An Alberta poet has written a poem about HMCS Moose Jaw, the first warship in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) to sink a German U-boat in the Second World War.
Garth Ukrainetz, poet laureate of the Blackmud Creek in Edmonton, has written “HMCS Moose Jaw” to highlight its wartime exploits. The fact his father was also a big moose hunter who grew up in the moose capital of Hudson Bay, Sask., and had an extremely close encounter with a charging animal were also inspirations to write the poem about the mighty moose — both ship and animal.
Canada produced more than 330 warships of various types during the war, including 123 corvettes, of which the Moose Jaw was one, he explained. The fact it was the first ship to sink a U-boat in the RCN was a badge of honour.
The warship displayed the characteristics of a moose during its career, he continued. After being launched in April 1941, it rammed the rocks in the harbour of St. John’s, NFLD a couple of times while passing through; it even ran aground at one point.
Its most moose-like characteristic was in how it sunk the German warship. Moose Jaw was training near Greenland on Sept. 10, 1941, when it received orders to proceed west to escort a convoy coming from Canada. A U-boat wolf pack was waiting for the convoy, so Moose Jaw happened to come upon the submarines from behind.
Since most of the Canadian seaman were rookies, they were inexperienced in using the ship’s weapons. The four-inch deck cannon jammed, while the machine guns also seized up. The ship had to rely on its depth charges and on ramming.
Through his research, Ukrainetz, 50, discovered Moose Jaw came up alongside U-501 and both cruised parallel to each other. Some German submariners actually jumped onto the ship since they thought both would collide. The Canadian corvette veered away before steering back and ramming into the sub, sinking it.
The convoy would have been slaughtered if Moose Jaw and other ships didn’t show up, said Ukrainetz. Many lives were saved due to the bravery of the warship. By escorting the convoys to Britain from Canada, Moose Jaw was instrumental in ensuring the United Kingdom had the supplies to fight the Third Reich.
“I like to do a lot of research before I write (poems),” Ukrainetz explained. Besides information on the ship, he also learned more about moose, including that they are solitary animals and have antlers that help them hear better.
Ukrainetz thought about writing the poem on Moose Jaw last year; once he began, it took him two weeks to complete. He brooded over his lyrics for three days to ensure everything was in place and the rhyme was perfect.
“I change things to make it flow much better. That’s kind of typical of being a poet, is I think you got to be a bit obsessive with your lyrics,” he chuckled, “because words are quite important in poetry, especially in my type of poetry. It’s quite tight … and precise in terms of its metrics. So I have to ensure every word counts.”
The poem turned out better than expected, Ukrainetz said. He was uncertain he could even write one about HMCS Moose Jaw since there wasn’t much information on it.
Ukrainetz thinks residents of Moose Jaw will be thrilled with the poem, especially since many people probably don’t even know a warship was named after the community. Even people who grew up here have probably forgotten about it.
The Alberta-based poet has written plenty of poetry over the years, but lately, he has focused on writing about Canadian warships from the Second World War. While some communities in Canada have been ambivalent about his efforts to honour a ship named after them, Ukrainetz remarked that people in Saskatchewan are interested in his work.
“Saskatchewan people are proud of their ships,” he added.
“HMCS Moose Jaw”
By Garth Ukrainetz
Poet Laureate of the Blackmud Creek
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The bull Moose is king of Saskatchewan
A charger with monsterous rack
Like Samson in battle with jaw bone in hand
HMCS Moose Jaw attacked
Though a Moose is a peace loving animal
It will fight to the death if need be
You’ll be rammed and be smashed into pieces
If you mess with a Moose family
Now the darkness of Hitler was spreading
But Canada stood with the light
The mightiest Moose in the world answered call
With the Battle Atlantic to fight
A vessel well built in Lake Huron
5 guns and 200 feet long
And 90 brave men kept the ship on good course
Through an ocean they did not belong
The Moose helped protect merchant convoys
They sailed with supplies, then returned
To help Churchill fight back against Hitler
While London and Liverpool burned
The U-boats were always a worry
With the sonar the boys listened close
And Moose could smell danger when enemy near
For the scent of the Nazi was gross
Off south Greenland coast Moose discovered
A wolf pack so quiet and still
The guns were all jammed, so Moose charged and rammed
It was Canada’s first U-boat kill
In rough ocean spray, men were sea sick
All the food in the mess deck was slop
The swaying of hammocks rocked sailors to sleep
From the bottom of waves to the top
In winter ol’ Moose Jaw was covered
With a blanket of ice froze to deck
With axes and hammers the crew chipped away
Lest the ice cause the warship to wreck
In port there was rest and reflection
Weary sailors would dream of back home
Where the whiskey jacks fly through the moonshine
In the tunnels of old Al Capone
On gun shield a picture was painted
Hero Moose chasing Hitler away
With U-boat impaled in big antlers above
For Adolph, a really bad day
The 6th day of June was the D-Day
And thousands of ships sailed with Moose
The largest invasion the world’s ever seen
All the forces of freedom let loose
Then after the war finally ended
The wolves of the sea ceased to roam
And Moose returned home here to Canada
To Saskatchewan, swampy sweet home
---------------------------------------------------------
Ⓒ2020 Garth Paul Ukrainetz
I dedicate this poem to my father,
Paul Ukrainetz, the moose hunter
of the family.
In celebration and remembrance of the
75th Anniversary of the end of
The Battle of the Atlantic and Second World War
1945 - 2020
“Lest We Forget”
