Fondos 2002/2 - James Douglas Prentice fonds

James Douglas Prentice (b. 1899) was a captain in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. Born in Victoria, British Columbia, he joined the Royal Navy in 1912 as a cadet and retired as a Commander in 1934. In 1939, he was called to active service on loan to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). In 1940, he was posted to Halifax for HMCS Levis, pending completion of the ship. In the interim, he was assigned to the Commodore Commanding, Halifax Force, as Senior Officer Canadian Corvettes. In August 1941, while in command of the first Newfoundland operational training group and sailing in support of convoy SC 42, he made the RCN's first U-boat kill (U-501). For this he received his Distinguished Service Order. In 1942, he took command of Newfoundland's second escort training group, providing the only operational training available to escorts based in St. John's. The first of his "Hints on Escort Work" were produced in 1943 and proved to be the first serious attempt to provide escorts with a tactical publication suited to unique Canadian capabilities. In 1944, he was sent overseas to command one of two RCN destroyer groups engaged in Anti-Submarine Warfare patrols in the English Channel during the D-Day operations. In October of this same year, he was relieved of command at his own request. He retired on 2 April 1946 with the rank of Captain.