Desmond Piers Rear Admiral Desmond William Piers , ( June 12 , 1913 – November 1 , 2005 ) was a rear - admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy . Born in Halifax and long - time resident of Chester , Nova Scotia , Piers served in the RCN from 1932 to 1967 . In 1930 , he was the first graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada ( student # 2184 ) to join the RCN . He became agent general of Nova Scotia in the United Kingdom in 1977 . Rear Admiral Piers is best known for his courageous actions in 1944 when , as the 30 - year old Commanding Officer of HMCS " Algonquin " , he directly participated in the invasion in France where he guided his ship and her crew through the conflagration of D - Day . In recognition of his actions he received the Légion d ’ Honneur , France ’ s highest recognition for bravery in military action and service . He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his vigorous and invaluable service at sea during the Battle of the Atlantic . Convoy SC 107 . Piers was captain of the Canadian destroyer HMCS " Restigouche " from June 1941 ( previously her First Lieutenant ) , during the battle to maintain the critical convoy routes to Britain . He was at the centre of a crisis in this battle . In October , 1942 Piers commanded escort group C4 ( " Restigouche " and six corvettes ) which was to escort the slow convoy SC107 , from Sydney , Nova Scotia to Liverpool . At the time , Canadian escort ships were regarded as inferior to their British equivalents and they were generally assigned to the slower , more vulnerable convoys . On this occasion , " Restigouche " was the only ship of Piers ' group with working radar and direction finding equipment , both necessary to locate u - boats . In the circumstances , exacerbated by a failure to reroute the convoy away from the u - boats , it is unsurprising that the convoy , once found , would be severely mauled , losing 15 of its 42 ships . This level of losses was unsustainable and Admiral Sir Percy Noble , the then Commander - in - Chief , Western Approaches , insisted that Canadian escorts immediately be withdrawn for training or reassigned to less vulnerable routes . Although Piers received criticism for his group ' s performance , he had been aggressive in the convoy ' s defence . This was recognised by the award of the Distinguished Service Cross , some months later Post - war . Piers returned to the Royal Military College of Canada as Commandant in 1957 . In 1967 , Piers retired to his home in Chester , Nova Scotia , doing community work until 1977 when he was appointed Agent General of Nova Scotia in London . This appointment entailed the support abroad of Nova Scotia ' s interests . In this role , he promoted the province ' s use of tidal energy . In the following year , 1978 , he was made a Freeman of the City of London . To Desmond ' s seven grandchildren , he was always referred to as Grandeb and will always be remembered as the one engaging in musicals and small plays with the grandchildren . He never gave up a chance to teach the them how to play the harmonica , as it was one of his favourite hobbies . He was a true inspiration to everyone . Desmond " Debby " Piers died in Halifax , Nova Scotia on 1 November 2005 . He had married Janet Macneill in 1941 , the couple had had one stepdaughter Anne . On June 2 , 2007 a memorial monument in recognition of Rear Admiral Desmond William Piers was placed outside his Chester home . It can be seen on Front Street , down by the ocean in Chester , Nova Scotia .