|
"Luxurious, relaxing and peaceful ... "
These are words no one has ever used to describe life onboard a submarine
How the Submarine Room at the Naval Museum of Halifax came to be - by Brian Lapierre, C2ET, RCN, ret'd
After the last Oberon paid off in July 2000 artifacts were being removed from the paid-off submarines - with the exception of ONONDAGA as she was slated to be a museum - and were stored at the Naval Museum of Halifax in hope that some day a Submarine display would be created.
Between 2000 and 2011 there was no movement on the display and the artifacts were in storage at the Naval Museum of Halifax in the room which now houses the display. 2011 marked the beginning of the inventory process of identifying all the items in that room - taking photographs and recording pertinent information on each item in the museum's submarine holdings with the goal of having the Submarine Room display completed by the 100th Anniversary of Submarines Service of Canada in August 2014. Due to financial restraints this goal was not achieved.
In the spring of 2018, a volunteer at the Naval Museum of Halifax, Mr. Guy Godin approached Jim Northrup one day in Tim Hortons in Dartmouth and expressed to Jim that the Naval Museum of Halifax wanted to resurrect the Submarine Room Project and wanted to know if Jim was interested.
It has always been an interest at SAOC(E) to develop the Submarine Room at the Museum but difficulties in obtaining funds, the state of the "Crypt" which they originally wanted to use kept falling through. Jim Northrup being the Vice Chairman of SAOC(E) brought the topic up at the next available meeting and asked for volunteers to help develop the Room. The initial 7 volunteers quickly became 2 - Jim Northrup and myself (Brian Lapierre) - so the two of us ran with the idea and put together the theme for "Submarines in the Service of Canada" room at the Naval Museum of Halifax. This involved gathering additional information, photographs, videos and sorting through the various artifacts to be displayed and creating a display design layout. Over a period of 14 months additional artifacts were collected, inventoried, and photographed.
With the help of Rodney Lake another SAOC(E) Member, the Bunk Space, Mess Room Area and Curved overhead was created. Submariners from MOG4 and HMCS WINDSOR offered their help in providing items for the Bunk Space & Mess Room Area and building the frame which housed the Oxygen Generator. The Submarine Training Facility in CFB Halifax provided us with a mannequin and Victoria Class Model.
In August 2018, Crystal McManus brought her father Charlie to a SAOC(E) meeting at MOG5. During the meeting Crystal informed us that she was a Graphics Arts Instructor at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) and offered the services of her class and herself to aide in the development of the Submarine Room. During the period of October 2018 to April 2019 numerous meetings were held with Crystal and her students to discuss ideas for design of the Submarine Room display and information panels.
For the construction and placement of the displays, Jim and I were responsible for mounting all the wall panels and center display panels while the Museum Director Jennifer Denty & Curator Jennifer Gamble put together the artifacts in the cabinets to museum display standards. Our deadline was achieved and the Submarine Room opened to the Public on 08 August 2019.
Welcome to the Submarine Room at the Naval Museum of Halifax
The photos below are a small part of the the history contained in the Submarine Room - which is best experienced with an in person visit.
The displays and the information panels tell the story of the Canadian Submarine Service - their boats and crews - and will show you a small portion of their cramped and dangerous life below the surface.
There are many displays, not shown here, that tell the story of life on board subs; those who made the Ultimate Sacrifice; photos of their crew and boats; etc.
For more information on the Naval Museum of Halifax and their hours of operation, click here
These scissors, used for the Christening of HMCS PRESERVER, were used for the opening of the submarine room
Photos courtesy of Brian Lapierre
|
