Georges Branchaud was born June 12, 1941 in Cornwall, Ontario. His father moved the family to Valleyfield, Quebec during the war, in order to work in the war industries that were booming in that city. The family relocated to Ontario later though, and Georges grew up in Cornwall, where he decided to join the navy in 1958. Training took place at HMCS Cornwallis, and from there he was posted to his first ship, the HMCS Swansea. Georges’ service took place during the Cold War, so he was attached to NATO on many missions, including those that took place during the Suez Crisis and the Cuban Missile Crises. As a marine engineer, it was his responsibility to keep the ship and all its systems running. Georges served on many ships and remained in the navy through the 1980s, at which time he transitioned to a civilian in the employ of the navy, supervising the construction and maintenance of the fleet. We spoke to Georges over zoom in the pandemic spring of 2021 and thank the Sunnybrook Veterans’ Wing for facilitating this interview.
