HMCS Border Cities was an Algerine-class minesweeper that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War.

[4] With the laying of mines in ever-deeper waters, swept areas had to be extended and, for this, a ship with greater endurance was desirable.

Unfortunately, this was not done, as the launching of a ship had been required as a part of a Victory Loan ceremony held on 3 May 1943 and the shipyard picked Border Cities for the performance.

[8] Once the name had been accepted, prominent citizens of Windsor pointed out that it would be a happy event if the ship could be commissioned in their city.

The distillery firm of Hiram Walker and Sons, Ltd. had excellent docking facilities in Walkerville and arrangements could be made with them if the department were agreeable to use them for the ceremony.

[10] Two days following the commissioning, the ship left Port Arthur, steaming through Lakes Superior and Huron to Sarnia, where she arrived on the 22nd.

[10] When she left Toronto on the 30th, trials were carried out with the hedgehog, the bomb-throwing mortar which was used as an extra anti-submarine battery along with the depth charge throwers.

[10] Montreal was raised on 1 June 1944 and the ship remained in the port until the 6th when she went to Quebec City to embark ammunition and carry out further trials.

The Straits of Canso between Cape Breton and the mainland of Nova Scotia were negotiated, the town of Mulgrave being passed on the 16th.

The day following this, the ship reached Halifax, her operational base, where she prepared herself to take her part in the great international struggle to maintain the country's freedom.

[note 3] It was accompanied to HOMP, a position fixed according to the individual convoy, where Western Escort groups from the south were relieved by others from the north or vice versa.

On 8 September, it was attacked by U-boats, which sank, with heavy loss of life, a large British tanker, SS Empire Heritage, and, a half hour later, a rescue ship, HMS Pinto, who had been engaged in picking up survivors.

Border Cities, the Senior Officer's Ship, considered that the contact had been bounced off a wreck, although she admitted that the existence of one in the position was not confirmed by chart.

A US liberty ship, SS Martin Van Buren, was then torpedoed aft, and a British tanker, Athelviking, received a similar wound.

HMCS Runnymede being a better steerer under such conditions, approached the minesweeper from the starboard quarter and succeeded in putting a line aboard her quarterdeck.

When it became evident that the ship could not control her steering and was being carried toward the frigate, the latter stopped her engines, as the speed was causing violent pitching and a smother of breaking seas, blotting everything from view.

The frigate crossed the ocean with the convoy and, when she reached Londonderry, had temporary repairs carried out on her bow in Harland and Wolf's shipyard in the North Irish city.

The British ship, Fort Gaspereau, who had started out from Halifax, was unable to maintain speed with the others due to poor fuel stored in her bunkers, and had to detach on the 17th.

Because of the decelerated pace of the war, culminating on 8 May 1945 with orders broadcast from German High Command for all U-boats at sea to surrender, they were of a routine nature.

For several months, in fact, a full scale refit had been proposed for her, first plans having named Liverpool, Nova Scotia for the site, and later ones Saint John, New Brunswick.

The Royal Canadian Navy's last victim of the submarine, the Bangor class vessel had been torpedoed off Halifax on 16 April 1945 with the loss of 39 men.

The wreck had never been found and, on 16–17 June 1945 and again on the 19th, in the latter case being assisted by HMCS Winnipeg, Border Cities carried out an intensive search.

The Halifax East Light Vessel No 6, which had been accurately fixed and used as a datum point for the search, was closed and inquiries made from the Captain where he estimated the sinking had taken place.

Echo sounder traces had been made off boulders on the bottom, and some looked promising; when crossed, however, on a course at right angles to the initial run-over, all proved to be false.

The following day, 23 July 1945, she being then in the Cape Breton port, the ship was paid off into maintenance reserve, and Lieutenant-Commander Young relinquished command.

Border Cities at this time was having trouble with her evaporator and, one day, Rockcliffe had to transfer 19 tons of fresh water to her.

[10] In Esquimalt on 15 January 1946, Border Cities was paid off into maintenance reserve, becoming a tender to the depot ship, HMCS Givenchy.

On the 3rd, she ceased to be a tender to Givenchy, her pay, victualing and store accounts being transferred from the depot ship to Rockcliffe.

Nor was this all that was removed from Border Cities, orders having already been issued that all armament and other stores were to be taken off ships, which had been declared surplus, before they were turned over to the Government disposal agency, the War Assets Corporation.

Once she had been accepted by War Assets Corporation, she was towed to Bedwell Bay in Vancouver Harbour, where she, along with another ship picked for disposal, HMCS Levis, was secured to trots.