Alexander Sandy
Legacy Website
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Part One
Early Days
I was born on July 13th, 1944, and was named after my Mom’s only brother, Sandy. He was an Air Force pilot who had been shot down and killed in March of 1943, and I was born on his birthday the following year. My parents, Mom especially, regarded my birth almost as a reincarnation of her lost brother, and I inherited his name of Alexander, and nickname Sandy.
In 1940 my dad had got a job working for the Canadian Government in New York city. He was soon working to help create the “Lend Lease” arrangement through which the American government was able to supply England with war fighting materiel. In 1941 my sister Kathie was born in New York, and she and my parents continued to live there until my mom became pregnant with me. My parents then decided to move back to a house on Hingston Avenue in Montreal for my birth. After my mom gave birth to me, and she and I were both safe and well, Dad joined the navy.
Part Two
Joining The Navy
I was born on my Uncle Sandy’s birthday the year after he was killed in 1943, flying Hurricanes for the RAF against the Japanese over Burma. He was my Mother’s only brother and she did her best to keep his memory alive as I was growing up. My Dad served in the navy during the war and in the early fifties he took me on regular Saturday morning outings to see naval war films like “Battle of the River Platte” followed by lunch at the Naval Officer’s Club in Montreal where I became familiar with all the memorabilia that presently decorates “The Crowsnest” in St John’s, NFLD. These two streams of influence came together when a naval pilot walked into my grade eight classroom, put up some pictures of aircraft carriers, fighters and helicopters, and told us that this was what we should be doing with our future. I immediately realized that he was right and rushed home to inform my parents of my decision. They both seemed to be in agreement and we began to investigate how the idea could become reality.
Part Three
1961: Voyage to Venture
On August 23rd, 1961 I sent the telegram accepting the RCN offer to join HMCS Venture, and a few days later a letter arrived with the formal joining instructions. In addition to the travel details (departing by train from Montreal’s Central Station on Sept 5th), there was a long list of articles I would require – all to be stored in a “steamer trunk” which was to accompany me on the train.