GRUNIG, PTE. RALPH

R.D. Grunig E.R.A. (Engine Room Artificer)

H.M.C.S. Ettrick; c/o/ Fleet Mail Office

Halifax

Ralph David Grunig was born August 22, 1919 in Magnetawan, he son of Godfrey Grunig and Sarah Patterson. 

Ralph married Jean Everald Morris. They had 3 children,

Wikipedia provides the following description of the HMS Ettrick:

“HMS Ettrick was a River-class frigate that fought for the Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. The vessel primarily saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic as a convoy escort. The ship was named for the Ettrick Water in Scotland.

Ettrick was ordered 1 June 1941 as part of the River-class building programme.^[3] The vessel was laid down on 31 December 1941 by John Crown & Sons at Sunderland and launched 25 February 1943.^[3][4] The ship was one of six frigates of the class to be fitted with steam turbines instead of the standard reciprocating machinery.^[5] She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 11 July 1943…

On 29 January 1944, while undergoing a refit at Halifax, Ettrick was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Navy. Once the refit was completed, the vessel was assigned to MOEF escort group C-3. She made two round trips to Derry with the group before transferring out to join escort group 27 based out of Halifax. On 14 January 1945, she rammed U-1232 during the defence of convoy BX 141, damaging the submarine's conning tower. The submarine however was able to escape.^[5] The ship remained as a local escort until the end of hostilities in Europe. She returned to the United Kingdom in May and was returned to the Royal Navy on 30 May 1945.”

HMS Ettrick

Ralph John Grunig

Ralph was one of the many men who served in WWII to whom Godfrey Grunig’s students wrote.

Ralph’s response follows.

Letter written February 13, 1944

Ralph was writing as his ship returned to sea.

The letter above was written May 25, 1945 after the war was over.

At the time of writing, Ralph was in London, England.