Hal Lawrence
Harold Ernest Thomas Lawrence (1920–1994) was a Canadian naval officer and author. He was born in the Corps of Royal Engineers barracks at Chatham, England; and moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Career. Lawrence entered the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve as a midshipman in 1939, and was promoted to Sub-lieutenant while serving aboard the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS "Alaunia". He received Mention in Dispatches for service aboard HMCS "Moosejaw" during the battle of Convoy SC 42. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for leading HMCS "Oakville"'s boarding party onto the sinking "U-94" during the battle  of convoy TAW-15. The citation reads: Lawrence was subsequently promoted to lieutenant and executive officer of HMCS "Oakville". Lawrence was next assigned as gunnery officer in the commissioning crew of HMCS "Sioux". He was transferred from the volunteer reserve to the Royal Canadian Navy in 1945 and became executive officer of HMCS "Sioux". He received a master's degree from the University of Ottawa before retiring from the Navy in 1965. Retirement. Lawrence taught at the University of Ottawa and the University of Victoria after retiring from the Navy. He wrote three books concerning World War II. "A Bloody War  was published in 1979, Tales of the North Atlantic" in 1985, and "Victory at Sea" in 1989. He died in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1994. The University of Victoria maintains the Hal Lawrence fonds of 120 taped interviews with historical photographs and maps. He donated his personal library to the Naval Officer Training Centre at Esquimalt, B.C. where the books are housed as the Hal Lawrence Library.