Established in 1985 in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Naval Service of Canada, the Admirals’ Medal is bestowed upon individuals to recognize the advancement of maritime affairs in Canada. Named for Vice-Admiral Rollo Mainguy and Rear-Admirals George Stephens and Victor Brodeur, the silver medal was established by their respective sons who also rose to flag rank: Vice-Admirals Daniel Mainguy, Robert Stephens and Nigel Brodeur. 

Responsibility for the Admirals’ Medal Foundation was transferred from the RCN to the Naval Association in 2021. NAC Naval Affairs is now responsible for ensuring that the Medal is awarded on an annual basis through a proper solicitation – nomination – selection – award process. To that end, a committee of Flag/Senior officers has been stood up to carry out the review and selection process. Documents outlining the Selection Committee’s Terms of Reference, Selection Criteria and Annual Cycle, Nomination Instructions and a Nomination Form in Word format can be accessed from the left side of this page.

Below you will find the list of recipients of this prestigious award. The 2023 recipient was announced 21 December 2023.

Recipients of the Admirals’ Medal

2023 – Captain David (Duke) Snider, FNI, FRGS

2022 – Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) Ian David Mack, CMM, CD, RCN

2021 – Lieutenant (Ret’d) Peter Ward, CD, RCN(R)

2020 – Captain (Ret’d) Rolfe G Monteith, CVSM, CD, RCN

2019 – Professor Barry M. Gough, FRHS

2018 – Mr Brian T. Hill

2017 – Captain (Ret’d) James F. (Jim) Carruthers, CD, PhD, RCN

2016 – Dr Marc Milner

2015 – Dr James A. (Jim) Boutilier

2014 – Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Charles M. Thomas, CMM, CD, & Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) Eldon Healey, CMM, CD

2013 – Mr. Robert P. (Bob) D’Aoust

2012 – Commander (Ret’d.) Fraser McKee, CD, RCNR

2011 – No award presented

2010 – Mr. Ken Macpherson

2009 – Commander (Ret’d) Peter T. Haydon, CD, RCN

2008 – Captain William H. Wilson, OMM, CD, RCN

2007 – Robert Grenier, OC

2006 – Dr. Arthur E. Collin, PhD, MSc

2005 – Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) H. MacNeil, CMM, CD

2004 – Mr. R.M. Eaton

2003 – Commander (Ret’d) W.A.B. Douglas, CD, PhD, RCN

2002 – Commander (Ret’d) P.G. Chance, CD, MNI, RCN

2001 – Dr. A.W. May, OC

2000 – Commander (Ret’d) A.B.C. (Tony) German, CD, RCN

1999 – Captain (Ret’d) D.P. Ryan, CD, RCN

1998 – Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Harry G. DeWolf, CBE, DSO, DSC, CD, RCN

1997 – Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) R.W. Timbrell, CMM, DSC, CD, RCN

1996 – Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) A.H.G. Storrs, DSC, CD, RCN

1995 – Dr. Joseph B. MacInnis, CM, MD, FRCP, FRCGS, LLD (Hon)

1994 – Mr. William Andrew O’Neil

1993 – Ambassador John Alan Beesley, OC, QC

1992 – Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) Frederick William Crickard, OMM, CD, RCN

