Halifax: Canada's Great War Casualty
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2020
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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Ben Adelman
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
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p.s the story of africville would make a decent vid ... they were shoved way out of town on rocking braron land and given little to no compinsation for land witch is in the middle of the dt hallifax with property values into the millions
Was born in Halifax. My great aunt lived in Clifton street in the north end which is about 1.5 Kilometres from the blast. She was looking out a window when it happened. The window blew out and she was cut. Had a visible scar on her forehead as a result. She lived in that house her entire life.
TeenAGe MUTanT NINja SPacCE ShUTTles! YeS!
You forgot one of the coolest things about the explosion
Every year the city of Halifax sent a Christmas tree to the people of Boston as they were the first one sent medical supplies
Please, Halifax is NOT the biggest city in eastern Canada, Montreal is much bigger, by far.
"Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys."
-The last message of Patrick Vincent (Vince) Coleman.
Coleman couldn't outrun that explosion with his balls of steel holding him back.
Heritage moment.
it's cool to see more about it other than that
Respect
There better be a statue of that guy and a plaque dedicated to his actions.
Bonus fact: The explosion also killed the logging industry in Halifax, one of the main industries prior to the war. The blast peppered the tree's with shrapnel and munitions. Mills stopped purchasing logs from the area due to the damage the shrapnel was causing to the saw blades.
I was going to mention that Clint, beat me to it!
I didn't know about the logging industry, and thank you for sharing this.
No shit? I hadn't ever that. That's pretty good little tidbit.
Holy shite, that’s one intense explosion, rendering trees unloggable.
I have never heard of this before, that's fascinating
The city of Boston sent so much support that we sent them back a giant 100ft spruce tree for Christmas, which to this day we still send every year as a sign of our friendship and gratitude. Kind of sad you forgot this part, it's one of the happier points of it all.
Came here to say this! I love that this tradition still continues.
I remember CBC had a "heritage minute" about this. It was of the telegrapher trying to get that message out to the trains, he gets an affirmation response right before the explosion.
Come on Coleman....
"Acknowledge...acknowledge......" Yep, that was a great little clip.
“I must stop the train”
A ship was recently named after him, well deserved.
I remember "come on Vince come on" He saved a lot of lives
My mother is from a Nova Scotia, during the Halifax explosion, almost my entire family was killed by that blast. The generation before my mother, there were 13 brothers and sisters, each of which had at least 10 children, and all of which were killed on that fateful day, nearly wiping outs the entire family. Luckily, my distant family lived on the outskirts of Halifax, and were able to survive the explosion, even though they did lose all of their homes, but if it were not for them, I wouldn’t be here right now. It’s funny how you can feel such powerful strong emotions for people that you never met, but people who are blood relatives. The last time I was in Halifax a few years ago I went to the cemetery, and was absolutely floored when I noticed that almost half of it’s, we’re all related to me. There I stood in the middle of a cemetery I have never been to before, surrounded by dead people I’ve never met before, but begin to weep uncontrollably, almost as if I could feel their pain, it’s really hard to put into words the emotions that came in to play when I stepped foot on to that cemetery. It was indeed A tragedy unlike anything our country has ever seen before, and the biggest pre-atomic explosion in human history at the time. I’m just glad that they’re finally beginning to talk about it, so that my family, and the thousands of others that were killed, are not forgotten, and are remembered, so thank you for this video, all those that died that day deserve to be remembered, because one way or the other they were victims of World War I, as had the war not been going on this would’ve never happened, this was the price Canada paid for doing everything we could to help in the war effort, please don’t ever forget it. And a big thank you to the people of Boston, who literally put their entire lives on hold, and headed on mass to Halifax, to help treat the wounded, and begin rebuilding the city via countless donations from all over Boston, we owe them so much, and they have my eternal gratitude.
Very, very moving submission from you! As a fellow Canadian ( though from BC) I can say absolutely that I feel your pain.
A outstanding discovery of your own tragedy in the whole a national tragedy. Like 3 Lebanon blasts!
