Signalman Raymond (Ray) William Culley was born in Calgary, Alberta, on June 27, 1925. In early 1943 he joined the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve. He served on the corvette HMCS Summerside until his demobilization at the end of World War II.

The collection’s only letter was written by Ray Culley while his ship was in harbour at Milford, Haven, Wales. He had just received news from his mother telling him that his younger brother Donald (Don) was thinking about joining the Navy, and as their father was away with the Army in Sicily, Ray was writing to advise Don that he was likely needed more at home with their mother. But shortly after he finished writing Ray was handed a telegram sent by his uncle with two messages: that his brother Don had been fatally injured in an accident at home; and that his father was in an Army Hospital in Birmingham. The letter to his brother was never mailed.

In 2003 Ray Culley published a book of memoirs of his time in the navy, titled His Memory Can Survive. The book was dedicated to his brother Don.

 External links:
Sig. Culley’s Military Service Record is not open for public access at this time.
A review of the book His Memory Can Survive can be read in the Canadian Naval Review, Spring 2005, p. 33.