago that Len was his best friend and that they served together early in the war as telegraphers/radio operators in the RCNVR. They became friends while they were attending signals school at HMCS Stadacona in Halifax in the last months of 1939.
According to what Dad had told me, the photo of Dad and Len would have been taken on board the HMCS ANDRÉE DUPRÉ at some point in the nine month period after January 1940 when he and Len were posted to the refitted trawler as Telegraphists. The ANDRÉE DUPRÉ was used as an examination vessel for Halifax harbour, checking manifests and cargo of merchant ships that came into the harbour. In December 1940 Dad was posted to HMCS HEPATICA for convoy duty and most likely Len was posted to the SPIKENARD at the same time.
Second World War Casualty Index
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