Citizen Sailor Virtual Cenotaph:

Remembering the 1769 Canadian Naval Reservists Lost During World War II

Greg Mackenzie and David Mitchell are part of a volunteer team researching the 1,769 Naval Reservists killed in WW II. The project is known as the Citizen Sailors Virtual Cenotaph (CSVC). They are both former Naval Reservists. A reservist is a part-time sailor with an active civilian career who can be called up in the event of war or emergency.

Presenters: David Mitchell was with the City of Calgary, and Greg Mackenzie was with the Calgary Board of Education.

Both are local history buffs who became intrigued with the Citizen Sailor Virtual Cenotaph (CSVC) project. In addition, they are both keen city volunteers: David with Friends of Fish Creek, Greg with the Naval Museum of Alberta and several hiking clubs.

Greg served in the Naval Reserve for many years. He rose to the rank of Commander and was the Commanding Officer of HMCS Tecumseh, Calgary’s Naval Reserve unit. David’s Naval Reserve career was considerably shorter; he was an Able Seaman. Even though both were reservists at the same time, they have no recollection of having met during their service. A mutual friend introduced them only recently.