Research on the HMCS Avalon is hard to find primarily due to its secret nature when it was first established. And for many years after the war my Dad [George Ettie] was sworn to secrecy, I guess because of the type of work that he did there and the equipment with which he worked. Before and after his assignment to HMCS Avalon, he was based at many of the various anti-submarine training establishments in England. What he did there I do not know but he was posted several time to HMS Osprey as a TASI (Torpedo and Antisubmarine Instructor). He once said that the equipment on which he worked was "top secret".

When it was decided that an anti-submarine base was needed on the western side of the Atlantic my father was hand picked to be in charge of the maintenance of the anti-submarine equipment and in the training of RCN personnel in these tasks. For this, he was assigned to the RCN and later offered a commission in the RCN, which he declined. He is, in my opinion, one of the many unsung heroes of the war. The work that he did was of vital importance and kept the convoy escorts operational, which eventually led to Canada taking responsibility for escorting the convoys clear across the Atlantic. For his services in this regard he was awarded the British Empire Medal.

Again, I have researched HMCS Avalon on the internet and found very little about it. One thing that I noted was that at the end of the war the Americans took it over and everything pertaining to its time under the RCN/RN just seemed to disappear which is very strange in light of the very important role that it served.

Ken Ettie