Unimaginable horror.
TJ, I can imagine your pain and suffering in light of the absolute devastation and loss in the aftermath of this tragedy. My father was a 3 year old in Halifax at the time of the explosion. A shard of glass from a window penetrated his eye and he was blind in one eye for the rest of his life. My Grandfather worked for CP Rail in Halifax, and he spent 3 days and nights working the telegraph to coordinate rescue efforts from the time of the explosion. I only wish I had understood the magnitude of what took place in that unforgettable day in history. I was a child so the family stories are only vague memories to me. My Grandpa died in 1962, and my Dad died in 1965. He told us about the Halifax Explosion, but I was too young to understand what it meant. If only I could sit down with them now for a couple of hours and record what happened that fateful day. So many stories are left untold. btw: one interesting fact that isn't mentioned in this video is that Halifax was the staging area and final interment for victims of the Titanic. To this day, Halifax has a unique cemetery devoted to those who suffered from another unspeakable tragedy on their doorstep.
I teach Canadian history to ESL learners in preparation for citizenship, and this is one of the most comprehensive explanations for the explosion I've seen. Thank you for rocking this one!! I'll definitely be sharing it in future classes.
Actually there are better ones if you're looking for more than just the bare bones data. There is loads more information about the men who evacuated the Mont Blanc, the local indigenous peoples and their stories, and the fact that so many people went blind from watching the spectacle through their glass windows only to have that glass blown into their faces, that it caused the CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) to be formed. To this day it is the biggest assistance to the blind in Canada and has helped thousands upon thousands of people. Halifax would also become home to the only School for the Deaf in Nova Scotia. But there are many, many more personal and amazing stories out there about this event. It was truly something that was embedded into every Nova Scotian for decades after.
I live 90 minutes from Halifax. I have seen that anchor thrown across the harbour into Dartmouth! Boston is Halifax's sister city, because after the explosion Bostonian's were some of the first responders to arrive! Every year we send a giant Christmas tree to Boston city hall to thank and commemorate them for their help!
The cannon landed in Dartmouth. The anchor landed in the Edmonds grounds in Halifax.
@@sandrasaunders8777 The cannon is on a street corner memorial in the north end of Dartmouth. The cannon is disfigured like it was melted.
@@abjectt5440 yes, I know. I have pictures of it.
As a Haligonian I'm well educated on the issue, Just here to cheers to Simon for featuring my hood!
I also worked in the hydrostone for 7 years.
Is there a statue in a plaque dedicated to this event? Especially the gentleman that made the radio transmission.
Ah, there's a condo named after him? Typical Halifax..
Hello fellow Haligonian!
Hello fellow Haligonian!
I appreciate that you mentioned the fate of the local Miꞌkmaq and residents of Africville. Double tragedies that haven't been addressed properly.
You're right. I have seen documentaries on the Halifax Explosion but I don't remember any mention of the Mi'kmaq or Africville. It's a subject that should be explored in more depth.
I was happy Simon mentioned this too; Halifax, Nova Scotia and Canada writ large (as a Canadian myself) have a deep seated problem of systemic racism towards black and Indigenous peoples. We need to respect treaties and land rights, and fight systemic racism and discrimination wherever it stands. That, to me, felt like the beginning of better worldwide acknowledgement of that and how far we still need to go in Canada.
Lmfao look up the Dartmouth Massacre.......
@@mooseknuckle8334 Facts!
@@gmbrusselsprout remember Cornwallis collected no bounties on natives whereas the natives were paid by the French for British scalps...they want their side of history told not the real history..the natives sided with the French against the British so lost all rights to their lands when the french were run out
And in recognition of the help sent to us by the good people of Boston, we send them a large Christmas tree to be lit in the city since I believe 1971.
Yes, I remember seeing that Christmas tree bring sent every year. Definitely a cool connection between the two cities.
