Okanagan‘s link to the navy on tap in visit

Ron Seymour 2010-03-25 Kelowna Daily Courier:
The Okanagan‘s connection to Canada‘s naval history will be recalled at events planned for next week in Kelowna, Vernon and the Westbank First Nation. A top naval officer, Cmdr. Robert Ferguson, is coming to the Valley to make presentations on three ships that were named for Okanagan communities. “This year is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Royal Canadian Navy,” Cmdr. Paul Seguna, a Canadian Forces public affairs officer, said Wednesday.
The navy has a long tradition of naming its ships after Canadian towns, cities and geographical features, such as rivers. The Naval Namesake program is an effort to publicize those associations, even though many of the ships are long out of service. Ferguson, who is the commanding officer of the HMCS Winnipeg, will address Kelowna city council on Monday afternoon, and Vernon city council on Wednesday morning. He‘ll also visit the Westbank First Nation on Wednesday afternoon. “These presentations are sort of like the launch for the official 100th anniversary celebrations that will take place in May,” Seguna said.

An act to create the navy received royal assent on May 4, 1910. During the Second World War, Canada had the world‘s second largest navy, with more than 400 ships. HMCS Kelowna and HMCS Kalamalka were minesweepers that patrolled the West Coast. “During the war, there was often quite a connection between the ships and the communities they were named for,” Seguna said. “People would send over packages for the crews serving on the ships, filled with personal items.” The parcels contained items such as clothes, fruit and preserves. “We really liked getting those packages. One of the sweaters I got, I wore it for years after the war,” Rae Hayward, HMCS Kelowna‘s cook, recalled in a 2004 interview. Both the Kelowna and the Kalamalka were taken out of service after the war. All Canadian submarines are named for First Nations communities.
HMCS Okanagan was a sub with a crew of 68 that was in service from 1968 until 1998.