1991 – Commander (Ret’d) Charles Herbert Little, CD, MA, FRCGS, RCN

1990 – Captain (Ret’d) Thomas Charles Pullen, OC, CD, RCN

1989 – Commander (Ret’d) Charles Robert Nixon, CD, MSc, PEng, RCN

1988 – Miss Moira Dunbar, OC, MA, FRSC

1987 – Dr. Michael Curtis Eames, DSc, MEng, BSc

1986 – Commander (Ret’d) Louis C. Audette, OC, QC, BA, LPh, LLB, RCNR

1985 – Commodore (Ret’d) Robert I. Hendy, VRD, CD, QC, RCNR

Admirals’ Medal Recipients – Citations

2023 – Captain David (Duke) Snider, FNI, FRGS – Captain Snider is recognized for his global reputation, built over the past 40 years, for competence and expertise in ice navigation, contributing significantly to the safety of shipping in Canada’s far north. Coincident with full-time employment in the Canadian Coast Guard culminating as Regional Director Fleet — Western Region, he established his own consultancy providing polar shipping and ice navigation training as well as hands-on navigation expertise.  Martech Polar Consultants has been recognized in the Shipping Industry as the “Best” Polar Ice Pilotage and Navigation Specialists in 2018 and 2019.  Himself elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 2008, he is a recipient of the US Antarctic Service Medal and the Canada-Finland Medal for his accomplishments in the development and practice of ice-navigating standards.  He served as President of the Nautical Institute 2016-18, is now a Trustee and member of the Executive Board and Finance and Administration committee and was instrumental in the establishment of the NI Ice Navigator qualification, and incorporation of similar requirements in the IMO Polar Code.  He continues to be active in Polar Code discussions at IMO today. His book Polar Ship Operations (now in its 2nd edition) is a recognized textbook for ice-navigator training.

2022 – Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) Ian David Mack, CMM, CD, RCN – Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) Ian Mack is recognized for his unequalled contribution to Canada in the naval ship procurement sphere.  His naval career spanned 38 years in numerous marine engineering and staff appointments. Following retirement from the Navy in 2007, Ian served a further ten years in National Defence as the Director-General Major Projects (Land and Sea). Since leaving the government in 2017, he has offered his shipbuilding and project management perspectives internationally and has authored numerous papers on those and related subjects. His leadership, vision, and tireless efforts to set in place the National Shipbuilding Strategy and to promote the application of complex project management principles to naval ship procurement have contributed to the revitalization of the Canadian shipbuilding industry and the implementation of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ship and Joint Support Ship projects. With the Canadian Surface Combatant project now well into project definition, Ian’s work has set in motion the renewal of the RCN for the next half century.

2021 – Lieutenant (Ret’d) Peter Ward, CD, RCN (R) – Lieutenant Peter Ward is an acclaimed retired journalist, military editor, war correspondent, broadcaster, author and wine columnist who served as a Public Information Officer with the Naval Reserve Division HMCS York (1962-1978). Recipient of the Peacekeeping Medal for deployments to Cyprus and the Vietnam Decoration for seeing action as an embedded journalist and side gunner with a US Army helicopter unit, his poignant photography and objective reporting from the front lines were published in major newspapers worldwide. As one of the original five founding members of HAIDA Inc, he is being recognized inter alia for his critical role in the acquisition and the preservation of HMCS Haida, a famous Second World War Tribal-class destroyer, now a National Historical Site and the ceremonial Flagship for the Royal Canadian Navy, berthed in Hamilton, Ontario.

2020 – Captain (Ret’d) Rolfe G. Monteith, CVSM, CD, RCN – Captain Rolfe Monteith served in the RCN (1940-70) as an Engineer Officer with Marine and Air specializations, including aboard the aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent and as Project Director for the Canadian Hydrofoil Project, emigrating to the United Kingdom upon retirement from the Navy for a second career in the British marine industry.  He is awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his many activities on behalf of Canadian naval veterans, in particular formation of the Canadian Naval Air Group (CNAG) and Canadian Naval Technical History Association (CNTHA), and continuing promotion of the Canadian Veterans Association (UK) and the Arctic Convoys to Russia Association.

2019 – Professor Barry M. Gough, FRHS – Dr Barry M. Gough is Professor Emeritus of History at Wilfrid Laurier University and Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, with additional affiliations including Past President of the Canadian Nautical Research Society and of the British Columbia Historical Federation, founding member of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, and Archives By-Fellow Churchill College Cambridge UK.  He is recognized for his lifetime achievement as a global maritime and naval historian, beginning with a pioneering study of The Royal Navy and the Northwest Coast of North America, 1810-1914 (1971), through some thirty major volumes and numerous articles, culminating with the magisterial Pax Britannica: Ruling the Waves and Keeping the Peace Before Armageddon (2014) and Churchill and Fisher: Titans at the Admiralty (2017), a body of work which has earned him international acclaim as a Canadian scholar of the highest order.

