Telegraphist John Charles Griffon Comish (V/56416) served in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War. Born on 16th October 1924, he was the son of John Cicero Comish and Ellaline Constance Comish (née Lainsbury) of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Ellaline Constance Comish died on 7th June 1935 when her son was 10 years old. She also had a daughter Enid Comish. John was the husband of Dorothea Jean Comish of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada.
John died at Derry/Londonderry on 11th April 1945 aged 21 years old. At the time, he served on HMCS Strathadam. The Esquimalt, British Columbia built vessel was part of Escort Group EG 25 in the North Atlantic.
It left Halifax, Nova Scotia on 2nd February 1945 bound for Derry/Londonderry. It spent the following months in United Kingdom waters until VE Day. The Strathadam took part in the sinking of U-1302 on 7th March 1945.
On 11th April 1945, while in pursuit of a suspected U-Boat, a tragic incident occurred. The mortar projectile system, known as a Hedgehog, exploded killing 6 of the crew.
John Charles Griffon Comish’s grave is in Glenalina Extension, Section BS, Grave 107 of Belfast City Cemetery, Belfast, Co. Antrim. His headstone bears the inscription:
Deep in my heart a memory is kept of the one I loved and still never forget.