Buildings & Structures Archives | When World War II Came to Bell Island, Newfoundland

Gravestones of four sailors from SS Saganaga

These four graves are in the St. Boniface Anglican Cemetery on Bell Island. The bodies of Able Seamen Thomas C. Wood and Herbert Swain, along with Firemen George […]

David Rees’ house in Lance Cove, Bell Island

The home of David Rees near the beach in Lance Cove. In 1942, his grandmother Emma Rees lived in this house. She helped care for the sailors who […]

David Rees Interview and Virtual Tour, Lance Cove, Newfoundland

David Rees shares stories from his grandmother Emma Rees of how survivors from the two German U-boat attacks and sinkings in 1942 were cared for in Emma’s home […]

Diver exploring the Lord Strathcona shipwreck

A rebreather diver swims over the shipwreck of SS Lord Strathcona.

Ghost bow of P.L.M. 27

A diver hovers near the bow of the P.L.M. 27 shipwreck.

Barry and Marita Collings visit Seaman’s Memorial in Lance Cove

Barry and Marita Collings visiting the Seaman’s Memorial in Lance Cove, Bell Island in July 2010. The memorial commemorates the sailors killed in two U-boat attacks at Bell […]

Anti-torpedo netting installed at Bell Island

This photos shows the anti-torpedo netting installed in 1943 to protect ships loading iron ore at the Dominion and Scotia piers on Bell Island from submarine attack. This […]

Portsmouth Naval Memorial

Portsmouth Naval Memorial in Portsmouth, England commemorates Royal Navy sailors lost in wartime with no known grave. Names of the Royal Navy gunners who died in the sinkings […]

Halifax Memorial to Canadian Sailors Lost at Sea

The Halifax Memorial in Halifax, Nova Scotia commemorates Canadian Merchant Navy and Royal Canadian Navy sailors lost in wartime with no known grave. Names of Canadian Merchant Navy […]

Tower Hill Memorial to British Merchant Navy sailors

The Tower Hill Memorial in London, England commemorates British Merchant Navy seamen lost in wartime with no known grave. The names of British sailors lost when Saganaga was […]

SS Rose Castle loading iron ore at Scotia pier

SS Rose Castle loading iron ore from the Bell Island iron mines at the Scotia pier in 1942. Ore was carried in ore cars on rails from the […]

Cross-section of Bell Island iron mine shafts

This drawing shows how the shafts of the Bell Island iron mines extended more than five kilometres out under the Atlantic Ocean. Water pumps had to operate 24 […]