Harry DeWolf conflict Battle of the Atlantic
Second World War
HMCS St. Laurent
DeWolf returned to Canada in 1939 and was appointed commanding officer of the destroyer HMCS St. Laurent. St. Laurent was posted to convoy duty out of Halifax. St. Laurent under DeWolf reportedly fired the RCN's first shots of the war as they helped rescue British and French troops escaping from continental Europe during Operation Dynamo after the Fall of France in late May and early June 1940. St. Laurent returned to convoy duty in the North Atlantic, and the following month, in July 1940, DeWolf's ship rescued 859 German and Italian prisoners of war, survivors of Arandora, which had been torpedoed by a U-boat, U-47. DeWolf was promoted to commander in 1940. He and his ship were mentioned in despatches twice during his service on St. Laurent.
Years later, he recalled the following incident, which took place while in command of St. Laurent:
battle warfare struggle fighting combat