The Great Halifax Explosion
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moves in with cousins, 357
at Mrs. Orr’s house, 215–16
night before explosion and, 122
not recognized by her aunt, 288
at Richmond School, 87
Richmond School reunion (1984) and, 373
survives explosion, 195–98
walking to Mulgrave Park, 162–63
Orr, Bill, 197, 330, 373
Orr, David, 85, 184
Orr, Edna, 196, 197–98, 330
Orr, Gladys, 197, 330, 357
Orr, Ian
asks to see burning ship closer, 162
Barbara’s concerns for, 217
Imo bow striking Mont-Blanc and, 141–42
night before explosion and, 122
at Richmond School, 87
ship watching by, 15, 85–86, 138–39
Orr, Isabel, 141, 162, 217
Orr, Samuel, Jr., 15–16, 85, 184
Orr, Samuel, Sr., 85, 184
Orr, William, 85
Orr, William MacTaggart, 184, 196, 330
O’Toole, H. E., 290
Ottawa. See also Supreme Court of Canada
NHL team in, 32
telegram for help to, 232
Ottoman Empire, World War I and, 43, 349
Overseas Club, 322
Owen, Wilfred, 47–48, 49, 348
panic
Archie Upham at Rockhead Prison and, 211–12
Barbara Orr at Camp Hill Hospital and, 216–17
demand for cars and, 209–10
Glube’s car and, 208–9
McLennan dousing red-hot coals and, 205
No. 10 train with Halifax refugees to Truro, 218–21
officials urging people to higher ground, 205–7
Pattison boys and, 213–15
Reg Rasley and, 212–13
those who stayed and helped during, 217–18
Upham family and, 210–11
Passchendaele, fighting at, 116
Pasteur, Louis, 46
Patricia (fire engine), 155–56, 157, 159
torn apart, 182, 194, 229
Pattison, Alan
explosion and, 200–201
heads to Richmond School, 158–59
identified in morgue, 310
as missing, newspaper ad on, 263
school and church of, 87
ship watching by, 89
Pattison, Catherine, 158, 263, 310
Pattison, Gordon
checks wristwatch, 158–59
Christmas (1917) and, 322
grandparents’ house on Dartmouth side and, 213–15
missing family and, 310
moves in with uncle, 355
Richmond School reunion (1984) and, 372
school and church of, 87
search for missing family members, 263
ship watching by, 89
survives explosion, 200–201
walking to North Commons, 213
Pattison, James
Christmas (1917) and, 322
grandparents’ house on Dartmouth side and, 213–15
heads to Richmond School, 158–59
later life of, 355
missing family and, 310
pocket watch lent to his father by, 158, 336
at Richmond School, 87
Richmond School reunion (1984) and, 372
search for missing family members, 263
ship watching by, 89
survives explosion, 200–201
walking to North Commons, 213
Pattison, Mrs. V. J., 310, 355
Pattison, Vincent J., 263, 310, 336
Pattison’s house, Richmond, 88
Paul, Elizabeth, 91
pedestrian bridge, 153, 194
pediatric surgery, Halifax explosion and, 349
penicillin, discovery of, 46
photographs, rarity of, 337
Pickford and Black (coal merchant), 116–17, 118
picric acid, 7–8, 111, 115
Pier 6, Halifax Harbour, 151–52, 153, 173, 175
Pilotage Authority, 180
Pine Hill Military Convalescent Home, Halifax, 55, 95, 99, 236, 267
Point Pleasant Park, 206
policemen, Halifax, 205–6, 227, 228
Portland, Maine, support from, 301
Pothier, Hector J., 249
Prince, Samuel, 323
Princess Louise Fusiliers band, 313
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI)
Barss joins, 52–53
decimation of, 92
gas warfare and, 47
German attack at Sanctuary Wood, 80–81
in or near Ypres, 79–80
Prince of Wales visits, 63
Princip, Gavrilo, 43
prisoner escapes, explosion and, 211, 294
privateering, War of 1812 and, 25–26
Privy Council, London, appeal to, 315, 343–45
Progressive Era, the arts and, 88
prostitutes, 59, 292–93
Protestant Orphanage, 154–55, 326
Protestant Orphanage School, 89, 191
Mission Concert, 90
Protestants
mass funeral and, 313, 314
orphanages for, 326
public opinion, Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry and, 317, 318
Punch, 49
Raddall, Thomas H.
