Remembrance Day 2026: The Sinking of the SS Caribou

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Episode 444: On October 14, 1942, the German submarine U-69 torpedoed the passenger ferry SS Caribou in the Cabot Strait, roughly 25 miles off Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. The ferry sank in minutes. Of 237 aboard, 137 died — the largest single loss of life in Canadian-controlled waters during the Second World War, and part of the Battle of the St. Lawrence, the only WWII campaign fought inside North America. Among the dead was Nursing Sister Agnes Wilkie, the only Canadian nursing sister killed by direct enemy action in the entire war; her friend and fellow RCN nursing sister, Margaret Brooke, survived the sinking and was later named a Member of the Order of the British Empire for her efforts to save her. Sources:SS Caribou — WikipediaNewspapers.com search: SS Caribou 1942Sinking of the SS Caribou — The Canadian EncyclopediaU-69 — uboat.netGerman submarine U-69 (1940) — Wikipedia"Youngest Survivor of S.S. Caribou Sinking" — Community StoriesS.S. Caribou Memorial — Veterans Affairs Canada"Only nurse killed by enemy action in WWII remembered..." — CBC NewsMargaret Brooke (Canadian naval officer) — WikipediaAgnes Wightman Wilkie — Carman Dufferin Municipal Heritage Advisory Commit