The Great Halifax Explosion
Page 40
Hayes, William
assigned to Imo as pilot, 117
on collision potential, 138
death of, 179
decides to take Imo out of Narrows, 149
Imo on wrong side of Harbour and, 129–30
Imo’s departure time information and, 118–19
Mackey realizes Hayes is Imo pilot, 133–34
manslaughter charges for death of, 318
preparing Imo to depart Halifax Harbour, 126
pursuit of truth and death of, 315–16
Renner’s megaphone shout and, 130
Helmer, Alexis, 48
helping Haligonians. See also Halifax Relief Committee; human decency
Barss joins in, 236–37
Colwell steps up as acting mayor, 228–29
Duff volunteers, 229–30
first round of telegrams to Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, etc., 232
Graham asks for relief train, 231
hospital bed shortage and, 236
policemen, firemen, and soldiers, 227, 228
strangers helping strangers, 201, 206
U.S. Navy patrolling streets, 235–36
Hemingway, Ernest, 82
Henneberry, Benjamin, 266–67
H.H. Marshall store, 321
Highflyer, HMS
casualties from explosion from, 175
convoys and, 11
local girls meet officers from, 17, 124
Mont-Blanc burning at Pier 6 and, 152
Mont-Blanc moves past, 133
Hilford, 145–46, 163, 176
Hill & Sons Foundry, 84
Hillis, Frank D., 182
Hillis, James B., 182
Hillis & Sons Foundry, 151, 181–82, 290, 334
Hiroshima, 350, 370
hockey, 32, 91, 364–65
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, Sr., 45–46
homeless, in or near Halifax, 295, 296, 335
horses, thaw in weather and, 281–82
house calls by doctors, 249, 301, 331
Hubly, C. C., 301
Huggins, Merle, 87, 160–61, 192
Huggins, Mr.
arrives in Halifax, 160–61
lists Merle as missing, 273
Pattison boys and, 89
rebuilt Richmond School and, 356
Richmond School collapse and, 191–92
as Richmond School principal and teacher, 86–87
human decency. See also helping Haligonians
Coleman as example of, 218
explosion aftermath and, 296
Pattison boys’ ride on government boat and, 214
recovering and identifying the dead and, 313
slow and quiet revelations of, 263
strangers helping strangers and, 201, 206
when no laws apply, 351
Hunter, Jean, 294–95
Hurley, John, 311
Hydrostone, for rebuilding Richmond, 347
ice hockey. See hockey
Ihasz, Anne-Louise, 373
Imo (Norwegian ship), 14, 18. See also Burchell, Charles J.; From, Haakon; Hayes, William
beaches in Dartmouth shallows, 179
bow strikes Mont-Blanc, 140–41
coal delivery delaying departure of, 118
fire aboard Mont-Blanc and, 145
legal team for, 316
Makiny testimony on, 339
maneuvering through Halifax Harbour, 129–30
owners, Privy Council appeal and, 344–45
passes Clara and stays on left side of Harbour, 130–31
preparing to depart Halifax Harbour, 126
from Rotterdam to Halifax, 107, 116
Stella Maris sights, 131–32
Imperial Oil Company, 51, 260
“In Flanders Fields” (McCrae), 48–49
Information Committee, telegram deliveries and, 283
Ingram, Percy, 17
inquiry
appeal to Privy Council in London (1920), 343–45
appeal to Supreme Court of Canada (1919), 340–43
scope of, 315
trial (1918), 338–40
Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry, 315, 316, 317–18
Intercolonial Railway, 31–32
Intercontinental Railway, 83
international relations, advances in, 366
Irish Catholics, in Halifax, 58
Irving Oil ship-manufacturing facility, 369
Italians, in Halifax, 58
Jas Simmonds Ltd., 234
J.C. McKee, 178
Jefferson, Thomas, 24
Jews, in Halifax, 38, 58
Johnson, Evelyn, 323
Johnston, Peter, 180
Johnstown Flood (1889), 225, 226
journalists. See reporters
Junior Cadet Corps, Halifax, 89
