HMCS HARRY DEWOLF will be visiting Hamilton again this year, and will be alongside from Thursday, 17 October to Monday, 21 October (Trafalgar / Niobe Day). She will be alongside the east face of Copps Pier (Pier 8), bow to bow with HMCS HAIDA. The ship will be open to visitors from 10:00 to 17:00 on both Saturday and Sunday.
Changes in the Opsked mean that HMCS GOOSE BAY will not visit Hamilton in November as originally planned.
Commander Alaric Woodrow served as the 27th Commanding Officer of HMCS STAR from 1991 till 1995. There has been no word regarding any service or celebration of life.
Published online August 12, 2024 in the Hamilton Spectator
With sadness we announce the passing of Alaric John Martin Woodrow in his 80th year. He is survived by his beloved wife of 49 years Beverly Dawn (née Walker), his sons Andrew (Christopher) and Michael (Amanda), his three cherished grandchildren, and his siblings Jonathan, Winsome, and Genevieve, and was predeceased by his brother David.
Born in 1943 in Sussex to educators John and Doris (née Cousins), he moved to Canada in 1959 and attended Hamilton Teachers’ College, after which he taught in public school classrooms in Toronto and Wentworth County for almost 40 years. Concurrent with his teaching, he pursued his BA at McMaster (1977) followed by his MEd at Brock (1985). He completed his doctorate in Criminal Justice (DCrimJ) at Portsmouth (2017) in his retirement.
Alaric joined the Naval Reserve as a musician, soon becoming the Director of Music of the HMCS Star band. He rose to the rank of Commander, serving as the Commanding Officer of HMCS Star from 1991 to 1995, receiving commendations including the Canadian Forces’ Decoration (CD), and was made an honorary Aide-de-Camp to the Governor General (ADC).
Alaric never tired of serving in the community, and remained active in many organizations to his final days. As a chairman, committee member, or participant, his affiliations included the Elizabeth Fry Society, Victim Services for the Hamilton Police Service, The Co-operators Service Review Panel and the Canadian Orpheus Male Choir. He was one of the founders of the Hamilton International Military Tattoo, a military music spectacular which ran for 24 years, drawing military bands to Hamilton from around the world, and delighting thousands of spectators annually.
Alaric spent many years volunteering for St John Ambulance, chairing and administering projects and committees at the regional, provincial, and national levels. In recognition of his wide-ranging service to the community, he was inducted as a Knight in the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem (KStJ).
Determined to the last that he would get well soon, he nevertheless passed peacefully with Beverly by his side. In his final days, Alaric and family wished to sincerely thank the doctors and nurses at Guelph General, St. Mary’s, and Grand River Hospitals, as well as the Juravinski Cancer Centre and Hospice Wellington, for the excellent comfort and care they provided.
A private family service is planned. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to the Canadian Kidney Foundation, Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, St John Ambulance, the Canadian Cancer Society, or Hospice Wellington in Alaric’s memory.
From a Facebook post by Michael, one of Ric’s sons:
On 26th July, 2024 my father, Alaric Woodrow passed away peacefully at Wellington Hospice in Guelph after a long battle with so many complications. On the porch of the hospice listening to music, holding mom’s hand.
To us he was Dad, or Dad-dad (to his granddaughters) But to others he was an uncle or a brother or simply Ric.
As a teacher, navy reservist, and community volunteer he met and touched a great number of people over the years. And cared deeply about everything and everyone he was involved with.
I hope you are at rest now,
“What is grief, if not love persevering.”
Love you always.
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Erie, Pennsylvania has applied for the former USS HALYBURTON, FFG-40, as a museum ship. HALYBURTON is one of the seventy-one OHP (OLIVER HAZARD PERRY) frigates commissioned, thirty-four of which are still active in eight different navies. HALYBURTON served for thirty years from 1984 till 2014 and has been at the Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia ever since.
Although Erie, PA is 257 km from Hamilton, it already hosts the reconstructed brig USS NIAGARA from the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813, and an excellent museum, which are in themselves well worth the drive.
One of HALYBURTON’s sisters, SAMUEL ELLIOT MORRISON FFG-13, visited Hamilton in 1992. Acquiring and maintaining a museum ship is a costly and labour intensive experience, as those acquainted with HMCS HAIDA can attest, but we wish them well in their efforts.