Vice Admiral Henry George DeWolf (26 June 1903 – 18 December 2000) was a Canadian naval officer who was famous as the first commander of during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Early years

DeWolf entered the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

(RCN) in 1918 at age 15 when he attended the

Royal Naval College of Canada The Royal Naval College of Canada (RNCC) was established by the Department of the Naval Service after the formation of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1910. The college was placed under the auspices of the Minister of Naval Service (and of Marine ...

(RNCC) at

Esquimalt, British Columbia The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...

.Vice-Admiral Harry DeWolf: A Canadian Naval Legend
/ref> DeWolf graduated from RNCC in 1921 and was sent on an exchange with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

to serve on board the battleship . He was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1924 and took a six-month course in gunnery, torpedoes and navigation at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

. Returning to Canada in the summer of 1925, he was posted to one of the RCN's two destroyers, . In early 1930, Lieutenant DeWolf received his first command, the at Halifax. In May 1931, he married Gwendolen Gilbert of

Somerset, Bermuda Somerset Village is a small, unincorporated village in the northwest area of Bermuda, located in Sandys Parish. It lies in the northern half of Somerset Island. Like Flatts Village and Tucker's Town, the settlement has existed for centuries, ...

, whom he had met while serving aboard HMCS ''Patriot'', which had spent a winter training there several years earlier. In 1932, DeWolf was posted to the destroyer and then in 1933 to the destroyer . In July 1935, he was promoted to

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

and posted to

National Defence Headquarters National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) ( French: ''Quartiers généraux de la Défense nationale'' (''QGDN'')) was created through the integration of Canadian Armed Forces Headquarters (CAF HQ) with the civilian Department of National Defence (DN ...

(NDHQ) in Ottawa. He was made Assistant Director of Intelligence and Plans.

Second World War

HMCS ''St. Laurent''

DeWolf returned to Canada in 1939 and was appointed commanding officer of the destroyer . ''St. Laurent'' was posted to convoy duty out of Halifax. ''St. Laurent'' under DeWolf reportedly fired the RCN's first shots of the war as they helped rescue British and French troops escaping from continental Europe during

Operation Dynamo Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

after the Fall of France in late May and early June 1940. ''St. Laurent'' returned to convoy duty in the North Atlantic, and the following month, in July 1940, DeWolf's ship rescued 859 German and Italian prisoners of war, survivors of , which had been torpedoed by a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

, . DeWolf was promoted to commander in 1940. He and his ship were mentioned in despatches twice during his service on ''St. Laurent''. Years later, he recalled the following incident, which took place while in command of ''St. Laurent'':

HMCS ''Haida''

DeWolf took command of HMCS ''Haida'' in August 1943. Under DeWolf, ''Haida'' earned a reputation as "the Fightingest Ship in the Canadian Navy", and was responsible for sinking 14 enemy ships in just over a year, earning numerous accolades. ''Haida'' and DeWolf saw service with convoys to Murmansk as well as operations to secure the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

in preparation for Operation Overlord. Most of his more famous battles took place at night in the English Channel, when DeWolf secured his reputation as a fearless and skilful tactician and became known to his crew as "Hard-Over-Harry" for bold manoeuvres off the coast of France. DeWolf earned the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

for rescuing survivors of within range of enemy coastal guns on the French coast. DeWolf left ''Haida'' and was recalled to Ottawa, where he was promoted to captain in September 1944, becoming Assistant Chief of Naval Staff.

Cold War

During the postwar years, DeWolf commanded the aircraft carriers and between January 1947 and September 1948, before being promoted to rear admiral. He served as Flag Officer Pacific Coast at Esquimalt from 1948 to 1950, then was recalled to NDHQ where he served as Vice Chief of Naval Staff from 1950 to 1952, then was posted to Washington, D.C. as principal military advisor to the Canadian ambassador from 1952 to 1956. DeWolf was promoted to vice admiral in January 1956 and served as Chief of the Naval Staff before retiring from the RCN on 31 July 1960.

Retirement

HMCS Harry Dewolf under construction May 2018

DeWolf and his wife retired to her home in Bermuda, although they spent their summers in Ottawa, his last RCN posting. DeWolf was an active golfer and fisherman and he was active in the Royal Canadian Navy Benevolent Fund, which raises money for retired sailors down on their luck. On 23 September 1992, the Town of Bedford named a waterfront park on the

Bedford Basin Bedford Basin is a large enclosed bay, forming the northwestern end of Halifax Harbour on Canada's Atlantic coast. It is named in honour of John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. Geography Geographically, the basin is situated entirely within th ...

after DeWolf. The minutes of 28 November 2000 meeting of the

Halifax Regional Council Halifax Regional Council (french: Conseil régional d'Halifax) is the governing body of Halifax, known as the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). Halifax is governed by a mayor-council system, where councillors are elected from sixteen geographi ...

reveal that DeWolf had contributed $100,000 to the municipality, presumably as thanks for naming the prominent Admiral Harry DeWolf Park after him. He died in Ottawa on 18 December 2000 at the age of 97 and was

buried at sea Burial at sea is the disposal of human remains in the ocean, normally from a ship or boat. It is regularly performed by navies, and is done by private citizens in many countries. Burial-at-sea services are conducted at many different location ...

from . On 18 September 2014, it was announced that the planned new class of Canadian warships built specifically for the Arctic, and the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the class, the , would be named after him.

Awards and decorations

DeWolf's personal awards and decorations include the following:

Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon

Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with palm France - ribbon bar

References

External links

Canada's 25 Most Renowned Military Leaders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dewolf, Harry 1903 births 2000 deaths Burials at sea Canadian admirals Canadian military personnel from Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Navy personnel of World War II Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Legion of Honour People from Bedford, Nova Scotia Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Canadian Navy officers Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Commanders of the Royal Canadian Navy DeWolf family