@@FoolOfATuque There have been family connections for a long time, probably since colonial times. I had two Canadian aunts, one on my father's and one on my mother's side. There are lots of Canadians and Canadian descendants in the Boston area including one well-known retired hockey player who owns a bar in Boston [eh/hein!].
@@JMM33RanMA yeah, there's always been a strong tie between New England and Nova Scotia. My family immigrated to the Fraserville, NS area from Lyme, Conneticut before the American Revolution. You will find Bennett hill which is named after my grandmother's side. A lot of my ancestors are buried in the Fraserville cemetery It's actually a mystery as to why Nova Scotia never became the 14th colony in the fight for independence.
@@FoolOfATuque The UCL [our pro-Crown Tories] refugeed out, some came back, and a few left for Canada after the Revolution. In 1812, so the story goes, New Englanders refused to fight each other and the Hartford convention considered New England secession. Except tor kidnapping seamen from US ships in NE waters, the Crown was hopeful of inducing at least part of New England into rejoining the BNA, so didn't do anything to inflame anti-British opinion. Considering that Massachusetts had been rebellious since well before the Revolution, even arresting Royal Governor Andros in 1688, that was unlikely to happen. In an alternate timeline, New England and the Maritimes could have become a Yankee Nation [independent or associated with Britain].
Boston has, love it or hate it, become the unofficial capital of the region.
Pretty much all the Maritimes are connected to "The Boston States" by family. Quite often it was someone who joined an order of priests or nuns.
when i was 12 years old i found a rusty live pineapple grenade from the magazine explosion. i decided to take it home and show my mom. chaos ensued after that and bomb squad was called . got a few radio interviews from that one and contributed a few gray hairs to my moms head im sure. fun stuff
being a resident of Halifax, let alone living in the narrows (nearly inline with where the explosion took place, 300m from the blast point) and a big Simon fan, I approve of this topic, didn't realize it was this internationally known,
I know about it from living in the Boston area.
found out about when research largest non nuclear explosions
@@thedamnyankee1 Yes, we became good friends through that. Boston helped so much and so a huge Nova Scotia tree is sent to Boston every Christmas.
Mckay Bridge gang
I don't understand why it isn't even more well known than it is, it was a horrific and one of a kind tragedy.
I lived in Halifax in the 90's. In most of the older cemeteries, particularly one downtown you can see tombstones blackened and pushed away from the harbour by 45 degrees or more. The first help arrived from Boston. In honour of this every Christmas Nova Scotia sends its largest Fir tree to Boston which is used at city hall. There are plenty of documentaries on the Explosion, Simon could only touch on some of the details in a 16 min video, most documentaries are at least an hour long.
Barrington Street !
Sounds truly frightening... I can’t even imagine what that event entailed. One of the more bizarre aspects of the whole ordeal is no one I know has ever heard of this event.
Shattered City is a good movie
@@roncheaters miniseries and its on Tubi, I'm gonna watch it
@@theflanman420420 My grandfather, Glennie Hudson, was in training to go overseas before this happened. Some arsehole double marched them through the night during heavy rain. He and several other young men developed pneumonia. He lost a lung, and was in hospital recovering. He was walking between buildings when the explosion occurred. Some of the men were watching our through windows, and were injured when the glass blew in. Some were blinded.
Because he was outdoors, between two buildings, he was spared.
Ships: "Well I'm not going to move out of the way!"
Ships 10 minutes later: "Shit quick move out of the way!"
Pretty good sum up.
"You'd better stop your train, rabbit!" called Yosemite Sam. "You'd better stop your train," replied Bugs Bunny. "Well, I'm not stopping mine!" retorted Sam. "Well, I'm not stopping mine," replied Bugs. "Oh, yeah? We'll see who'll chicken out first," challenged Sam, as both he, and Bugs in turn, accelerated their trains.
Christopher Noel -I think I remember that Ep 😂
Halifax local here, thanks for covering this! Extra points for mentioning some of the injustices like Africville.