Kaye Street Methodist Church, 87, 122, 188
Keegan, John, 48
Kenny, W. W., 248
Kerr, Donald A., 21–22, 129, 317
Kingsmill, Charles Edmund, 71, 72
King’s Royal Riflemen (K.R.R.C), 66
Kipling, Rudyard, 34–35
‘Knock ’em Down Alley,’ 25, 123, 235
Kreisler, Fritz, 302
Ladd, William E., 367
Larnder, Frederick H., 37
Lauder, Harry, 302
Laurier, Wilfrid, 33, 34, 35, 98–99, 101
Lawrence, Joseph, 46
legal troubles, chance to escape from, 294
Le Gat, Anton, 143–44
Le Médec, Aimé Joseph Marie
abandons ship, 146, 147–48
across Narrows in Dartmouth, 163
approach to Halifax Harbour, 18
arrested and charged with manslaughter, 318
Commander Coates’ meeting with, 8, 113–14
dines aboard Mont-Blanc, 120–21
Imo bow striking Mont-Blanc and, 142–43
Imo sighted by, 133
learns of explosives as cargo, 7
Mont-Blanc approach to Halifax Harbor and, 119
as Mont-Blanc captain, 6
Mont-Blanc explosion and, 179–80
moves gently into Halifax Harbour, 126, 132–33
moves Mont-Blanc toward middle of Narrows, 135
orders transverse thrust, 137–38
reputation of, 108–9
retrieves chief engineer, 144
rumors of intentional cut across Imo’s bow and, 316
signal to proceed into Halifax Harbour, 125
on sunrise blinding Imo’s crew, 134
Supreme Court appeal and, 341
Lenin, Vladimir, 5
Liberal Party, Canada’s, 33
lifeboats, Mont-Blanc’s, 112–13
Liggins, Annie, 267
light signals, 125. See also whistle signals
Lincoln, Abraham, 29, 30
Lister, Joseph, 46
Listerine, 46
Liverpool Packet, 26–27
Lone Cloud, Doctor, 91, 173
looting, reports of, 293–94
Lord Kelvin, 322
Lord Mayor of London, donations collected by, 300
Louisbourg, Cape Breton, 21, 23
Lovett, Arthur G., 118
Lovett, William, 163, 164
Low, Robert S., 346, 347
Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, pledged food and shelter for 500, 295
Lusitania sinking (1915), 9, 49
MacIlreith, R. T., 305
Mackay-Bennett, 37–38
Mackey, Francis
abandons ship, 146–47
arrested and charged with manslaughter, 318
awaiting Mont-Blanc at McNab’s Island, 119
dines aboard Mont-Blanc, 120–21
on Hayes and game of chicken, 137
Imo bow striking Mont-Blanc and, 143
Imo sighted by, 133–34
knowledge of Mont-Blanc cargo, 127
Mont-Blanc explosion and, 179
as Mont-Blanc pilot in Halifax Harbour, 13
moves gently
into Halifax Harbour, 132–33
sees Hilford (tug), 145
shouting explosion warnings, 148
signals Imo that Mont-Blanc isn’t changing channel, 134–35
signal to proceed into Halifax Harbour, 125
waiting for Mont-Blanc explosion, 149, 163
walks to Dartmouth Ferry landing, 180
MacMechan, Archibald, 250, 297
MacNeil, Robert, 99, 167
Madison, James, 24
Mail, Santa Claus Limited and, 320
Maine
governor of, blankets and cots from, 301
State of, medical professionals from, 304
Makiny, John L., 338–39
Maple Leaf flag, Canada’s, 367–68
March, Aggie and baby, 149
Marie (Jane Crowdis’s sister), 187, 188
Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Halifax, 39, 370
Marjorie (Jane Crowdis’s sister), 187, 188
marriages, unhappy, explosion as chance to escape from, 294
Martin, E. H., 74
Martin, Peter, 229
Massachusetts, State of, contributions from, 305–6
Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety, 229
Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Commission, 284
Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee, 239, 242
Massachusetts Public Safety Committee, 240
Massachusetts Relief Commission, 239, 303
Massachusetts Relief Committee, 279
Massachusetts Temporary Relief Fund, 347
McAlman, H. J., 284
McCall, Samuel W.
