Navy veteran celebrates centenary

St. Vital

Brooklands

West End

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/03/2025 (529 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bob Watkins, Manitoba’s oldest known living naval veteran of the Second World War, turned 100 on Feb. 24. He was fêted by representatives from the Armed Forces and HMCS Chippawa, along with members of his family, at his home in south St. Vital.

“I’ve had a very good life, a very enjoyable one, with ups and downs like everybody. But I’m quite happy with it,” Watkins said. “I’ve waited 100 years for it. It’s very worth it. I have a good family. I have good friends, and even these people are good friends.”

Asked by a reporter what his secret to his longevity is, Watkins grinned.

“Anybody bring the rum?” the retired lieutenant commander asked, with a wink and a laugh. “No. I have a great family, and as I say I’ve had great friends and great connections with them. I just live a quiet life.”

“To be able to celebrate this, it’s such a momentous occasion,” said Debbie Van Der Kraak, the eldest of Watkins’ two daughters. Watkins also has five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren, with another on the way. “The look on my dad’s face says it all when he talks about family and friends and everybody managing to be together.”

“Any time anyone turns 100, it’s kind of an awesome thing,” added Lt.-Cmdr. Colin Stewart, former commanding officer of HMCS Chippawa and part of the Naval Reserve quarter staff.

“Any time Bob needs anything, we feel we have to respond. Because for so many years, Bob has always been there for us. Passing on wisdom to junior officers and cadet, speaking at events.”

Born in Brooklands, Man., in 1925, Watkins was 14 when Canada entered the Second World War in 1939. He began his lifelong association with the Royal Canadian Navy shortly thereafter.

“I was walking down Ellice Avenue by the navy establishment we had there, on Sherbrook, and I heard all this music,” Watkins said.

“I went in to see what was going on and the Sea Cadets were training. Tom Baird was the CO. He said, ‘Are you gonna join up?’ I says, ‘Can I get outta here?’ He says, ‘No.’ So I said, ‘OK.’

“That’s where I started my life, with the Navy Sea Cadets. I did four years with them, and then at 18 I joined the regular navy during the war, which was still going. Then I ended up overseas.”

Stationed aboard the HMCS Loch Achanalt for the duration of the war, Watkins recalled a running battle with a German submarine, U-1006, on Sept. 7, 1944.

“We were between the Faroe Islands and Norway,” Watkins said. “We were going to head in to ram the conning tower. HMCS Annan cut us off, dropped a depth charge and blew up the submarine. We did get an assist on it. But the Annan, they cheated – they cut us off!”

Seven members of the U-1006 crew were killed, while the Loch Achanalt and Annan picked up the survivors as prisoners of war.

“We picked up 24 survivors and kept them on board for a week and then we dropped them off in Scotland,” Watkins continued. “They were friendly. There was only one real Nazi in the group, and he wanted to try and take over the ship! The others just told him to back off … When we brought them up on the upper deck for fresh air, they’d make a big circle and talk among themselves. But our German Canadians were on the outside. They didn’t know we could understand. Our guys went to the captain and told him what they were trying to do.”

“The stories, that was just a taste,” Van Der Kraak said. “We talk to my dad every night, whether we’re here in Winnipeg or Ontario or wherever, and there are different stories every night.”

Once the war had finished and his tour of duty was at an end, Watkins returned home and took a job with Winnipeg Transit, where he worked for over 38 years before retiring.

“After the war, a lot of the veterans started with Transit,” he said. “It was a pretty good job. I started on street cars, driving them, then went to the buses. I got tired of driving so I moved indoors in the accident department. I became a timekeeper, worked in the instruction department and ended up in schedules and retired as superintendent of schedules. I did very well.”