HMCS Labrador’s Polar Flag to fly again

In front of the Arctic display outside the Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic’s (MARLANT) office, Cdr Corey Gleason, Commanding Officer HMCS Harry DeWolf; RAdm John Newton, MARLANT; CPO2 Rick Bungay, Sea Training Atlantic; and CPO1 Gerry Doucet, Coxswain HMCS Harry DeWolf, display the Polar Flag. Photo by Mona Ghiz, MARLANT PA

CPO2 Richard Bungay, Sea Training Atlantic ~

When HMCS Labrador undertook its maiden deployment in 1954, it was the first warship to travel the Northwest Passage and circumnavigate North America.

Throughout its operational history with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) the ship was unique, as it had created its own unofficial ship’s flag.

The Polar bear, a universal symbol of the Arctic and unofficial ship’s mascot, was hoisted while at anchor and entering and leaving harbor, signifying an end of a voyage. The crew called it the Polar Flag and it was a source of pride and cohesion.

Fast forward 64 years later, being an enthusiastic student of RCN history and proponent of RCN Arctic deployments, I wanted to link the past with the future of the RCN in the Arctic.

I wanted to recreate the flag, and so I proposed the idea to the Commander of Maritime Forces Atlantic who is also interested in the Arctic and its history.

The flag has now been recreated and is displayed outside the Admiral’s office as a cornerstone of the Arctic display recently erected.

When HMCS Harry DeWolf is commissioned, it will fly this flag as the ship’s company of Labrador once did.

To be successful in the Arctic we must look to the past as well as the future, and I believe the reconstituted Polar Flag will serve as a tangible link between our shipmates of the past and a source of pride of Harry DeWolf’s crews of the future.