dispatches relief train to Halifax, 240
letter to Haligonians from, 278
Massachusetts’ Committee on Public Safety and, 228–29
sends funds, personnel and supply ships, 279
sends household goods, 305
telegram from Halifax and, 239
McClatchy, H. O., 309
McCrae, John, 48
McCrossan, Edward, 176
McCrossen, Edward, 153–54
McGee, D’Arcy, 28
McGill University medical school, women applicants to, 56
McGrath, Mrs., 244, 250, 251–52
McGrath, Percy, 244–46, 250, 251–52, 280
McInnes, Hector, 338, 339, 340
McKesson & Robbins (pharmaceutical supplier), 301
McLaughlin, James Earnest, 35, 239
McLennan, C. A., 205, 207
McNab’s Island
American Civil War and, 29–30
British fort on, 22
harbour pilots at, 73
Mont-Blanc’s examination anchorage at, 119
RNR’s Examination Service and, 71
steel buoys and metal gate of, 12, 14
medical facilities, in Halifax, 236, 247
medical personnel
arrive on relief trains, 244–47
helping Haligonians, 227
Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee sends, 240–41
Medical Relief Committee, Halifax, 278
medicine
advances in, 366
Red Cross’s focus on disaster response and, 367
World War I and, 45
Meigs, Charles D., 45, 46
Melba, Nellie, 302
Mellish, Humphrey, 316, 317, 338
merchants, higher prices and, 293
Middleham Castle, 150–51, 177–78
Mignault, Pierre-Basile, 342–43
Mi’kmaq, 58, 91, 148–49, 173
Missanabie, SS, 95
missing persons. See also dead
accounting for, 310–11
ads placed for, 262, 309–10
Ashpan Annie and, 267–68
Barbara Orr at Camp Hill Hospital and, 265–66
bodies never found for, 333
children, names listed in local papers of, 327
continued searching for, 309
Driscoll boys and, 263–64
identification challenges, 311–12
Pattison boys and, 263
reporters and, 262–63
searching patient lists, 262
Mitchell, Ethel, 17–18, 123, 124–25, 203
Mitchell, Phillip, 172–73
Moir, Mrs., 197–98, 215–16
Mont-Blanc. See also explosion, detonation of; explosion aftermath; inquiry
abandoned and drifting toward Richmond, 149
arrives in Halifax, 12, 14
barest maintenance on, 108
benzol seeping into hold, 163
as bomb, 112
burning alongside Pier 6, 151–52, 153
convoys and, 10–11
crew, watching fire from across Narrows, 153
crew, Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry on, 318
departs Gravesend Bay, 11–12
explosives aboard, 7–8, 111–12
final approach to Halifax Harbor, 119
flooding holds on, 113
Imo bow strikes, 140–41
legal team for, 316
Le Médec and Mackey abandon ship, 146–48
Le Médec’s abandon ship order, 143–44
loading cargo aboard, 6–7
Makiny testimony on, 339
onlookers of growing fire aboard, 154–55
owners, Privy Council appeal and, 344–45
owners sue Imo’s owners, 338
proceeds to outer gate of McNab’s Island, 125–26
route to Halifax, 10–11, 106, 114–16
U-boat concerns of, 114
World War I and, 5–6
Montreal
Intercolonial Railway and, 32
offers emergency shelter, 295
telegram for help to, 232
The Montreal Star, 34–35
Moore, W. B., 250–51
Moors, John F., 241
Morgan, J. P., 36
morgue
after hours visit to, 273–75
Barbara Orr identifying siblings at, 330
Barnstead as director of, 270
Chebucto Road School as, 243, 271
identifications in, 310
methodical work at, 271–72
visitors to, 272–73
Morning Chronicle, 314, 332
Morrison, Donald, 274–75
Mortuary Committee, 243, 314, 322, 333–34
Moses, Stanford E., 235
motors. See cars and trucks
Mount Hope Lunatic Asylum, 214
Mount Olivet Cemetery, 272, 314
