Walter (Darby) Bond

Walter Bond passed away at his home in Annapolis County, Nova Scotia on 11 October 2009. He was 91 and in great health until the end.

Darby was born at Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 6, 1918. In September 1935 he entered the Royal Canadian Navy as a Boy Seaman and received his initial training at HMCS Stadacona. He first went to sea in the destroyer Champlain then in 1938 he sailed for England as a member of the commissioning party of the new destroyer HMCS St. Laurent. He returned to Halifax in the Sally and subsequently sailed in her through the Panama Canal to the West coast. With the start of the Second World War, Darby was advanced to the rating of Leading Seaman in HMCS Saguenay. With this ship he sailed out of Halifax on September 16, 1939 as part of convoy HX-1, the first of a series of escort convoys which was to continue unbroken for several years. Darby then served on board the Niagara, a posting that lasted one year, running convoy escort in the North Atlantic. With her he was made Petty Officer and served mainly as Chief Boatswains Mate. Fairmile Motor Launch Q 075 was his next posting. For a period of six months he served as Regulating Coxswain for the 73rd Flotilla, escorting ships between ports in Florida and the adjacent Islands. In the summer of 1943 Darby qualified as Quarters Rating First Class, and was advanced to Chief Petty Officer. Following this he was assigned to the destroyer Hamilton as an instructor of officer candidates. Six months later he was back on convoy escort duty as the Coxswain on the frigate HMCS Nene, then under orders for the English Channel and Murmansk. At war's end he accepted a posting at the base HMCS Donnacona. He subsequently served on the minesweepers Portage and New Liskeard. In 1949 he was drafted to Cornwallis where he served as a member of the instructing staff, introducing newly arrived recruits to the navy. He retired in 1960 after 25 years with the RCN. Presently Darby is living at Clements Port, Nova Scotia.

Medal News. A Naval Legacy, Two generations of Canadian Naval tradition, James Bond and his son Walter. Kevin Joynt. Devon, England. Volume 39 no. 5, May 2001.

The Crowsnest. He Molds Future Sailors. Ottawa. Volume 3, No. 2, December 1950.