ARDATH - Margaret Brooke.
Unfortunately, if you were to say this name to many people who call this area home, it wouldn't ring a bell unless you were a dedicated follower of Canada's war history.
But upon learning of the history of Ms. Brooke, and in particular, her courageous and barrier-breaking efforts and accomplishments in times of combat, her life became a story that needed to be chased and researched.
The life of Lieutenant-Commander Brooke is an eye-raising true story. And, as it turns out, she was also a local woman.
Margaret was born on April 10, 1915 in Ardath and grew up in the tiny farming community during the Depression. Her mother was determined to see her daughter attend university, so in 1933, Margaret moved to Saskatoon to attend the University of Saskatchewan. In two years time, Brooke had earned a Bachelor's in Health Science degree, and in 1942 she joined the Royal Canadian Navy, 小蓝视频 posted to the RCN hospital in the HMCS Stadacona patrol vessel located in Halifax, where she served as a nursing sister.
After Brooke had retired from the Navy in 1962, she returned to Saskatoon and the University of Saskatchewan, where she earned a BA and then a PhD in biostratigraphy and micro-palaeontology. Margaret remained in the Department of Geological Sciences as an instructor and a research associate until her retirement in 1986.
Brooke passed away in January 2016 in Victoria, BC, managing to live to a remarkable 100 years of age.
Local resident Gordon Silverthorn of the Ardath area introduced Margaret's story to this reporter, touching on the connection that his family had to her's decades ago.
"Her uncle and her dad's family bought and homesteaded land that we are now living on," he explained. "My grandfather and great-uncle homesteaded the two quarters exactly south. When the railroad came through Ardath, the Brooke's that owned that square section decided that they wanted to be close to the townsite of Ardath, so my great-uncle bought the land that the Brooke's had for sale, and they moved about four miles west, just east of the town site. This girl was born on that new farm, and went to school in Ardath."
When we look into the history books, we see that Margaret's efforts during the chaos that arrived with World War II are what make her legacy and impact in Canada's rich military history so memorable.
The date: October 14, 1942. RCN Nursing Sister Margaret Brooke is returning from leave aboard the ferry SS Caribou, crossing the Cabot Strait off the coast of Newfoundland. Suddenly, the vessel is torpedoed by a German U-boat.
“When the torpedo struck I was thrown across the room right on top of Agnes,” Brooke wrote in a letter to her brother Hewitt Brooke a few days after the incident, describing what happened to both her and a fellow nursing sister, Agnes Wilkie. The letter was reprinted on Canada.ca and describes the harrowing ordeal that Brooke and her friend endured.
Both Brooke and Wilkie manage to grab their coats and haphazardly make their way to a lifeboat that's located on the starboard side, struggling to put on the coats along the way.
"When we got on deck, the life boat was smashed," the letter continues. "People were screaming and shouting. One sailor was trying to launch some rafts but outside of that it was just one terrified mob. The only thing we could do was put on our life-belts."
The SS Caribou manages to sink in just five minutes. By this time, it's 3:14 in the morning. Brooke and Wilkie jump, but they don't make it clear of the vessel, and they become sucked under with the Caribou.
"How we got away from her, I don't know, but we clung together somehow all the time we were under and when we finally reached the surface, we managed to grab a piece of wreckage and cling to that," the letter describes.
Moments later, a piece of overturned lifeboat floats by and Brooke and Wilkie join others who are clinging to ropes. A soldier helps Brooke up and together, they pull Wilke out of the water. There are about a dozen people grasping onto these ropes, but the waves keep crashing and bashing up against them, and the boat keeps on tipping. Everyone becomes fully aware that if the boat turns right side up, it'll sink. Brooke and Wilkie can hear other people calling for help, but they can't let go of the lifeboat.
With the conditions as they are and as late as it is, the temperature starts to make itself very well known. It doesn't take long for the weather and freezing water to bring on hypothermia.
Wilkie loses consciousness and lets go of the rope. Brooke manages to haul her back, holding on to the rope on the lifeboat with one hand and Wilkie with the other.
Fighting for her own survival in the frigid water, Brooke does everything humanly possible to save Wilkie’s life.
Margaret manages to hold Agnes until daybreak, when a wave barrels down and pulls Wilkie away. A heartbroken and devastated Brooke watches as her friend is unceremoniously buried at sea.
"She didn't struggle..." Brooke describes in the letter. "...because she was unconscious, and I knew she wasn't suffering but it was so terrible to have to cling there and watch her go."
Only Brooke and two or three other survivors are found clinging to the lifeboat when the minesweeper HMCS Grandmere picks them up.
It was later discovered that Wilkie became the first – and only – Canadian nursing sister to die from enemy action during the war.
In January of 1943, Brooke was named a Member (Military Division) of the Order of the British Empire for her “gallantry and courage whilst in the water in attempting to save the life of another nursing sister.”
Brooke later confided to friends that she thought she herself was saved because of two four-leaf clovers that were given to her by a patient. She was actually carrying them with her when the SS Caribou was torpedoed. After Brooke had recovered from the ordeal, her brother sent her a silver locket in which to keep the four-leaf clovers. In later years, that same brother, who was also a sailing enthusiast, had three boats built. As each new boat was launched, Margaret's four-leaf clovers in the silver locket were installed in the boat. The family always felt that the luck continued and kept them all safe on the water.
Interestingly enough, on the subject of Margaret's family, her brother Hewitt and his wife, Marian, also both served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, with Hewitt 小蓝视频 a surgeon and Marian a nurse.
In her later years, Margaret worked as a dietician and completed her university studies in paleontology following her return to civilian life, achieving her doctorate at the University of Saskatchewan and becoming the author of numerous paleontology research studies.
Brooke wouldn't live to see the behemoth in its full form, but prior to her death, she was notified that the Royal Canadian Navy would name its second new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship after her. She was the first living person in Canadian history to have such an honor bestowed upon them.
“I am amazed that my actions as a survivor of the sinking of the SS Caribou led the Royal Canadian Navy to my door,” Brooke was quoted. “I was honoured to learn that a new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ship will carry my name and be known as Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Margaret Brooke.”
The HMCS Margaret Brooke, much like its namesake, also makes history as the first Canadian combat ship to be named for a woman. In July of last year, the 6,615-tonne vessel was delivered to the Royal Canadian Navy, and the official naming 小蓝视频 for the ship was recently held on May 29.
The life of Lieutenant-Commander Margaret Brooke is one that many would say is certainly deserving of praise and honor.
"She earned everything and every honor that they could bestow upon her," said Silverthorn. "She was a very courageous person, obviously, and survived a terrible ordeal and attempted to save others with her. She saved some, but not as many as she wanted to. Any person that would be that courageous needs to be recognized. Here, we have a person that was born right next door, so to speak, went to school there and was a part of that district. Margaret's definitely a part of our history."
Sometimes, the stories that come from this local area can hit you like a semi, roaring at you with all of their incredible twists, shocking turns, and amazing outcomes. In this reporter's view, this is one of those stories.
On behalf of all Canadians and together with those who continue to serve and remember today, we salute you, Margaret.
