Canadian war hero Robert Timbrell commanded Canada's last aircraft carrier, HMCS Bonaventure, rescued hundreds of British troops on the beaches of Dunkirk, and became a rear admiral and the head of Canada's navy.

On Monday, Timbrell will be honoured with a full military funeral in Halifax.

At one point in the war, Robert Timbrell helped sink two German submarines.
(CBC)

A native of Vancouver, Timbrell was a 20-year-old sub-lieutenant in May 1940 when he was given command of Lord Astor's motor yacht Llanthony with a crew of "six Newfoundland woodsmen, two London bus mechanics and an RN petty officer," he later said.

His equipment consisted of a First World War pistol, an uncorrected magnetic compass and a chart of the local minefields when he was ordered across the English Channel to Dunkirk to help evacuate the retreating British Expeditionary Force. The British and other allied forces had been pushed back to the Channel by the powerful German army.

On Timbrell's first trip across the Channel, his boat was strafed by Luftwaffe fighters. He was able to repair the boat, make two more trips and carry more than 300 men to safety.

At one point, he was shipwrecked on the Dunkirk beach and pulled to safety with the help of an army tank that drove as far into the water as it could before the engine quit.

Timbrell was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery under fire, the first and youngest Canadian to receive the award in the Second World War.

A few months later, he survived the sinking of HMCS Margaree with 20 other sailors on a life raft in the North Atlantic.

He later helped sink two German submarines.

It was an exciting beginning to a brilliant navy career that saw the young Canadian officer become head of HMCS Bonaventure, receive a promotion to rear admiral and serve as head of the Canadian Navy before his retirement in 1973.

He became president of the Dominion Marine Association until 1985, when he retired again, to his home in Chester Basin, near Halifax.

He died at home on April 11, aged 86.

Monday’s ceremony will be held in CFB Halifax, followed by a 13-gun salute from HMCS Sackville, a Second World War Canadian corvette.