on Calvin Austin arrival, 303
on Haligonians’ affection for Capt. Wood, 30
on Haligonians walking to higher ground, 207
on help from Boston, 276–77
on Mont-Blanc’s cargo, 111
on Richmond “smashed to flinders,” 181
on survivors and the blizzard, 261
on women in pubs and speakeasies, 59
Ragus (shuttle boat), 214, 215
Rainbow, HMCS, 70
Rasley, Annie, 187, 289, 356
Rasley, Mrs., 212
Rasley, Reg, 187, 212–13, 356
Ratshesky, Abraham C. “Cap”
arrives in Halifax, 277
assessment by, 284
Reconstruction Committee and, 279
relief train and, 240, 242
relief train stuck in snow and, 268–69
rebuilding
completed in winter and spring, 346–47
poster boasting of recovery (1919), 347–48
Reciprocity proposal, 33, 34, 316
Reconstruction Committee, 279
record keeping, triage of entire city and, 227–28
“Record of Halifax Explosion” (Hall), 306
Red Baron, 99, 106
Red Cross
American, Halifax telegram routed to, 232
Boston, Ladd’s team, 367
Boston, relief train and, 240, 241
on Britain and gas warfare, 49
British, donation from, 300
from Calais, Maine, 304, 328
flag, Calvin Austin sailing under, 279
in Halifax, 55, 56
helping explosion victims, 211, 227
nurses for military hospitals and, 260
from Rhode Island, 304
supplies, Graham telegram asking for, 231
red flag for explosives, 72, 125, 127
relief trains
Graham asks for, 231
from Kentville and Wolfville, 244–47
McCall dispatches from Boston to Halifax, 240–41
from New Glasgow, 252
stuck in snow, Ratshesky and, 268–69
religion, orphan placements and, 326–27
Renner, Edward, 126, 129–30
rents, higher, 293
reporters. See also newspapers
discounting contributions of local doctors, 332
missing persons’ information and, 262–63
on relief train from Boston, 240–41, 277
spreading news of disaster, 283–84
Republic sinking (1909), 36
restaurants, free meals for homeless and, 296
/> Rhode Island, Red Cross from, 304
Richmond neighborhood, Halifax
Barss on destruction of, 245
called North End instead of Richmond, 369
Irish Catholics in, 58
Mont-Blanc burning at Pier 6 near, 151–52
Mont-Blanc explosion and, 173–74
rebuilding, 347
remains found under rubble of, 334
residents of, 84–90
searching wreckage in, 266–67
“smashed to flinders,” 181
soldiers securing of, 234
volunteers from and sacrifices by, 296
World War I and, 83–84
Richmond Printing Company, Halifax
burning rubble of, 183–84
Mont-Blanc burning at Pier 6 near, 151–52
Orr family founds, 15
Orr family home close to, 85
railyard and docks within blocks of, 84
remains found under rubble of, 334
Richmond railyards
collision and fire spectators from, 155
Halifax economy and, 57
manufacturers and mills near, 84
Mont-Blanc explosion and, 181
Mr. Driscoll as car inspector at, 160
Narrows adjacent to, 129
at North End of Halifax, 15
pedestrian bridge spanning, 153, 194
Richmond School
explosion and, 191–92
Huggins as principal of, 86–87
Orr family home close to, 85
rebuilt, opening of, 356
reunion (1984), 372–73
tsunami floods, 172
Richmond Yards, 87