2018 – Mr Brian T. Hill is recognized for his lifetime achievement in snow, ice, and iceberg research, primarily with the Institute for Ocean Technology at the National Research Council, St John’s NL (1984-2009). As the Supervisor of the Ice Tank physical model test facility, Brian was responsible for over one thousand physical modelling experiments of ships, submersibles, and offshore structures in ice. Beyond his 25-year NRC job description, and of his own initiative—and in his own evening and weekend time and in his years since retirement—Brian has established a set of four significant 200-year databases of historical ice conditions in the North Atlantic covering, respectively, the sea ice extent off the east coast of Newfoundland; the sea ice extent in the Gulf of St Lawrence and on the Scotian Shelf; iceberg populations on the Grand Banks; and ship collisions with icebergs throughout the region. Well over 170,000 ice and iceberg reports have been gathered in the four databases. These databases have proven to be invaluable in the safe industrial development of the east coast offshore oil fields, and more lately with the realization that the extent of sea ice may be a proxy for ongoing climate change. They can be accessed at: https://newicedata.com

2017 – Captain (Ret’d) James F. (Jim) Carruthers, CD, PhD, RCN — Captain Carruthers was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for both his military and civilian contributions to maritime affairs. While a serving officer, Captain Carruthers was a leader in the development of new combat information and weapons control capabilities for the Halifax, Iroquois, and Improved Restigouche classes of ships. After leaving the Navy in 1982, he became involved in the Naval Association of Canada, where he served as National President. Throughout his time in leadership roles with the NAC over the past eleven years, Jim has been a prolific writer on maritime and naval affairs. He has written numerous articles for Starshell and penned many other opinion pieces, all promoting the value of the Royal Canadian Navy as a national institution, the importance of the National Shipbuilding Strategy to the country, and the value of the NAC in supporting the RCN.

2016 – Dr Marc Milner — Dr Marc Milner is Director of the Brigadier Milton F Gregg VC Centre for the Study of War and Society at the University of New Brunswick.  After working in the Directorate of History (DND), he joined the History Department at University of New Brunswick.  His work on naval history includes Canada’s Navy: The First Century (1999 and 2010), HMCS Sackville 1941-1985 (1998), and Battle of the Atlantic (2003) which won the C.P. Stacey Prize for the best book in military history in Canada.  He is recognized for achievement as a prolific and authoritative historian of the Royal Canadian Navy, exemplified through a longstanding commitment to HMCS Sackville and support of the aims of the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust in educating the public on the significance of Canada’s role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

2015 – Dr James A. (Jim) Boutilier — Dr Boutilier has had a 60-year career in the maritime realm as a naval officer, academic, author, public servant, expert lecturer and global affairs policy adviser.  His field of expertise has become Asia-Pacific defence and security, particularly with regards to maritime issues.  He is recognized for his achievements in this field, which he has leveraged to great effect in support of Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces.

2014 – Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Charles M. Thomas, CMM, CD, and Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) Eldon Healey, CMM, CD — Admirals Thomas and Healey were awarded the Admirals’ Medal for their leadership in spear-heading the Canadian Patrol Frigate program from concept to implementation, in that no other class of ships has ever provided more benefit to Canada economically, militarily and geopolitically.  “Chuck” Thomas joined the RCN at HMCS Venture in 1954, attended the Royal Naval Engineering College (Manadon) in 1960, and commanded HMCS Fraser and the 4th Canadian Escort Squadron.  In flag rank, he served as Chief of Maritime Doctrine and Operations (1984-87), as Commander Maritime Command (1987-89), and finally as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, from which position he retired in 1991.  Ed Healey graduated from Royal Roads Military College in 1955 and attended the Royal Naval Engineering College (Manadon) in 1959.  He was involved in most naval ship procurement projects from that of HMCS Provider in 1962 until appointed Program Manager for the Canadian Patrol Frigate Program in 1984.  Upon retirement in 1985 he became Assistant Deputy Minister (Materiel) until his “second” retirement in 1990.

2013 – Mr. Robert P. (Bob) D’Aoust — Mr. D’Aoust’s interest as a genealogist led him to undertake a seven-year project to research the 2,143 Canadian sailors killed in the Second World War, published as a four-volume set entitled Ultimate Sacrifice.  He has generously donated his research files to the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust for use in their own Book of Remembrance Project.

