Rear-Admiral William Landymore didn’t endear himself to Defence Minister Paul Hellyer when he fought the good fight against service unification. But Canadian sailors loved him, partly because he was unstuffy. Here is a Landymore story recounted by Bill Murdock of Wallaceburg, Ont., former able seaman:

“Our ship (HMCS Bonaventure) was returning to Halifax from NATO exercises when we received an emergency request for fuel from a U.S. Navy destroyer that was making top speed for the Azores with an ill seaman.

“We changed course and radioed the Yanks to come alongside for refuelling. Before they showed up, our captain (Landymore) had the flight deck crew paint a huge sign on canvas. The crews of both ships chuckled when it was hoisted: ‘ALL U.S. CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED HERE.’ ”