Richtofen, Manfred von (the Red Baron), 99, 106
Ringling Brothers Circus, 122–23
roads, changes to, rebuilding Richmond and, 347
Rockhead Hospital, 247
Rockhead Prison, 211–12, 294
Rockingham
Driscoll family to Truro on train from, 219
No. 10 train stops at, 218
relief workers arrive at, 244
telegrams for help from, 230–31, 237
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 349
Ross, Robert, 27
Rotary Club, helping Haligonians, 233
Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), 69–70, 71, 73, 116, 311
Royal Engineers, temporary morgue and, 243
Royal Mail Steamship Company, Clothing Committee and, 297
Royal Naval Reserve (RNR), 70, 71
Royal Print & Litho, 321
Rudolf, Francis R., 70, 71, 72, 73
Ruffman, Alan, 111
Russell Street, Halifax. See also St. Mark’s Anglican Church
injured and dead on, 193–94
Russia, World War I and, 5, 96, 349
Ruth, Babe, 85, 98, 367, 373
Ryan, Eileen, 202, 209–10
sailors, in Halifax, 234, 311
Salvation Army volunteers, 211
Sambro Island Lighthouse, 116, 119
Sanctuary Wood, Belgium, German attack at, 80–81
San Francisco earthquake (1906), 225–26, 349
Santa Claus Limited, 320–21
Schenectady, New York, financial gift from, 301
Schmaal, Gustav, 108
Schmaal Engineering Works, 108
Seventy-Second Battalion of Ottawa, 213
Seward, William, 29
Shannon, HMS, 24
ship watching, 85–86, 87, 89, 138–39
shock waves, Mont-Blanc explosion and, 169–72
Simmonds, Ralph B., 234, 293
Smith, George R., 119
Smith, Ralph, 145
Smith, Stanley K., 170–71
smoking, 8, 111, 154, 176
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), 295–96
soldiers
Bellevue Building refurbishing and, 278–79
British, dog tags for, identification and, 312
on escaping to higher ground, Barracks explosion potential and, 205–6
exhuming human remains, 333
in Halifax, orders delayed to help with relief, 234
helping Haligonians, 227, 228
South End, Halifax, 83, 296
Southland, 94
The Spectator, 49
Split Crow (Halifax bar), 22
Sprengel, Hermann, 111
Spruin, John, 157, 168
Stella Maris, 131, 152, 175–76. See also Brannen, Horatio
Stewart, John, 46, 56
St. John’s, Newfoundland, 37
St. John’s Ambulance Brigade, 211, 260
St. Joseph’s Catholic School, 86, 191
St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, 87, 188
St. Joseph’s School, 183
St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 87, 188
St. Mary’s Hospital, Richmond, 247
St. Paul’s Hall (temporary hospital), 323
Strand Theater, Truro, donations by, 299
Sullivan, Arthur, 302
Sunday, December 9, as working day, 282
Sunshine Club, Santa Claus Limited and, 319, 321
Supreme Court of Canada, appeal to (1919), 315, 340–43
survivors. See also helping Haligonians
taking care of each other, 350–51
tent village and, 256
Swetnam, Carmen, 89–90, 122, 188, 189
Swetnam, Dorothy
explosion and, 188
later life of, 355
night before explosion and, 122
rescued from house destruction, 189–90
at safe haven in Dartmouth, 264
whooping cough and, 89
Swetnam, Lizzie Louise, 89, 122, 188, 189
Swetnam, William J. W.