2012 – Commander (Ret’d) Fraser McKee, CD, RCNR — Mr. McKee has an abiding interest in history, particularly with respect to Canada’s Navy.  A prolific writer and one of Canada’s best known writer/researcher on Canadian naval history, he has authored or co-authored a number of books, including Volunteers for Sea Service, The Armed Yachts of Canada, HMCS Swansea, Canadian Naval Chronicle, Sink All the Shipping There and Three Princes Armed.  He has also published a number of major articles addressing naval themes, including “How to Run a Mess Dinner” and has edited three newsletters including ‘Bumph’ and ‘Starshell.’  He continues to be heavily involved with a number of organizations in his community and as a public speaker, he continues to help promote the RCN to a wider audience primarily in the Toronto area on history and current naval affairs.

2011 – No award presented.

2010 – Mr. Ken Macpherson — Mr. Macpherson, a well-known author, editor and historian, has written and collaborated on several books about the ships of the Royal Canadian Navy and Maritime Command.  Some of these works include: The Ships of Canada’s Naval Forces 1910-1985 (and updates to 2002); The River Class destroyers of the Royal Canadian Navy; Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy 1939-1945; and most recently Cadillac of Destroyers: HMCS St Laurent and Her Successors.  Before retirement in 1987, Mr. Macpherson was a historian in the Ontario Provincial Archives and custodian of its photograph collection.

2009 – Commander ( Ret’d) Peter T. Haydon, CD, RCN — Peter Haydon was recognized for his many years of service to the Canadian Navy, as well as his contributions to educating the public with regard to maritime affairs.

2008 – Captain William H. Wilson, OMM, CD, RCN — Captain Wilson was selected for his service to the Royal Canadian Navy, his dedication to the development of Canadian naval heritage, most especially in the creation of the Naval Museum of Alberta and the formation the Naval Museum of Alberta Society. He has worked tirelessly during his career as an officer in the naval reserves and has been a longtime supporter of the Calgary naval community. This support he has extended without qualification to the entire Calgary military community.

2007 – Robert Grenier, OC — Robert Grenier is the acknowledged leader in the world of archaeology and underwater conservation.  Among other achievements as Chief of Parks’ Canada’s Underwater Archaeology section, he discovered North America’s oldest heritage wreck off the coast of Labrador.  The innovative methods he developed there made the Red Bay site an international model for scientific research.  A great communicator and renowned consultant, he has been associated with a number of films and projects, particularly the protection of the Titanic and the Empress of Ireland.  Through his many commitments, such as the chairmanship of an international UNESCO committee, he helps us understand the importance of preserving our underwater heritage so that he can continue to reveal its secrets to us.

2006 – Dr. Arthur E. Collin, PhD, MSc — Dr. Collin was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his leadership in national and international research efforts on the Arctic, ocean and aquatic sciences and the environment.  In particular, he studied the physical oceanography of the polar basin and the Arctic Archipelago between 1956 and 1960.  Later he was appointed as the Scientific Advisor for the Maritime Forces (1965) and as the Dominion Hydrographer (1968).  From 1971 to 1980 he served as Assistant Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Environment.  During his tenure he headed Canada’s delegation on long-range transportation of atmospheric pollution.  Even after retirement Dr. Collin remains an active member of the Council of Science and Technology Advisors and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ Science Advisory Council.  He is also involved with Canadian Geographic Society’s Massey Medal, which recognizes achievement in the exploration, development or description of the geography of Canada.

2005 – Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) H. MacNeil, CMM, CD — Vice-Admiral MacNeil was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition of not only his extensive naval service, but also for his significant personal contribution to Canadian maritime heritage specifically, for his tireless efforts in preserving and protecting the naval and marine history and heritage of both the city of Halifax and the Province of Nava Scotia for the benefit of all Canadians.  In particular, Vice-Admiral MacNeil, while Chair of the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust, ensured the future of the National Canadian Naval Memorial, HMCS Sackville, by making all of the necessary arrangements to incorporate Sackville into the development of the Halifax Waterfront.