Again, you have just shown why I love your content so much. As a Canuck, you warmed my heart with the honest, sometimes uncomfortable past that needs to be showcased just as much as the good that was done. Living in the area has been a learning of history and I would not trade it for the world. I did want to let you know, that since 1968, my dear friends' father and the company that he worked for has sent a giant tree to the city of Boston as a thank you because they were the first to respond with help and aid after the explosion. When you get to be part of history, no matter how small, it makes you feel.... well honoured.
As with my tag line from where I live... Hugs from Halifax
My father was named after my Great Uncle who died in the Explosion. Had a Grand Uncle who was blinded from glass during the explosion. That tragic event birthed the Canadian Institute for the Blind. Also, created the United Church of Canada. There are several good books on the Event and the cities history.
Watching this in Halifax! 🙌
same lol
Yup
How Tony's these days? Mom's place in on Cunard right there!
Watching from the Darkside!
Same
Burned into my memory.
"Coleman! There's no time!
The Train is coming in towards Pier 6 I've got to warn them!
C'mon Vince! C'mon!
There are 700 people aboard i've got to stop it! C'mon C'mon acknowledge!"
Oh those Heritage Minutes.
"I still use and hear people saying "C'mon c'mon, acknowledge!" at appropriate times
Those are the only thing keeping me from failing history
....... The House Hippo
A rather rotund house pet. usually lives in closets, builds nest out of old hats, mitts, and other soft materials lost in closets. survives off of chips, raisins, crumbs from peanut butter on toast and anything else it can get it's gums around.
I was looking for a fellow Canadian to mention this...one of the most memorable to my recollection
Definitely my favourite Heritage Minute. That man was a god damn hero.
3 things.
1This explosion was an inspiration for the Manhattan project.
2 My great grandfather was a surgeon, he operated for 36 hrs on a kitchen table.
He had to decide who could be saved and who he would let die.
3 Also there was a jogger who was decapitated his body was found 50 yards from his head.
I’d like to hear more about this 36-hr surgery session. Was he working on the victims of the explosion immediately after it happened? Thank you.
I literally work on the Halifax waterfront , you can see where the explosion happened from my work... it’s a beautiful city now
I love Halifax - I used to visit Dal for work a few times a year. Not in the field anymore unfortunately but when travel opens up again it's one of my first targets. My favourite visit was when I was staying in Dartmouth and working at Dal, so I got the ferry across each day. A lovely way to start the day - coffee and a muffin on the ferry in midsummer.
I bet you literally don't work anywhere near the Halifax waterfront.... Literally
I figuratively work on the Halifax waterfront.
Same with me. I work at the ship yard. The explosion happened about 300 ft from the tool crib I operate.
As a Haligonian I just want to say I think you did a great job on this video. Well done
“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
― Voltaire
"ooh look at me i am such a high iq intellectual"
Not all killers are murderers you featherless bird
@@Harshhaze yes they are... that is the definition....
@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 negative. Murder is a criminal act. Self defense and in the defense of others it is just killing. Same and result though.
Whenever Simon says "Dartmouth" I think Trailer Park Boys
Trailer Park Boys actually started filming in Beaver Bank, near Lower Sackville. They relocated to Dartmouth for a while then moved filming to near Truro. I live in the park they originally filmed in .
@@xTheRenegade666x I wanted to visit the park when I was in Halifax in 2014 but they were filming so gawking tourists weren't permitted.
@@xTheRenegade666x And my wife's grand mother played the old lady that was in one episode. When she died my wife bequeathed her massive royalty check of $7.49 per month to Sick kids in Toronto. But she was paid over $700.00 for the appearance.
not so fun fact: life in a NS trailer park is almost exactly like life in that show
@@alostlonewolf ...right??? :)
Thank you for doing a video about a Canadian city! Halifax is gorgeous, my husband also used to live there.
You should do one about Louisburg, it has some awesome history as an early French settlement, and played a key role in the early wars between he French and English. It was taken by general Wolfe. Twice. The same way. By dragging cannons through impassible swamps. Please do a video about Louisburg!
