Cliff Chadderton, Canada Merchant Navy Champion

H. Clifford Chadderton is a devoted, persistent and determined man. Canadian Merchant Navy mariners consider him their Champion.

Officially, Mr. Chadderton is known as Chief Executive Officer of The War Amps, and Chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada (NCVA). Unofficially, to the thousands of amputee children who look to him, he is simply Cliff; to thousands of veterans across the country, Mr. Veteran.

Veteran
He lost his right leg below the knee in 1944 while in command of a company of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, battling for the Scheldt Estuary in Belgium and Holland during World War II. When he returned to Canada, The War Amps was there to assist him -- as it had for so many other amputee veterans since World War I -- in rebuilding his life as an amputee.

War Amps CEO and Video Producer
In 1965, Mr. Chadderton took on the full-time position of Chief Executive Officer of The War Amps. With him at the helm, the organization grew dramatically and has become known the world over for its innovative programs and ideas.

Mr. Chadderton is also well-known nationally and internationally as a video producer. Being a war veteran and an amputee make him uniquely qualified to produce the kinds of videos that have won so many awards for The War Amps.

Canadian Merchant Navy
Most recently, Mr. Chadderton was successful in another long-standing campaign in the veterans arena: pursuing a payment in lieu of benefits for Canada's Merchant Mariners -- benefits denied them, but received by veterans of the Armed Forces during World War II.

The Canadian government declared the Merchant Marine an essential arm of our fighting service during the Second World War. Yet, after the war, the government did not recognize merchant seamen as veterans and withheld from them many veterans benefits to encourage them to continue their service. The loss of benefits for the Merchant Mariner averaged over $70,000.

Video "SAIL OR JAIL"
In his video briefing to the National Council of Veteran Associations, Chairman Cliff Chadderton tells the whole story of the treachery of the government, ship owners and some unions. It is a tale Canadians should know, particularly in view of recent demands by the merchant seamen for recognition and financial compensation in lieu of the benefits denied to them for more than 50 years.

During the war, mariners were probably too young, too old, or unfit for service in the regular uniformed Armed Forces. Their chances of survival, particularly early in the war, were slim.

There were 353 merchant vessels sunk in the Gulf of St. Lawrence or the Canadian offshore waters. The U-boats, surface raiders, and enemy aircraft were not the only dangers, since convoys went ahead, no matter what the conditions.

Mariners were required to serve under what was known as the "sail or jail" by order of the Canadian government.

After the war, the merchant seamen were forgotten heroes. The video explains why the government withheld benefits, and provides compelling reasons for the government to "make it up" to these men who were not given the option of seeking employment under the generous legislation available to the regular Armed Forces.

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Canada Merchant Navy Veterans Awarded Benefits
On February 1, 2000, the Minister of Veterans Affairs announced a $50 million tax-free package for Canada Merchant Navy Veterans and surviving spouses.

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Canadian Merchant Navy vets win $50M compensation

6/5/00

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