Photo: MONA GHIZ
HMCS Montréal team reconnects with former sailor at Camp Hill
By Trident Staff
A simple visit and a replacement cap recently helped reconnect a former sailor with a ship that played a role in his long naval career.
Commander Peter MacNeil, Commanding Officer of His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Montréal, and Lieutenant-Commander Damien Ciotti, the ship’s Executive Officer, visited the Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Building on January 28 to meet with Petty Officer 2nd Class (PO2) (Ret’d) Barry J. Doyle, a Royal Canadian Navy veteran who served from 1967 to 1997. During the visit, the command team presented Doyle with a new HMCS Montréal captain’s hat after learning he had recently lost his original one.
PO2 (Ret’d) Doyle’s naval career spanned three decades and included service across Canada and aboard more than a dozen HMC ships of various classes. He served aboard HMCS Montréal in 1995, just two years before his honourable release following 30 years of service.
According to staff at Camp Hill, the visit made a lasting impression. “I was impressed that the Captain and Executive Officer of the ship took off their valuable time to visit me and present me with a gift,” Doyle shared through hospital staff. He added that he was delighted with the hat and pleased to learn that the visit would be shared with the wider community.
