Originally titled Louis de la Chesnaye Audette Papers
Louis de la Chesnaye Audette (1907-1995) served with the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) commanding several ships during the Second World War. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was a lawyer in Montreal during the 1930s and enlisted in the RCN at the start of the Second World War. He commanded several ships in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, was mentioned in dispatches and was discharged with the rank of lieutenant-commander. As a reserve officer he was later promoted to commander. After the war Audette served for two years as an External Affairs first secretary before he became a charter member of the maritime commission. He served as chairman from 1954 to 1959. He also headed several other government boards and commissions, including the Tariff Board of Canada, which he chaired from 1959 to 1972.
published
Fonds consists of material related to Louis C. Audette's naval career and navigational training during the Second World War. Includes training notes, notes on pilotage, naval law and navigation, and general notes. Also includes a copy of "Naval Recollections" which details in a war diary format tactical observations made by Audette during the Battle of the Atlantic.
The immediate source of acquisition for folders 1-8 is unknown. Copies of "Naval Recollections" [Folder 9] were loaned by Audette to DHist in 1992.
No further accruals are expected.
The following related records are available in the Documents Collection:
80/197 -- L.C. Audette. The lower deck and the Mainguy report of 1949.
91/224 VIDEO [The Mainguy Report] -- 1 videocassette (VHS) (19 min.). A CBC television documentary narrated by Claude Vickery for 1st edition news in Halifax. 1987.
92/234 -- [Correspondence from Louis Audette to W.A.B. Douglas concerning an extract from "Niobe Newsletter" dated 1 March 1944 on "additional seniority: Promotions of mates and sublieutenants to the rank of lieutenant or acting lieutenant" supplied to Audette by W.H. Mowat]
90/307 -- [Correspondence between James Rushbridger and Louis C. Audette concerning the sinking of the French submarine "Surcouf"]. 11-19 July 1990.
There is also an uncatalogued biographical file.
There are records at the National Archives of Canada dealing with Audette's military and civil service career, his volunteer work to help the disabled and his personal life. Includes 5.25 m of textual records and 38 photographs, and the fonds is entitled the Louis de la Chesnaye Audette Fonds. FORMER: MG 31-E 18 MG 55/23 no. 13, NEW: R1333-0-4-E.
Unclassified
No extract of any length from Audette's "Naval Recollections" can be published without Audette's prior knowledge and consent.
Copies of the finding aid are located in the first file of the fonds and in the Reading Room at the Directorate of History and Heritage. Electronic copies are also available.