Where have all the Flowers Gone??*

Almost as soon as hostilities ended the corvette fleets of Britain and Canada began to disband, with most going the scrapyard. However, some survived into the 1960s, 70s and in one case to the present day.

Of the rest, 52 ex RCN corvettes went to mercantile use and became whalers, freighter and even luxury yachts. Sudbury became a salvage tug on Canada's West coast, Shediac a Dutch whaler, Norysd and Beauharnois to the Mediterannean where they were used to smuggle Jews into Palestine. A further 24 were transferred to foreign navies - mainly those in South Amercia . In the 1970s the hope was to purchase the former HMCS Lousbourg II back from the Dominican Republic, however she was damaged beyond repair in a hurricane. This left but one Flower - HMCS Sackville.

CNAV Sackville
Circa 1982

The end of WWII found Sackville serving as a loop layer, in which capacity she served until April 1946. IN 1953 she became an oceanographic research vessle and as such her appearance was to change over the next 30 years. Eventually she had an all new bridge, the focsle was extended right aft and a large laboratory was added. It was in this state that she was taken in hand in the early 1980s for restoration to her wartime appearance. It is in her 1944 appearance that she may be seen today.

* Apologies to Corvettes of the RCN, but that is such an evocative title that I had to use it.