Canadians and sailors from coast to coast commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic yesterday.

In St. John’s, members of HMCS Cabot and the Canadian Armed Forces as well as the general public paraded to the National War Memorial on Duckworth Street for a wreath laying ceremony.

The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest of the Second World War, ensured that reinforcements and supplies made it to Europe. The cost was profound with the loss of 2,100 Canadian sailors, more than 1,700 merchant mariners and over 900 aviators.

It affected Newfoundland deeply with ships in Conception Bay and the Gulf of St. Lawrence being sunk by German U-Boats.