Object Archives | Page 3 of 5 | When World War II Came to Bell Island, Newfoundland

Electric shovel loading iron ore into ore car at Bell Island

An electric shovel loading iron ore into an ore car in a Bell Island iron mine in 1949. Ore production increased as heavy equipment was introduced into the […]

Drilling for iron ore at Bell Island

A driller and chucker operate a drill in a Bell Island iron mine. Mining was hard and dangerous work. Dozens of miners were killed at Bell Island over […]

Tank production at the Montreal Locomotive Works

Canadian industry switched to war production during World War II. For example, the Montreal Locomotive Works produced tanks for the Canadian Army. Manufacture of trucks, tanks, airplanes, ships, […]

SS P.L.M. 27 before World War II

P.L.M. 27 was owned by a French railway company before World War II. The ship carried coal to feed the railway’s locomotives. This photo shows the ship loading […]

SS Rose Castle in 1942

A Royal Canadian Air Force plane took this photo of Rose Castle as she left Sydney, Nova Scotia in the first convoy (BW 1) to Bell Island, Newfoundland […]

SS Lord Strathcona

The steamship Lord Strathcona was owned by the Dominion Shipping Company, a subsidiary of the Dominion Steel & Coal Corporation, which owned the Bell Island iron mines. The […]

SS Saganaga before World War II

SS Saganaga was a British steamship owned by the South Georgia Company Ltd. (Christian Salvesen & Company) of Leith, Scotland. All but one of the crew were from […]

Front of Seaman’s Memorial monument, Lance Cove, Bell Island

The front of the stone monument in the Seaman’s Memorial provides a summary of the U-boat attacks and sinkings in 1942 at Bell Island in English and French. […]

Sinking of the Saganaga by Joe Dwyer

Painting of the Sinking of the Saganaga by Joe Dwyer. The painting shows the explosion as a German torpedo strikes the side of the steamship Saganaga on September […]

Nameplate from SS Lord Strathcona

This wooden nameplate from SS Lord Strathcona washed up onshore on Bell Island after the sinking. The nameplate was attached to the exterior of the ship’s bridge. It […]

Ship’s bell from SS Rose Castle

The ship’s bell from SS Rose Castle washed ashore on a piece of wreckage after the sinking. The large brass bell is inscribed with the name of the […]

Compass from Bell Island shipwreck

This navigational compass was recovered by divers from the bridge of one of the shipwrecks. The compass is now on display in the Bell Island Community Museum.