ManitobaAt 100 years old, Lt.-Cmdr. Robert Watkin still remembers the exact moment he decided he would join the military and fight for his country in the Second World War. Lt.-Cmdr. Robert Watkins joined the war efforts when he was just 18Dave Baxter · CBC News · Posted: Nov 11, 2025 8:37 PM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.100-year-old veteran Lt.-Cmdr. Robert Watkins reflected this Remembrance Day on his time serving in the navy during the Second World War. (Randall McKenzie/CBC)At 100 years old, Lt.-Cmdr. Robert Watkins still remembers the exact moment he decided he would join the military and fight for his country in the Second World War. “I was walking down Portage Avenue after the war was declared, and a guy from the First World War just stopped me and said, ‘When you’re old enough, are you going to join up?’ Watkins said. “And I said. ‘I’m 14.’ I said if the war is still going on I would.”After that conversation, Watkins briefly considered joining the air force, because he says there was a need for fighter pilots at the time.He said that changed one day later when he was walking by Winnipeg’s naval reserve headquarters, and was drawn in by the music he heard that day. “I was walking down Ellice Avenue towards Sherbrook, that’s where the naval barracks was, and I heard the band play,” he said. “I went in to see what was going on, and I’ve been with the Navy League ever since.”In 1939, at the age of 14, Watkins joined the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets and then joined the Navy as soon as he turned 18, training out of HMCS Chippawa in Winnipeg. He was first sent overseas in 1943, and served on the HMCS Loch Achanalt, which patrolled areas including the English Channel and parts of the North Atlantic Ocean during the war. An image shows sailors posing on and around the HMCS Loch Achanalt, the ship that Lt.-Cmdr. Robert Watkins sailed on during the Second World War. Watkin confirmed to CBC he is in the photo. (Library and Archives Canada)He said he remembers being in a number of battles, including one involving the sinking of a German U-boat, in which the ship he was on picked up 24 German survivors, later dropping them off in Scotland. Despite the risks that came along with serving in the war, he said one of the greatest joys he got out of his service was visiting places he had always wanted to see. “I’m a bit of a history buff and there’s a lot of places I read about in school in the history books and I thought, ‘This is a good chance to see them.’”He also remembers how difficult and strenuous the fighting on the ships could get. “I was the No. 2, which meant I stood on the platform and when they ran out of ammo I’d have to pick up the drum and put it on the gun,” he said. “Well that was heavy work for an 18-year-old let me tell you, building up muscles I never knew I had.”The HMCS Loch Achanalt, one of the ships Lt.-Cmdr. Robert Watkins sailed on during the Second World War. (Library and Archives Canada)Watkins would go on to serve on several other ships before being discharged in 1946, but his connection to the navy didn’t end after the war, as he rejoined the naval reserves in 1949 and has continued to be connected to the navy throughout his life.He also went on to have a long career with Winnipeg Transit after the war, driving streetcars and later buses in Winnipeg, before retiring as Winnipeg Transit’s superintendent of schedules in 1984. He said he continues to be proud of his service to the navy and to his country. Due to recent health problems, Watkins said this year is the first year he did not take part in Nov. 11 ceremonies at HMCS Chippawa in Winnipeg. Instead, he said he was spending this Remembrance Day reminiscing on his time serving, the friends he made, and on the ones who didn’t make it home from war.WATCH | Robert Watkins talks about his naval service:A 100-year-old veteran recalls his WW II combatWinnipeg’s Robert Watkins was still a teenager when he joined the navy, but he remembers it like it was yesterday. The now 100-year-old war veteran, who fought in the Battle of the Atlantic and had a run-in with a German U-boat, reflects on his experiences. ABOUT THE AUTHORDave Baxter is an award-winning reporter and editor currently working for CBC Manitoba. Born and raised in Winnipeg, he has also previously reported for the Winnipeg Sun and the Winnipeg Free Press, as well as several rural Manitoba publications.With files from Mike Arsenault
100-year-old Winnipeg naval veteran reflects on service in Second World War
