Royal Canadian Navy Centennial

The Royal Canadian Navy which in 1945 was the fifth largest Navy in the world is celebrating its Centennial, 1910-2010, by Royal Proclamation May 4 is Royal Canadian Navy Day. It was H.E. the Governor General  Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey who suggested to Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier that  Canada create its own Navy distinct from the British Imperial Navy. In Ottawa, Halifax and Vancouver there are displays to celebrate this event, Canada has 220,000 km of coast line on three oceans. Admiral Sir Charles Edmund Kingsmill (July 7, 1855 – July 15, 1935) was the first Director of the Canadian Naval Service (which later became the Royal Canadian Navy).

Charles Edmund Kingsmill was born at Guelph, Ontario in 1855 and educated at Upper Canada College in Toronto. He directed the RCN from 1910 to 1921.