Chebucto Head, British fort at, 22
Chebucto Road School (temporary morgue), 243, 271, 272–73, 274–75
Chesapeake, USS, 24
Chicago
financial gift from, 300
Great Fire of 1871 and, 225, 349
Children’s Committee, 325–26, 327, 328–29
Children’s Hospital, 217–18, 236, 319
Chinese Quarter, 58
Chisholm, Dorothy, 178
chlorine gas, World War I and, 47–48
Christmas (1915), Barss on, 67
Christmas (1917)
Barss’s letter to his Uncle Andrew and, 323–24
Daily Echo appeal and, 319, 320
Overseas Club and, 322
Santa Claus Limited and, 320–21
Santa Claus visit to every hospital, 323
Christmas Eve truce (1914), 44
Christmas tree, sent by Halifax to Boston, 3–4, 373–74
Churchill, Winston, 49
La Cie Generale Transatlantique, 109
Citadel Hill, Halifax
British fort on, 22
Canada’s first birthday and cannons fired from, 31
date night on, 17
relocations from near the Barracks to, 205–6
War of 1812 and, 28
World War I and, 57
Clara, USS, 126, 129–30
Clark, Champ, 33–34
Clarke, Eileen, 62–63, 67, 77, 80, 96, 362
Clothing Committee, 260, 297–98
Coates, British Commander, 8, 10, 113, 115
Cogswell Street Military Hospital, 211
Coleman, Vincent
body found, 287
bravery of, 218
Mont-Blanc explosion and, 180
obituary, 290–91
stops runaway engine, 90
street named for, 369
telegraphs to stop No. 10 Saint John train, 164, 231–32
warning before explosion, 163
wife remarries, 335
Collins, Enos, 83
Collision Regulations, 128–29
collision rule, 344–45
Colwell, Henry, 208, 229–30, 231, 255–56, 293
Committee on Public Safety, Boston’s, 228–29, 239
Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (CGT), 108
Condon, Edward (Fire Chief), 156, 182, 229
Conservative Party, Canada’s
on Americans, 306
on conscription, 101
election of 1917 and, 348
on Reciprocity, 33, 34, 316
convoys, British
Mont-Blanc’s speed and, 10–11, 113
Orrs watching for, 16, 139
U-boats in North Atlantic and, 9–10, 12, 106
Coolidge, Calvin, 366
Cornwallis, Edward, 21, 22
Cottam, Harold, 36–37
cotton factory, 172, 211, 334
Cox, G. H., 246, 252
Creighton, Cam, 198, 356
Creighton, Isaac, 185
crippled victims, 335
Crowdis, Charles J., 83–84, 87, 187–88
Crowdis, Jane, 187
Cunard, Samuel, 28, 83
Cunard cruise ships, 36
Curaca, USS, 153–54, 176
Daily Echo Christmas appeal (1917), 319, 320, 321
Dalhousie University’s medical school, 46, 56
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Clothing Committee work in, 297–98
damaged underwater cable to Halifax from, 206
grade school named for CSS Tallahassee in, 30
Halifax Harbour and, 22
Mackey on shifting Mont-Blanc closer to, 135
Mont-Blanc crew rowing toward, 148
Mont-Blanc moves past, 133
shock waves and tsunami hit, 172
World War I and, 58
Dartmouth Ferry, 178–79, 180
Dartmouth Relief Committee, 260
Davies, Company Sergeant Major, 266
Davies, Louis, 340
Davis, Jefferson, 29
dead. See also missing persons
blizzard and preservation of, 261
burials for, 314, 322
collecting and tagging of, 270–71
continued searching for, 309
identification of, 271–72
not found until spring, 333–34
official count vs. total count vs. final count, 334–35
retrieving, 260
on Russell Street, 193–94
tagging, Simmonds’ supplies for, 234
unidentified, mass funeral for, 312–14
debt, explosion and chance to escape from, 294
Devastated Area, 234, 283. See also Richmond neighborhood, Halifax
Devastated Halifax, 50 views, 321
disaster response, Red Cross and, 367
disasters, North American, compared, 225–26, 349
Dominion Atlantic Railway (DAR), 231
Donaldson, Ralph, 79
Douglas, Lloyd C., 362
Dresden, carpet-bombing of, civilians and, 350
Driscoll, Al
on experimental farm near Truro, 220–21, 263–64
haircut and clothes for, 298–99
Junior Cadet Corps and, 89
on No. 10 train for Truro and help, 219
returns home, 218
Richmond School reunion (1984) and, 372
school and church of, 87
Driscoll, Art, 218, 219, 309, 322, 335–36
Driscoll, Cliff, 218, 219, 296
Driscoll, Gordon, 159, 199
missing, 218, 264, 309, 322, 335
Driscoll, Lou, 199, 219
Driscoll, Mr.
