By Melanie Penner

Have you ever wondered why there is a ship’s bell and steering wheel on display at the Morden Civic Centre?

The story behind those war time artifacts is being brought to life in the form of a new play called “The Long Journey Home.”

Morden resident Larry Danielson has written the one-man play that depicts the courage of a young man in the Battle of the North Atlantic, braving the peril of U-boats and the danger of winter storms to insure that food, fuel and critical war supplies reached England.

During World War Two, the Royal Canadian Navy named its corvettes in honour of Canadian communities that provided strong support for the war effort. H.M.C.S. Morden was one of more than a hundred small ships that helped to escort merchant freighters across the Atlantic from 1939-1945.

Now some 70 years later, the stories and experiences of a sailor on the H.M.C.S. Morden will be told by actor Nick Pharaoh, who will perform the 50-minute production on the stage of the historic Kenmor Theatre in Morden June 27-29.

The production is part of the Chautauqua Spirit celebrations, Morden’s 2008 Cultural Capitals of Canada project.

Pharaoh, who now lives in Winnipeg, said he and Danielson have worked together on drama presentations in the past and when the chance came up to be involved in the project, he was thrilled to be a part of it.

Danielson said he decided to write “The Long Journey Home” because as a resident of Morden, he was curious about the life of sailors on board this ship and it didn’t take long before he realized there was a strong story behind it.

“I’ve sometimes described Morden as “a prairie town with a ship,” but in truth, the ship was never here in the prairies, but there was a special bond between our community and the H.M.C.S Morden,” said Danielson.

Town residents sent packages and letters to sailors on the ship and sailors responded. Ed O’Connor, author of The Corvette Years, was a sailor on Morden and says in his book, that for several years after the war he wrote to one young lady in Morden.

 “I learned of Morden’s role as a “rescue ship” under hazardous circumstances and was very moved,” he said. “The memories shared by sailor Ed O’Connor and many of his R.C.N. mates on corvettes inspired me to chronicle their experience.”

For Danielson, the playwriting process for a topic of this nature was complex, but added the most interesting part was the research.

His research led him to read numerous other books dealing with the Canadian Navy in World War II, search the internet to reconstruct the log of Morden’s many Atlantic crossings and meet two men who served on corvettes during that time – Burt Jolly of Winnipeg (H.M.C.S Rostern) and Harvey Hyde of Treherne (H.M.C.S. Kincardine.)

“Throughout my research, I was looking for actions or incidents that touch one’s heart. Fortunately, there were many as I collected stories about H.M.C.S Morden and some of them have become scenes in my play,” he explained.

Danielson had several goals in mind when he began work on the script. He wanted it to be interesting for people in the audience, regardless of their age and knowledge of the Canadian Navy or the Second World War.

Another focus from the outset was to depict what life was like for sailors who enlisted and how they changed and developed during their years of service, while providing the necessary background that would help a reader or viewer to understand the larger context.

“For playgoers who know little or nothing about the complex events of World War II, I have tried to weave in enough of the bigger picture that they will understand its impact on the story’s characters,” said Danielson.

All the events included in the play are all historically true.

From the performer’s standpoint, Pharaoh said presenting new and exciting material is a pleasure from an artistic viewpoint.

He added however, the challenge with this play is that it is re-creating story that happened a long time ago.

“Some audience members will have experienced the war and will remember these times very well, while younger generations may not know very much at all about this important time in our history,” he explained.

“This is a tribute to those who lived through war times and they will want their story told well. My personal challenge and opportunity is to make this a true portrayal of the brave sailors who served,” said Pharaoh.

In the play “The Long Journey Home,” the character of Ted O’Brien derives in many ways from Ed O’Connor, a sailor on H.M.C.S. Morden, noted Danielson.

“In his book, O’Connor says they faced two enemies—fierce storms and deadly U-boats. One might also add a third—boredom. I seek to capture all three elements in my play,” he said.

Mel Reimer is the President of the Royal Canadian Legion – Morden branch.

He said it is significant that Morden was among the communities chosen by the Royal Canadian Navy when naming its Corvettes. Royal Navy corvettes tended to be named after flowers, but Royal Canadian corvettes were often named for small towns.

Reimer said not many were named after prairie towns and speculated that Morden’s presence during the war was a big reason.

“Morden had a pretty large presence in both wars, especially World War one,” noted Reimer. “I am not aware of any member of our legion that served on the H.M.C.S Morden, but there were certainly prairie soldiers that were part of the Battle of the Atlantic.”

Reimer said the Morden Legion branch plans to give special recognition to the community’s veterans when the play debuts later this month.

He said they are looking at holding a reception for veterans after one of “The Long Journey Home” performances in order to recognize their contributions and past accomplishments.

Reimer expects a lot of interest in the production from veterans in the area as well as war history enthusiasts and other Legion groups.

Like most other corvettes, Morden went to the scrap yard immediately after the War, but you can find the ship’s bell and wheel proudly displayed at the Morden Civic Centre.

The play premiers at the Kenmor Theatre June 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m. and June 29 at 3 p.m.