Ted Pirie (Primary Source)

There were a whole group of us who were not yet 18. We made arrangements at the time when we signed up for the UNTD [University Naval Training Division] that they set a date that we could go active, which we did. There were about 25 of us, all under 18 and became 18 somewhere during 1945. Some of them didn’t turn 18 until June of 1945. I was earlier, I was January.

They weren’t very happy to see us arrive at the allotted date, but they took us in. So we went into active service in May of 1945, as we turned 18 and finished the school year. We were assigned to a stone frigate [anti-submarine escort vessel], the [HMCS] Donnacona. Then as the summer went on and then August came along, we were allowed to go back to school, which was just up the street.