World
War I was the war to end all wars and the campaigns focused on trench
warfare. The horrors reported from the Front were often understated
to protect the family members from the sheer terror that the soldiers
faced during battle.
While the war was real to all Canadians, the full impact could not be
known until one fateful day when disaster came to the Atlantic Coast
of Canada. It was Thursday, December 6, 1917 when an explosion changed
the lives of inhabitants of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Miscommunications between the Mont Blanc, a French ship carrying munitions,
and a ship carrying relief supplies, called the Imo, would result in
the biggest Home Front tragedy in Canada’s history. The Mont Blanc’s
cargo were explosives of every type imaginable and the crew worked feverously
to try to get the Imo to vary her course away from the Mont Blanc. Unfortunately,
the Imo did not heed the warnings that Mont Blanc had signalled indicating
the ship was carrying explosives and that the Imo would need to re-direct
the ship slightly to avoid collision.
This collision lead to a tragedy, the proportions of which could never
have been guessed. …the Mont Blanc disintegrated in a blinding white
flash, creating the biggest man-made explosion before the nuclear age.
It was 9:05am. Over 1,900 people were killed immediately; within a year
the figure had climbed well over 2,000. Around 9,000 more were injured,
many permanently; 325 acres, almost all of north-end Halifax, were destroyed.
The quotation, above, was taken directly from the Halifax
site. There are useful links and you can read more about this disastrous
event in Canada’s history by visiting the site.