behind stove, Noble finds, 199
Christmas (1917) and, 322
Noble on collision and, 159–60
as railroad car inspector, 87–88
returns home after panic, 218
in Truro, 220
Driscoll, Mrs.
behind stove, Noble finds, 199
new baby for (1919), 336
on No. 10 train for Truro and help, 219
return home after panic, 218
in Truro, 220
Driscoll, Noble
alerts dad to collision in harbour, 159–60
British convoys and, 106
detours to school to follow the fire engine, 160
on experimental farm near Truro, 220–21, 263–64
haircut and clothes for, 298–99
Junior Cadet Corps and, 89
movies and, 88
on No. 10 train for Truro and help, 219
notes Imo taking on coal, 121
returns home, 218
Richmond School reunion (1984) and, 372
ship watching by, 87
in South Uniacke and then Hydrostone, 356
survives explosion and finds his family, 198–99
Driscoll, Walter, 309
Driscoll family, Christmas (1917) and, 322
driving on left side of road, 33, 367
Drysdale, Arthur
Privy Council appeal and, 344
Supreme Court appeal and, 342
trial of April 1918 and, 338, 339–40
Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry and, 316–17, 318
Drysdale, Marjorie, 319–20
Duff, W. A., 230–31
Duggan, Alma, 202
Duggan, Helena, 202, 252, 294, 298
“Dulce et Decorum Est” (Owen), 47–48, 49, 348
Dustan, Henry, 164
Dwyer, Eileen, 322
Dwyer, Mrs. Michael, 322
dynamite, development of, 110
dysfunctional families, explosion as chance to escape from, 294
Eagles, Brent, 67, 68
Eaton, John, 300
Eaton, Mrs., 294
Ellington, Duke, 91
Elliott, Dr., 237, 244–46, 253, 280
emergency drivers, 257
Emergency Shelter Committee, 242, 295
Empire Theater, Halifax,
88
Endicott, Henry B., 228–29, 239, 284
Exhibition Hall, 334
explosion, day before
Barss and, 121–22
Driscoll sees Imo receiving coal, 121
Grove Presbyterian parishiners and, 122
Imo delayed departure, 118–19
Mackey dines with Le Médec, 120–21
Mont-Blanc inspection near McNab’s Island, 119–20
Orrs and Swetnams and, 122
revelry and dates at night, 122–23
explosion, detonation of
Burford and, 181–82
chemical reaction from, 168
Dartmouth Ferry and, 178
deaths and wounds and, 174, 175–76, 182–83
ground waves and air waves, 169–72
Mont-Blanc’s crew and, 179–80
mushroom cloud, 168–69, 173
Richmond “smashed to flinders,” 181
ships destroyed, 175–76
silence before, 159, 160, 163
survivors of, 176–78, 183–85
tsunami, 172–73, 175
explosion aftermath. See also helping Haligonians; panic
Barbara Orr and, 195–98
Barrington Street family and, 203–4
Bond sisters and, 188–89, 190–91
Burford at Hillis & Sons Foundry and, 181–82
Crowdis family and, 187–88
Duggan family and, 202
Eileen Ryan and, 202
Ethel Mitchell and, 203
Noble Driscoll and, 198–99
Pattison boys and, 200–201
schools and, 191–92
stores blown away, 185
Swetnam family and, 189–90
trademark scars from, 335
Upham family and, 185–87
explosives. See also Mont-Blanc
“low” vs. “high” types, 109–10
red flag for, 72–73, 125, 127
facial disfigurement victims, 335
Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, 38, 39, 314, 370
Fenway Park, 36
Ferdinand, Archduke Franz and Duchess Sophie, 43
Finance Committee, 242
fire alarm Box 83, 155–56, 159
fire extinguishers, Mont-Blanc and, 112–13
firemen, Halifax, 205–6, 227, 228
