The Crow’s Nest

On Wednesday night, Felicity took us to perhaps one of the most interesting places of all we have seen. In downtown St. John’s, off the main streets and hidden away in a dark recess between some larger buildings, there is a series of wooden steps leading up to a large metal door that looks like it came straight off a ship. Once you go through that door, you continue to climb a dark and steep flight of 59 narrow metal steps. You then go through one more door, and enter into a true piece of living history.

The Crow’s Nest Officers’ Club was established on January 27, 1942. During World War II, the harbor of St. John’s was the western end of the almost continuous convoy of merchant ships and their military escorts plying the North Atlantic, ferrying soldiers, supplies and equipment from North America to the European theatre. St. John’s was a beehive of military activity, and visiting Naval officers from the Allied navies needed a hideaway where they could meet, relax, unwind, discuss strategies, and share a drink. Locals organized an effort to create the club and located it the top floor of an old warehouse. It soon became known throughout the North Atlantic as a safe and secluded place for officers to find refuge.

Visiting naval officers would often leave mementos or souvenirs from their ships, and over time this tiny room has become filled with ship’s plaques, insignia, and other valuable memorabilia. Among the treasured items in the bar is a periscope taken from a German U-Boat. The submarine surrendered to the Canadian navy near St. John’s just before the end of the war.

While we were there, Gary Walsh, the current President of the Crow’s Nest, told us that another small group across the room had gathered to celebrate the life of a member who had recently passed away or “crossed the bar”, in naval parlance. You would have thought they would have wanted to be left alone in their privacy, but when they learned about the group of Americans there, they welcomed us as friends. Even the widow came over to greet us. We paid our respects, and I felt immensely honored. We’ve learned that Newfoundlanders of that generation have a very warm place in their hearts for Americans, due to the support and interaction between our two countries during the war years.

On the opening night of the club in January 1942, Lt. Commander Bert Shadforth of the Canadian naval ship the HMCS Spikenard and a few other officers got into a nail driving contest, to see who could drive a large spike into the wooden floor with the fewest hammer strikes. Shadforth was the winner. The spike and the hammer are there, and the spot on the floor is well marked.

The next morning the Spikenard left St. John’s on its escort mission to Europe. Just days later, the ship was torpedoed and lost at sea. Her captain, all of her officers, and many of her crew were lost as well.

As I walked down the stairs to the street later, I pictured those young officers doing the same thing on that cold winter night in 1942. I imagined them busting out of that metal door, laughing and cutting up as they left the warmth and security of the Crow’s Nest for the last time, arms around each other, out into the cold of a world overcome with war.