2004 – Mr. R.M. Eaton — Mr. Eaton was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his efforts in substantially improving the safety of maritime navigation through the development and implementation of state-of-the-art electronic navigational aids.   From 1970 to his retirement, Mr. Eaton was almost continually involved in contributing to programs and techniques to improve navigation and vessel positioning for platforms involved in hydrographic surveying and oceanographic research.  In 1982, he began work to develop specifications for an electronic chart database and studied the effect of the electronic chart on safe navigation.  Between 1980 and 1997 his work on Loran C calibration, primarily in Atlantic Canada, resulted in Canada having the only hydrographic office capable of issuing Loran chart lattices all of which were calibrated to actual observations in the charted area, as opposed to lattices based on predictions. 

2003 – Commander (Ret’d) W.A.B. Douglas, CD, PhD, RCN — Dr. Douglas was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his notable and unique contribution to the naval and military history of Canada.  He has demonstrated a lifelong passion for his work and has been a major contributor to the education and professional development of Canadian officers.  He was one of the individuals responsible for the establishment of the Canadian Nautical Research Society and the revitalization of the Society’s journal, The Northern Mariner.  He opened opportunities for advanced studies in both official languages and served as a graduate studies supervisor for military students at several universities.  He initiated the project that led to development and eventual publication of the Official Operational History of the RCN on 1 May 2003.

2002 – Commander (Ret’d) P.G. Chance, CD, MNI, RCN — Commander Chance was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition for his long and distinguished naval career and his continued contribution to maritime interests and youth of Canada.  He became interested in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and his leadership qualities, coupled with tremendous enthusiasm and drive has seen the program grow and flourish.  His interest in the Maritime Awards Society of Canada has resulted in the development of endowment funds for university scholarships for post graduate studies in maritime fields and through public forums, has raised national awareness of maritime issues.  Recruitment of naval oriented volunteers across Canada in support of ALS research resulted in a remarkable increase in national awareness of the disease and substantial funding.

2001 – Dr. A.W. May, OC — Dr. May was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition for his long and distinguished career as a maritime biologist, a civil servant and an academic.  He served as a marine scientist in Newfoundland and in Ottawa during which time he published over 60 works on the North Atlantic fishery.  He was a senior civil servant whose career culminated with appointments as the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the President of the Natural Sciences Engineering Research Council of Canada.  He completed his career as the President of Memorial University.  He has also been a member or chair of over 50 national and international committees related to science and technology.  He has maintained his active interest in naval affairs and has hosted a number of meetings at Memorial University. 

2000 – Commander (Ret’d) A.B.C. (Tony) German, CD, RCN — Commander German was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition of his continuous and enthusiastic efforts in promoting public appreciation of Canadian maritime matters in general and the work of the Royal Canadian Navy in particular.  His book, “The Sea is at Our Gates” is the standard work on the history of the Canadian Navy.  He continues his efforts in current and ongoing work outlining the history of developments in the Canadian Navy for use by the Defence Department in preparation of the Navy’s orientation program for new entries as well as reviewing the entire script of its earlier history.

1999 – Captain (Ret’d) D.P. Ryan, CD, RCN — Captain Ryan was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition of his ingenious, unique and major contribution in the recording of our Navy’s history and his dissemination of that history in an accessible, popular format.  The “Seasoned Sailors” series meets an urgent need to record the stories of sailors before all memories are obliterated and records are either forgotten or destroyed.  This series provides valuable material for students of history as well as those who feel that history is a live, flesh-and-blood human business rather than as something remote and academic. The “Seasoned Sailors” series required a prodigious amount of work, considerable complex equipment that had to be assembled and the development of a different range of skills.  He successfully enlisted the help of the National Archives and Department of National Defence Archives to ensure the preservation of the series.  He pursued each professional quality production with such vigour and dedication so that this uniquely valuable record of a key element of our naval history could exist.  Canada is richer for it.

