Apparently at one point up to the 1960s, there were two ex-navy vessels tied up at Port Dalhousie. It is possible that they were the corvettes BRANDON K149 & MORDEN K170, listed as being broken up in Hamilton in 1945 & 1946 respectively, but possibly sold before scrapping with the intent of using them in natural gas drilling in Lake Erie. Does anyone remember them?
Hi Dinger,
Back in the early 1960’s my brother and I and a friend had a boat at the Port Dalhousie Yacht Club. We always thought the name of the ship was the Pimpernel and I just asked my brother about it. He thinks he has an article about it …. he just has to find it! There was a Royal Navy corvette called the Pimpernel, but it seems that it was broken up in England after the war. We went across the harbour one day and got on it and took a port hole each – I think we got into a bit of trouble but nothing serious. Anyway, he got rid of his, but I still have mine, but decided to get rid of it after carrying it around for 50+ years. I was looking for information myself which is how I came across your post!
yes – I have a porthole from one of them.
Hi John, Do you have any information that you can share about the identity of the vessels or when they were there?
I can tell something about them……. I too went aboard, in 1960. One of them was the Morden for sure. The Welland Canals Museum in St Catharines has a photo of it and another beside, probably the Brandon, taken 1948 or thereabouts. Unmistakable, with K170 still clearly visible, painted on the hull. They were tied up on the Michigan Beach side of the harbour, likely at Muir’s. Have a look……. they were in for some kind of refit…… being set up as drilling rigs to look for natural gas under Lake Erie.
Many believe they were broken up in Hamilton, 1945/46…….. it says so in Ken MacPherson’s book “Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy”…….. we know better !
Prior to my visit, they were tied up, stem to stern at the base of the wier for many years, and a watchkeeper was living aboard………. he had a clothes line strung between the masts………