first responders. See also Barss, Joseph Ernest; Elliott, Dr.; McGrath, Percy
discounting contributions by, 332
flag, Canada’s, 367–68
Fleming, Alexander, 46
Fleming, Jock, 29–30, 238
Fleming, Sandford, 37–38, 83
Flynn block, searching wreckage in, 266
Folly Mountain, relief train stuck at, 268–69
Food Committee, 233, 242, 260
Ford Motor Company, donations by, 299–300
Forsyth, Ian, 170
Fort Needham
British fort on, 22
Crowdis watches explosion from, 187
Mont-Blanc explosion and, 171
Pattison boys head to, 201
World War I and, 57
Fort Needham Memorial Park, monument in, 369
Fort Ogilvie, 22
Foster, Thomas A., 333
France
explosives aboard Mont-Blanc for, 6–7
women in munitions factories of, 45
Francis Dyke, 37
Fraser, Elizabeth, 274–75
Freeman, Terrance, 120, 125, 127
French and Indian War, 23
French-Canadians. See also Laurier, Wilfrid
aboard Mont-Blanc, 107, 144
Barss in Montreal and, 239
on Canada’s own navy, 70–71
Supreme Court appeal and, 340, 342–43
tension between British-Canadians and, 315–16
French Line, Mont-Blanc and, 108
From, Haakon
on coal delivery delaying Halifax departure, 118
death of, 179
decides to take Imo out of Narrows, 149
fire aboard Mont-Blanc and, 145
game of chicken and, 135–38
hot temper of, 107–8
Imo bow striking Mont-Blanc and, 141
as Imo captain, 14, 18, 116
passes Clara and stays on left side of Harbour, 130–31
preparing Imo to depart Halifax Harbour, 126
pursuit of truth and death of, 315–16
shares tugboat with Hayes and Mackey, 134
sights Mont-Blanc and refuses to change channel, 134–35
whistle signal by, 130
Fuel Committee, 260
funerals
newspaper obituary sections listing, 290
for unidentified dead, 312–14
Galicians, in Halifax, 58
Galveston hurricane (1900), 225, 226
game of chicken, Imo and Mont-Blanc, 135–38
gas bubble, Mont-Blanc explosion and, 171
gas warfare, in World War I, 47–48
Georges Island, 12, 14, 22, 132
George V, King of England, personal check sent by, 300
Germans. See also Central Powers of Germany
blame for explosion and, 286–87
fears of attacks by, 178, 185, 202, 206, 212
rumors of attacks by, 206
Giddings, Major, 304, 306
Glube, Joe, 185, 208–9, 227, 249
Goodwin, Sidney Leslie, 39
Gough, Phillip, 249
Gowan, Jim, 262
Graham, George, 231, 237
Grant, George, 211, 212
Grant, Mr., 263
Grant, Mrs., Reg Rasley cared for by, 212
Gravesend Bay, Brooklyn
cargo for Mont-Blanc at, 6
Le Médec meeting with Coates at, 8
Mont-Blanc departing from, 9, 11
Mont-Blanc docks at, 5, 109
Great Britain. See Britain
Great Chicago Fire (1871), 225, 349
Great San Francisco Earthquake (1906), 225–26, 349
Great War. See also Barss, Joseph Ernest
Archduke assassination and, 43
building material shortages and, 346
cost of, 348
explosives used in, 45
Halifax explosion story and news of, 284
Haligonians’s changed view of, 292
new world order and, 349
as stalemate, 8
trench warfare in, 44–45, 46–47
use of term, 45
Greeks, in Halifax, 58
Green Lantern Restaurant, 260, 297
Griswold, Amelia Mary, 182–83
Griswold, Edna, 183
Griswold, Mary, 183
Griswold, Rita, 183
Griswold, Sadie, 183
Griswold, Vera, 183
ground waves, Mont-Blanc explosion and, 169–71
Ground Zero (Ruffman), 111, 129, 171, 317
Grove Presbyterian Church, Halifax
celebrates construction loan payoff, 17
