HAYES, Commodore William Prine - MID, CD, B.Sc Mil, D. Sc. Mil (hon),
RCN (Ret'd) RMC 2576 of Mahone Bay, died suddenly on Tuesday, August
4, 2009, at his home. Bill Hayes was born in Swift Current, Sask.,
December 18, 1919. He attended schools there and entered the Royal
Military College in 1937. He left the college in 1939 to join the
Royal Canadian Navy as a cadet. He began his service as a Midshipman
with the Royal Navy's Eastern Mediterranean fleet. He served aboard
HMS Liverpool early in the Second World War, and action occurred when
the fleet was returning to Alexandria in October 1940, having escorted
a convoy to Malta. Excerpts from Bill's midshipman's journal
describing the torpedoing of HMS Liverpool are in the naval archives.
On November 11, 1940, the Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft
naval attack in history, flying a small number of aircraft from the
aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean and attacking the Italian fleet
at Taranto. They inflicted severe damage on the Italian Fleet and
helped to tip the balance of Mediterranean Sea power in favour of the
Allies. In March 1941 he was aboard HMS York when it was torpedoed and
sunk in Suda Bay. His Midshipman' journal lost for many months
survived intact and arrived in the mail many months later. This
account is also in the naval archives. In 1941 he took part in the
evacuation of Greece and Crete and the Syrian Campaign. He was
serving in HMS Isis when she was struck by a bomb during that time. In
1942 he was appointed to HMCS Iroquois. He was assigned to convoys to
the treacherous northwest Russian port of Murmansk and on December 26,
1943, he was part of the action that brought about the destruction of
the German battleship Scharnhorst. He was gunnery control officer in a
number of night actions in the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel.
He was twice mentioned in despatches in November 1944 and July 1945.
In the post war years he attended the Royal Navy Staff College, the
United States Naval War College Naval Command Course and the National
Defence College. He commanded two destroyers, one of which was HMCS
Cayuga in the Korean theatre in 1953, two destroyer squadrons, and the
Atlantic Fleet. In 1960 Bill was Commanding Officer of HMCS Columbia
for her voyage to West Africa to represent Canada at Nigeria's formal
acquisition of Independence He was also Commandant of Royal Roads
Military College, the Royal Military College of Canada and the
Canadian Forces Staff College from 1971-1973. He was an Honorary ADC
to the Governor - General, the Right Honourable Roland Michener from
1967 until he retired in 1973. On retirement from the Navy, for a
brief period Commodore Hayes was General Manager of the Financial Post
Conference Division. He moved to Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, in June 1974
where he was once occupied with a small hobby farm operation. Bill's
other interests have led to his serving as President of the Royal
Military College Club of Canada, President of the Royal United
Services Institute of Nova Scotia in 1981. In 1978 he was instrumental
in the formation of the Canadian Marine Rescue Auxiliary (Coast Guard)
Maritime region and served as Vice President. He was an honorary
member of the Sir Archibald MacDonell branch of the Royal Canadian
Legion in Kingston, Ont. Close to home, he served on the board of
Directors of Fisherman's Memorial Hospital in Lunenburg from
1980-1984; he was treasurer 1980-1981 and Chairman 1982-1984. To
recognize his involvement with the Mahone Bay 225th Anniversary
celebrations Bill was made an honorary citizen of the town of Mahone
Bay. He was awarded the Centennial medal in 1967. In May 1983 he
received the honorary degree, Doctor of Military Science from the
Royal Military College of Canada. Bill married his childhood friend
Ruth Ironside, March 30, 1944. He is survived by his wife; his sister,
Mary Ellen Horne of Mississauga, Ont.; daughter, Jane (Lou) Altobelli
of Georgetown, Ont.; and sons, Fred (Cheryl) of Victoria, B.C. and Jim
(Anne) of Sooke, B.C. He also leaves behind many wonderful
grandchildren, Nick, Dan, Kelly, Allison, Alexandra, Lydia and great-
granddaughter, Lily. It will be a far less interesting place without
him. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, August 13,
2009 in St. James'Anglican Church on Edgewater Street in Mahone Bay. A
reception will be held following the service at the Oak Island Resort.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Royal Canadian Naval
Benevolent Fund, P.O. Box 505, Stn B, Ottawa, ON K1P 5P6. Condolences
may be offered through: www.mahonefuneral.ca
