I just returned from a visit to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia in Victoria and a meeting with Jan Drent and David  Leverton, the new Executive Director.

We were talking about my involvement with the Royal Canadian Navy and I was telling them about the fantastic story of the first submarines in the Canadian Navy, which were purchased, in secret, by British Columbia’s Premier McBride just as World War I was starting.

I told them they should check out the story that is documented on Esquimalt’s Naval and Military Museum web site – it is exciting and heart warming to know the risk our then Premier took to purchase our first submarines in support of defense of the west coast of Canada.

Read the story in the link below and then have a look at the painting I produced to honour this event.  I think you will find the tale a good one.

http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/archives/articles/defending-the-coast/cc1-and-cc2