1998 – Vice-Admiral (Ret’d) Harry G. DeWolf, CBE, DSO, DSC, CD, RCN — Vice-Admiral DeWolf was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition of his life and accomplishments as a successful Naval Officer with a varied and challenging background.  It is the view of his shipmates that he was an officer and a gentleman who always had time for the men he served with.  He always showed his respect for the efforts made by his ship’s company. As one of Canada’s most highly respected naval officers of the Second World War, he retired from an illustrious career in 1961 as the Chief of the Naval Staff.  He entered the Royal Navy (RN) College of Canada as a Cadet in September 1918.  Early in the Second World War, as Captain of HMCS St. Laurent he took part in the evacuation of France. While on anti-submarine duty in the North Atlantic he led his crew on one of the largest at sea rescues, plucking survivors of the SS Arandora Star from the ocean’s chilly waters, after the ship was torpedoed by a U-boat.  As Captain of HMCS Haida, he took part in escort convoys in the arctic waters of Murmansk and later in a series of successful night actions in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay.

1997 – Rear Admiral (Ret’d) R.W. Timbrell, CMM, DSC, CD, RCN— Rear Admiral Timbrell was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition of his life and accomplishments as a successful Naval Officer with a varied and challenging background.  His breadth of seafaring and administration background was of particular value in his appointment as President of the Dominion Marine Association for ten years.  In this capacity, he considerably elevated the profile of the Association and engaged federal and various provincial government departments and agencies in discussions of a wide range of issues of importance to the Canadian marine community.  In particular, he was instrumental in re-establishing the Canadian Ship-owners Association whose aim was to promote a substantial Canadian commercial presence on the deep sea.

1996 – Rear Admiral (Ret’d) A.H.G. Storrs, DSC, CD, RCN — Rear Admiral Storrs was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition of his life and accomplishments as a consummate seaman and the application of this experiences that made an effective and lasting impact upon the officers and men of the Royal Canadian Navy, including members of the Naval Air branch, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires.  In particular his many appointments in the Navy and other positions, were challenging, as he was in many cases the first person, from a naval background, to fill such a position.  His ability to overcome challenges and his impact on those who would come after illuminates his considered and unassuming contributions to Canada through the application of practical maritime skills, which were matched only by his intellectual and practical depth and breadth.

1995 – Dr. Joseph B. MacInnis, CM, MD, FRCP, FRCGS, LLD (Hon) — Dr. MacInnis was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition of his many contributions in diving medicine and underwater exploration in the high Arctic and in the deep ocean.  In particular, he made significant medical contributions to human performance under the sea and invented underwater stations for submerged work in the Great Lakes and in the Northwest Passage.  In 1970, he formed the James Allister MacInnis Foundation for underwater research and education in Canada.  His endeavours include leading the first team of scientific divers under the North Pole, discovering the world’s northernmost shipwreck in Canada’s Northwest Passage and being the first Canadian to dive to the Titanic in the foothills of Canada’s Grand Banks.

1994 – Mr. William Andrew O’Neil — Mr. O’Neil was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition for his outstanding contribution to Canada in the development of measures relating to the safety of international seafarers and to the protection of the marine environment from ship-source pollutants.  In particular, as Secretary-General for the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr. O’Neil showed unwavering dedication to the solving of maritime-related problems.  He has emphasized the importance of making IMO a proactive rather than a reactive organization and has campaigned for the improvement of safety for oil tankers, bulk carriers and ferries.  He has continually stressed the importance of the human element, including the requirement for higher standards for management and the need for improved training and certification for seafarers.

1993 – Ambassador John Alan Beesley, OC, QC — Ambassador Beesley was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition for his significant and lasting contributions while representing Canada in the committee of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and in the United Specialized Agencies and organs in Geneva, Paris and Vienna.  In particular, he was recognized for the major role that he played in the negotiations on the Law of the Sea and Arctic Sovereignty. He concluded bilateral and multilateral agreements on fisheries, boundaries of territorial seas, continental shelf limits, deep sea-bed mining, passage through international straits, the preservation of the marine environment, marine scientific research and on hijacking of ships and aircraft.  He was also responsible in advancing and protecting Canada’s interests in multilateral trade (GATT and UNCTAD), outer space, human rights and refugee matters.  

