HMS Cygnet was a C-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy in the early 1930s. Initially, she was assigned to the Home Fleet but was temporarily deployed to the Red Sea during the Abyssinia Crisis of 1935–36.

In late 1937, Cygnet was sold to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and renamed HMCS St. Laurent. At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, she was stationed on Canada’s west coast and had to be transferred to the Atlantic coast for convoy escort duties.

St. Laurent served as a convoy escort in the Battle of the Atlantic and took part in the sinking of two German submarines.After returning to England, St. Laurent escorted several troop convoys from Canada, Australia, and New Zealand in mid-June and was later assigned to escort duties with the Western Approaches Command.On July 2, while escorting the British battleship Nelson, St. Laurent received news that the unescorted British passenger ship SS Arandora Star had been torpedoed by U-47 about 125 nautical miles northeast of Malin Head, Ireland. Arriving approximately four and a half hours after the ocean liner sank, St. Laurent rescued 857 survivors, including German and Italian prisoners of war.

After undergoing refitting in Halifax from March 3 to July 11, 1941, St. Laurent joined the 14th Escort Group of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Newfoundland Escort Force, which was responsible for escorting convoys in the Mid-Atlantic. In December, St. Laurent was reassigned to the Mid-Ocean Escort Force, where she served until March 1943.

From April to August 1942, she underwent an extensive refit in Halifax. In early December 1942, her director-control tower and rangefinder were replaced with a Type 271 target indication radar mounted above the bridge.

St. Laurent returned to service in April 1945, joining the Halifax Escort Force for convoy defense along the east coast.

After Germany surrendered on May 6, she was used as a troop transport until she was decommissioned on October 10, 1945.

THE PRINT
This edition print recorded on fine art stock via a large format mimeograph and generally referred to as Giclée prints of premium quality. The paper is white 100% a-cellulose with a distinct textured surface and the premium matt inkjet coating more than meets the highest industry standards vis-à-vis density, colour gamut, colour graduation and image sharpness, while preserving the extraordinary touch and feel of genuine art paper.

The editions depicted on Iconic Reserve are not representative of scale and solely for the purpose of suggestive display and not supplied framed.

STERLING SILVER 925
The edition comes with a Sterling Silver anchor (with a minimum millesimal fineness of 925) which is not pierced through the print but is available on request.