Admiral Desmond W. Piers, DSC, CM, CD, D.sc.Mil, Klj, RCN (Ret'd) (June 12, 1913-November 1, 2005) was a rear-admiral in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Born in Halifax and long-time resident of Chester, Nova Scotia, Piers served in the RCN from 1932 to 1967.
Rear Admiral Piers is best known for his courageous actions in 1944 when, as the 30 year-old Commanding Officer of HMCS Algonquin, he directly participated in the invasion in France where he guided his ship and her crew through the conflagration of D-Day.
Rear-Admiral "Debby" Piers, who has died aged 92, was a young Canadian officer in charge of a slow convoy to Britain which was severely mauled by U-boats; the episode led to the Royal Navy insisting that the Canadians withdraw from the North Atlantic for further training.
Desmond William Piers was born on June 12 1913 into one of the founding families of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Piers experienced his baptism of fire during the evacuation of France when Restigouche, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Horatio Nelson Lay, was ordered to assist in evacuating the 51st Highland Division's wounded from St Valery, near Dieppe.
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