children awaiting Ringling Brothers Circus, 122–23
damage to, 187
Orrs’ residence near, 85
parishioners’ deaths from explosion, 188
parishioners’ shelter at Rockhead Prison, 211
in Richmond neighborhood, 15, 87
tsunami floods, 172
gun cotton, aboard Mont-Blanc, 7–8
guns, on Mont-Blanc, 11
Halifax, Nova Scotia. See also explosion, day before; explosion, detonation of; explosion aftermath; Halifax Harbour
American Civil War and, 28–30
atomic bomb builders’ study of, 349–50
blackout in, 16–17
bonds between Boston and, 238–39
Christmas tree sent to Boston from, 3–4, 373–74
climate, 22
economy of late 1800s in, 36
emergency plans and, 229
Great War and shipping traffic of, 12–13
identity of, 368–69
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Intercolonial Railway and, 32
Massachusetts sends relief train, 240–41
Mont-Blanc arrives in, 10–11, 12
population of, 15, 35
poster boasting of recovery (1919), 347–48
strategic importance, 21
Titanic sinking (1912) and, 36–39
triage of entire city, 227
trial in (April 1918), 315, 338
U-boats and, 49
underwater cable to Dartmouth damaged, 206
War of 1812 and, 24–26
windows shatter from Mont-Blanc explosion, 171
World War I and, 43–44
World War I prosperity and, 55–59
Wright’s bequest to, 38
The Halifax Catastrophe (photo book), 321
Halifax City Hall clock tower, 170–71
Halifax Conservatory of Music, 124
Halifax Evening Mail, 332
Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower, 357, 373
Halifax Fire Department, 155–56, 235. See also firemen, Halifax
Halifax Graving Dock Company, 150, 177
Halifax Harbour. See also Georges Island; McNab’s Island
geography of, 21–22
high winds of blizzard and, 259
learns of Mont-Blanc’s cargo, 115
as port, 57
troops boarding ships in (1917), 105
World War I and, 58, 69
Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry for accidents in, 315
Wyatt as chief examining officer of, 13, 71
Halifax Herald
on British ships lost (November 1917), 114
on Christmas shopping locally to support businesses, 320
local doctors protest discounting of their contributions in, 332
Maritime forecast for December 7, 255
missing persons’ information and, 262
on Sydney, Nova Scotia doctor’s suicide, 331
on ties between Halifax and the U.S., 305
victims listed in, 273
Halifax Infirmary, 236
Halifax Ladies College, 331, 357
Halifax Police Department, 235
Halifax Relief Commission
committees put to work by, 260
pensions to survivors from, 372
Halifax Relief Committee
committees put to work by, 242–43, 325
first meetings then work by, 233–34
organizing medical volunteers, 247
relief for first medical personnel group and, 304
resolution expressing appreciation for Boston’s aid, 305
telegram deliveries and, 283
Halifax School Board, 260
Halifax Uplift, 33
Haligonians. See also helping Haligonians
origin of term, 25
urged to higher ground, Barracks explosion potential and, 205–7
Hall, Clark, 306
Handly, Henry, 371
handwashing, medical science on, 45–46
Hanrahan, Frank, 229, 232–33, 293
harbour pilots, 13, 73–74. See also Hayes, William; Mackey, Francis; Wyatt, F. Evan
Harris, Dr., 304–5
Havana, Cuba, Halifax telegram routed through, 232, 282
Hayes, A., 277–78
The Great Halifax Explosion Page 39
