Halifax disaster (1917)

leo g_52

if i remember right, the CBC did a mini series of the event about 2-3 years ago.

leo g

John R. Hall

U.S. to the rescue

I visited Halifax last week for a meeting of Canadian HVACR contractors. It was my first visit ever to the Maritimes and I was impressed. My favorite places were Pier 21 (the Canadian version of Ellis island) and a brief visit to the Fairview Cemetery where 121 Titanic victims are buried.

But the most intriguing story was the explosions that rocked Halifax in 1917 after two ships collided in the harbor, sending a munitions ship into a fiery, explosive frenzy. When it was over, most of the town was damaged or destroyed and 2,000 people died. The nice part of the story was the immediate aid given by the U.S., in particular the people of Massachusetts. I bought a book about the event and read it on the plane home. It makes good reading and reaffirms the greatness of the U.S., coming to the aid of our friends in Canada.

On the lighter side (if there is one) the first two lines of a newspaper report from Halifax read: "More than one thousand dead and probably five thousand injured, many of them fatally..."

Cruelty struck again soon after as a brutal snow storm hit that night and a week later came an outbreak of influenza.

This is the first I ever heard of the disaster and it makes me wonder if there was ever a movie or documentary about it. Hey Steven Spielberg...

J.C.A._3

John,

As a continuing goodwill gesture, the people of Halifax send us a beautiful Christmas tree every year that gets displayed at the Prudential Tower, in Boston.

John R. Hall

Nice

That was in the book, too. A very nice gesture indeed.

Dave Stroman

I sat with Dan Holohan over dinner once where he told us that story. He said that it was the largest man made explosion until the A bomb. Can you tell us the name and author?

John R. Hall

Book & author

There have been several books on the disaster. The one I read was written by Halifax native Blair Beed. It is titled, "1917 Halifax Explosion and American Response." I'm willing to bet that its available at Amazon.com, which you can access through Dan's Web site.

John R. Hall

Titanic victim

I've attached a pic from the Fairview Cemetery in Halifax. This is the headstone of an unknown child that has been adorned with gifts over the years. Very touching. The insciption reads "Erected to the memory of an unknown child whose remains were recovered after the disaster to the "Titanic" April 15th, 1912."

DanHolohan

Here's a site that tells the story

HALIFAX EXPLOSION

John R. Hall

Dan

Thanks for the link. Have you ever heard of a movie or documentary made of the event?

DanHolohan

No,

and the thing that disturbed me most when I first learned of it was that I was never taught about it in school. I had a similar reaction when I learned about the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918/19, which killed 40 million people.

Robert O'Connor_4

I saw

a documentary on the History Channel a few years ago about it.

Regards,

Robert

John R. Hall

Thanks Robert

I went to The History Channel Web site and was able to order a VHS copy of the broadcast.