OTTAWA — A distinguished Second World War veteran has died at the age of 100.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan issued a statement saying retired Lt. Cmdr. Margaret Brooke died earlier this month at her home in Victoria.
Brooke was a nursing sister with the navy, sailing on the ferry S.S Caribou when it was sunk off the Newfoundland coast by a German U-boat in 1942.
Brooke fought to save another nursing sister by holding on to her while clinging to ropes on a capsized lifeboat.
The woman Brooke was trying to save died in the freezing water.
Brooke was named a member of the Order of the British Empire for her heroism and remained an officer in the Royal Canadian Navy before retiring in 1962.
The navy announced last year it would name one of its new patrol ships HMCS Margaret Brooke.