1992 – Rear-Admiral (Ret’d) Frederick William Crickard, OMM, CD, RCN — Rear Admiral Crickard was awarded the Admirals’ Medal in recognition for his work in the realm of Oceans Policy and for his promotion of maritime defence matters to a broader audience through public speaking presentations.  By virtue of his lifelong naval career, RAdm Crickard was consistently successful in projecting a clear, rational and persuasive argument for maintaining military vigilance and for the strengthening of Canada’s security through the acceptance of responsibility by the navy for the safeguarding of three oceans.

1991 – Commander (Ret’d) Charles Herbert Little, CD, MA, FRCGS, RCN — Commander Little was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his outstanding efforts in the organization and development of the University Naval Training Division (NRTD) program.  The program instilled in its graduates a deeper awareness, appreciation and understanding of Canadian maritime affairs then previous programs.  Many of the graduates from the NRTD program went on to establish life long careers in the Royal Canadian Navy and all benefited significantly from Commander Little’s efforts.

1990 – Captain (Ret’d) Thomas Charles Pullen, OC, CD, RCN — Captain Pullen was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his significant contribution to navigation, exploration, geographical knowledge and the advancement of science in the Arctic.  In particular, he was recognized for his achievements while in command of HMCS Labrador and subsequently in support of different projects in the Arctic.  He was noted for applying his rare expertise and remarkable intellect to problems of Arctic operations and for his tireless efforts in becoming a leading expert in his field through intensive study, which was considered to be of extraordinary and special importance to Canada and to maritime affairs.

1989 – Commander (Ret’d) Charles Robert Nixon, CD, MSc, PEng, RCN — Commander Nixon was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his significant personal contributions to Canadian maritime affairs in his career as a naval officer with service in Korea and in peacetime.  He developed a sound reputation for well-written papers on maritime affairs, Canada’s involvement in NATO, and Canada’s involvement in domestic and international security and disarmament initiatives.  Outside of his military service, Commander Nixon has worked for the public service and was appointed as Deputy Minister of National Defence.  During his appointment as Deputy Minister, he was deeply involved in the development of National Defence as a department and ensured that the Canadian Navy continued to exist in the face of tremendous economic and financial pressures.  Before he left the post of Deputy Minister he dedicated himself to obtaining the approval for the Canadian Patrol Frigate, Long Range Patrol Aircraft and CF-18 Fighter Aircraft projects.

1988 – Miss Moira Dunbar, OC, MA, FRSC — Miss Dunbar was awarded with the Admirals’ Medal in recognition of work in the Arctic while employed with the Defence Research Board of Canada.  She was influential in the promotion of winter navigation and in the setting up of an ice reconnaissance and forecasting service in Canada.  Her pioneering works in the use of side-looking airborne radar in the observing of sea-ice greatly assisted in the studies of currents and the movement of sea-ice. Miss Dunbar has also earned worldwide recognition as a historian of the Polar Regions through her varied and numerous published papers in English and Russian about navigation in the ice-covered waters of Canada and the Canadian Arctic

1987 – Dr. Michael Curtis Eames, DSc, MEng, BSc — Dr. Eames was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his significant and noteworthy contributions to Canadian maritime activities through his research and related scientific studies during his career.  In particular, his contributions in hydrodynamics and systems analysis have been extremely valuable in naval planning for future operations and policy.

1986 – Commander (Ret’d) Louis C. Audette, OC, QC, BA, LPh, LLB, RCNR — Commander Audette was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his permanent and significant contribution to maritime affairs in Canada.  His achievements in maritime international affairs have greatly benefited the seagoing countries of the world.

1985 – Commodore (Ret’d) Robert I. Hendy, VRD, CD, QC, RCNR — Commodore Hendy was awarded the Admirals’ Medal for his continuing and widely recognized contribution to maritime affairs over a period of years in his capacity as Senior Naval Officer, Toronto.  He has served as the Chairman for the Conference of Defence Associations and as the National President for the Navy League of Canada.  He is one of the founders of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies and has been instrumental in the initial organization of the Royal Canadian Naval Association.