An unusual visitor came to Owen Sound recently. October 3 saw the arrival of HMCS Margaret Brooke, a Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessel designed to operate in Canada’s Arctic regions. The vessel arrived as part of a tour of Great Lakes ports which also included Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Windsor, Toronto, Kingston, and Montreal. While here, the crew led tours of the ship. Due to the water level in Owen Sound’s harbour, the ship anchored in the bay and brought visitors out on boats.
The ship is named for Margaret Brooke, an RCN Nursing Sister who was serving aboard the SS Caribou when it was torpedoed during WWII. She was named as a Member of the Order of the British Effort in recognition of her attempts to save a fellow nursing sister during the sinking.
In recognition of its namesake, the ship’s crest contains: a caribou (for the ship she served on), red (for the nursing sisters), and yellow (in recognition of Margaret Brooke’s home province of Saskatchewan). It also bears a 4-leaf clover for the clover that was in her pocket during the sinking. The clover was preserved and is now kept aboard the ship
Being designed for Arctic conditions means that the Margaret Brooke and the Harry DeWolf-class ships have a couple different design features than other ships in the Canadian Navy. The most apparent is the focsle, the space at the bow of the ship. This space is where you can find various lines, cords, and chains, including the anchor chains. The focsle would typically be out in the open, but since they spent so much tie in Arctic conditions, the Harry DeWolf class keeps the space covered to provide extra shelter for crew.
During its career, the Margaret Brooke has been involved in a variety of tasks, including hurricane relief and drug interdiction. During “Operation Projection” in 2025, it became the first HMC Ship to visit Antarctica.