explosion and, 188, 189–90
as Kaye Street Methodist Church pastor, 87
moves to Truro and remarries, 355
night before explosion and, 122
sifts through debris at manse, 264–65
tending to ill child, 89
Swindells, Bill, 199, 373
Tacoma, USS, 235
Taft, William Howard, 34
tagging corpses, 234, 271
Tallahassee, CSS, 29–30
Tappen, Jack, 151, 177–78, 183–85, 203–4
tattoos, identification using, 311–12
Taylor, John I., 35
Taylor, Zachary, 29
telephone and telegraph, in Halifax
blizzard knocks out, 259
not working, 227
underwater cable damage and, 206
Upham’s calls to fire stations, 156
wire repairs, 282
tetanus vaccine supplies, 251
The Times of London, donation collections and, 300
Thompson, George, 373
Thompson, W. E., 230, 235, 256
Thomson, Mayor of Chicago, 300
“Tin-Pot Navy.” See Royal Canadian Navy
Titanic sinking (1912)
burials, 38–39
Halifax commemorations, 370
recovery operations, 36–38
system for handling mass casualties and, 270
TNT, 7–8, 110, 111
Tooke, Frederick T., 246–47, 252
Toronto, 24, 32
tourists, Halifax, 369–70
Tower Road School, Special Class for Sight Saving, 356
Townson, Andrew, 101, 361–62
Transportation Committee, 242, 257, 259, 281–82, 299–300
transverse thrusts, by ships, 128, 137, 140
trench warfare, 44–45, 46–47, 60
trial (April 1918), 338–40. See also Privy Council, London; Supreme Court of Canada
Triggs, Tom K., 152, 175
trinitrophenol (TNP), 111
trinitrotoluene, 110
Truro, Nova Scotia, 218–20, 244, 263–64, 282
Truro Daily News, 316
tsunami, explosion and, 172–73, 175
Turtle Grove, 58, 91, 154, 1
73
U-boats
along coastline, 12
living conditions on, 105–6
neutral ships and, 107
ships with explosives in Halifax Harbour and, 72–73
ship traffic in Halifax Harbour and, 105
sinking ships in the Atlantic, 6, 9, 45, 94
underwater communications cable
blizzard and, 260
damaged, 206
unidentified victims, 228, 333
unions, repair requests and demands by, 293
United Empire Loyalists, 23–24, 238
United Memorial Church, 357–58
United States. See also specific cities and states
Barss’s letter of appreciation about, 280
Canadian Prime Ministers and presidents of, 366
doctors and nurses from, 331, 333
draft initiated (1917), 97–98
first round of calls for help not sent to, 232
letter of support from, 285
Vietnam War casualties, 99
war declared on Germany by, 228
World War I and, 44, 96–97, 348
University of Michigan Medical School, 361, 363, 364–65
Upham, Archie
explosion injures, 185
finds and buries other family members, 336
later life of, 356
morning of explosion and, 161–62
Richmond School reunion (1984) and, 372–73
shelters at Rockhead Prison, 211–12
surgery for, 289–90, 337
Upham, Charles
finds and buries other family members, 336
finds Millicent’s tea set and piggybank, 337
getting surviving children help, 210–11
night shift at Richmond Railway and, 356
saves two of his children, 185–87
sleeping after night shift, 161
Upham, Constant, 156, 157, 172, 185
Upham, Ellen, 161–62
Upham, Millicent
explosion injures, 185
later life of, 356
medical care for, 211, 289
morning of explosion and, 161–62
mother’s ring and, 336
Richmond School reunion (1984) and, 372–73
Vanport, Oregon dam breaks (1948), 226
victim’s effects bags, 38, 270–71. See also body bags
Victoria General Hospital, 236, 248–50
Victory Loans, Barss’s position with, 100
Voluntary Aid Department (V.A.D.) nurses, 260
Von Steuben, USS, 235
Waegwoltic Club (temporary hospital), 321
Wales, Prince of, 63
Wallace, T. J. and family, 209
War of 1812, 24–25, 28
Washington, George, 23
Washington Post, 33, 34
weaponry, advances in, 366
weapons of mass destruction, 350
Weir, Gerald E., 321
Wellington, Duke of, 28
Wellington Barracks, 201, 205, 213, 232–33. See also panic
Wells, Billy, 156, 159, 194–95
Wells, Claude, 156
Wentzells store, 320
Western Union, 282, 283. See also telephone and telegraph, in Halifax
West Indies immigrants, 90