Harbour_Panel7 In July 1943, the Corvette HMCS Cobourg was launched in Midland, Ontario to help the Allied cause in the Battle of the Atlantic. Naturally the Town of Cobourg and its citizens took a personal interest, so when the Corvette arrived in town on May 24, 1944, it was a very special day. The sun was shining as HMCS Cobourg sailed majestically into the harbour on her official visit. With the Cobourg Kiltie Band playing stirring airs and hundreds of admiring citizens on hand, the Cobourg berthed that morning in the inner harbour, the scene throughout the day of ceremonies and inspection tours. Mayor Burnet and members of the Town Council were part of the welcoming committee. Veteran Captain Daniel Rooney and Lieutenant Don McKinnon, RCNVR, from Cobourg, accompanied the vessel from Toronto. The officers and men were entertained royally and rumour has it that the Ladies Auxiliary brought a piano down to the pier to serenade the crew. The citizens supplied the ship with numerous items such as radios, sports equipment, victorolas, books, washing machines, electric irons, toasters, hot plates, linens, musical instruments, windbreakers and ditty bags. The next day the Cobourg departed with the daunting prospect of joining the Battle of the Atlantic. Following its military service, the vessel was sold to commercial interests and eventually burned and sunk as the Puerto del Sol in 1971. The ship's bell of HMCS Cobourg now hangs in the foyer of Cobourg's Victoria Hall. Design provided by Steve Smiley, RGD, Quench Design & Communications, Port Hope. HMCS COBOURG VISITS THE HISTORY OF COBOURG HARBOUR The anti-submarine cabin of the corvette H.M.C.S. Cobourg, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 13 July 1944. Corvette H.M.C.S. COBOURG at Cobourg Harbour, May 24, 1944 Photo by Walter S. Leggett