movie theaters, in Halifax, 88, 296
Muck, Karl, 302
munitions, ships carrying. See also explosives; Mont-Blanc
Halifax Harbour requirements for, 72–73
munitions factories, Allies’ women employed in, 45
Murphy, George A., 248, 250, 251
Murray, Florence J., 56, 248–49
Murray, James, 127, 145–46, 163
mushroom cloud, explosion aftermath and, 168–69, 173
Nagasaki, 350
Naronic sinking (1893), 36
Narrows. See also Imo; Mont-Blanc
Driscoll’s view of, 87
geography of, 21, 22
Orrs watching ships in, 138–39
National Hockey League (NHL), 32
National Rifle Association competition (1915), 89
Neuve-Chapelle, battle at (1915), 44
New Brunswick
doctors and nurses from, 331, 333
United Empire Loyalists migrate to, 23–24
Newfoundland, financial gift from, 300
newspapers. See also reporters
children’s clubs sponsored by, 319
as crucial service, 299–300
missing children list in, 327
“Missing” sections, 309
obituary sections listing funerals, 290
out-of-town, explosion reports and, 282
victims listed in, 273
New York City
prefab homes sent by, 301
&nb
sp; telegram for help to, 232
New York Times, 285–86
New Zealand, financial gift from, 300
Nickerson, William, 153, 175–76
9/11 disaster, 370
Niobe, HMCS, 70, 71, 119, 144–45, 152
nitroglycerin, 110
No. 10 train
Coleman telegraphs to stop, 164, 231–32
with Halifax refugees to Truro, 218–20, 244
Nobel, Alfred, 110–11
Nobel, Ludvig, 110
Nolan, Joseph, 316
North Commons
Barracks panic and relocations to, 205–6
Glube unable to find mother and sister on, 208
Pattison boys walk to, 213
tent village set up on, 230, 256, 347
North End, Halifax. See also Richmond neighborhood, Halifax
communication cut off to, 206
destruction of, 193
development of, 83
residents urged to relocate to shelters, 260
tattered houses of, 346
waiting for blast that never came from, 207
Northland (supply ship), 279, 284, 304
North Street Station, Halifax
Canada’s intercontinental railway and, 37–38
Coleman’s telegram for No. 10 from, 164, 231–32
docks adjacent to, 83
Duff inspects explosion damage, 230
explosion crushes, 181
Graham’s breakfast at, 231
Hillis & Sons Foundry up hill from, 154
Huggins and daughter arrive at, 87
relief workers arrive at, 247
train tracks through Africville from, 90–91
tsunami floods, 172
Northwind, 235
Norwegian Southern Pacific Whaling Company, 107
Nova Scotia
December 1917 election postponed in, 348
doctors and nurses from, 331–33
reception recognizing Boston’s contributions, 304–5
United Empire Loyalists migrate to, 23–24
Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, 3–4
Nova Scotia Hospital for Infectious Diseases, 236
Old Colony, USS, 175, 331
Olympic (White Star Line), 36, 175
Ontario, Province of, $100,000 to Halifax from, 299
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 349
orphanages, Halifax, before the explosion, 326
orphans
Barbara Orr as, 329–30
crass requests for, 327–28
documentation challenges, 325
emotional difficulties and, 329
Nova Scotia placements for, 328–29
religion and placements with adoptive families of, 326–27
Orr, Annie, 15, 85, 141–42, 162
Orr, Archie, 86, 122
Orr, Barbara
calls Ian to see ships maybe collide, 138–39
at Camp Hill Hospital, 250, 265–66
donations in memory of her family, 357–58
as explosion orphan, 329–30
family mostly lost, 289
helping raise her siblings, 15, 85
Imo bow striking Mont-Blanc and, 141–42
lack of photographs for, 337