It wasn’t taken by Wolfe twice. The first expedition was mounted from the Boston states and returned to the French under the treaty of 1748 (Aix-la-Chapelle). Halifax was settled in 1749 to counter French presence in region and in 1758 Wolfe took Louisbourg again; this time flattening it to avoid it being returned again. The following year Wolfe went on to take Quebec City and effectively end France’s claims in North America.
Keeping with the theme of Canada and WWI, Vimy Ridge is certainly an interesting chapter in history and spot of French soil.
Belgian soil*
Thank u
My father was in the RCAF and stationed in 2 wing in France and he took us to the monument and museum. Very sobering.
@@riptidemonzarc3103 Vimy Ridge is just south of Lens which is in France.
I went there in the late 1990s and it is interesting (the stories about the tunneling was fascimating). I did the visit the Grange Tunnel system. The only place that was spookier was on a similar trip I went to Verdun on a damp and overcast morning. A lot of the forest area is 'wild' and it's not recommended to walk off the tracks due to the unexploded shells.
1:15 - Chapter 1 - Birth of a port city
2:35 - Chapter 2 - Wartime halifax
4:05 - Chapter 3 - Prelude to disaster
7:35 - Mid roll ads
9:05 - Chapter 4 - The explosion
12:40 - Chapter 5 - Reconstruction
14:10 - Chapter 6 - Recovery
My great grandfather was an electrician whom helped rebuild Halifax. Lived there my self for a while. Beautiful province.
Great video, I'm from Halifax, and had family members who survived the explosion. My grandfather was blown off his bicycle on hos way to school, my great uncle lost an eye, he worked as a guard on one of the trains in Halifax.
Blessings, my grandmother lived over in Ferguson's Cove, her 1st husband, shell shocked committed suicide while she was pregnant in '36 with mom's older sister. What hell!
OH CANADA! The house I live in was built in response to the Halifax explosion. The shockwaves of the explosion were strong enough to bust windows in the town of Truro 100km north. (Heard on the centennial anniversary CBC radio special from a local at the time.)
Another odd fact is that the Canadian National Institute of the Blind, a social welfare program to help visually impaired people nationwide, was founded to help the large influx of blind people blinded by the explosion.
As well as I am Mi'kmaq and have heard the story many times how this was the first major explusion of our people away from European settlements in the area, and are are almost forced to live on reservations to this day.
As white person in Canada, that shit needs to be fixed ASAP. We need to a) make amends for past actions, but more importantly b) fight systemic racism wherever it stands, against Mi'kmaq and the indigenous peoples across the land and against black people everywhere here, and c) prevent this from ever happening again. Wela'lin for sharing your story!! :)
I went to the Alexander Keith's brewery and they have pictures of all of the coffins brought into handle all of the bodies from the explosion on the dock. The volumes of coffins was astounding. Halifax is my favorite place in the world with the beautiful harbour front and being surrounded by so many small fishing villages. I spent many summers in Bedford and it's a beautiful place. If you can go see the citadel and York Redoubt I would definitely encourage it.
The town clock has always been a favourite of mine. Walking on Historic Properties is also a great love of mine. Donairs Forever!
my Grandfather lived through it.He thought the world had ended with all the destruction he saw
.
@@phillowe3355 I imagine that is true. I saw the pictures and it looked like hell. I couldn't imagine living through it.
you: mentions york redout as a tourist
me: now there's someone who knew what sites to see
What a fantastic video. Thank you Simon and crew! On my Dad's side, his parents were both Irish immigrants who landed in Halifax. Grandad came for work as a coal miner, Granny's family were IRA and on the run from the British. Both served in the Royal Canadian Army during WWII- Grandad was front line infantry, Granny was a drill sergeant. They had settled in Glace Bay but after the war found their way to Montreal where my father was born. Like so many Canadians, Halifax is the point of entry for my family's origin story (except for on my mom's side, who is half Northern Irish and half Odawa First Nation). Halifax is a beautiful city, and I recommend anyone traveling through Nova Scotia to spend some time there.
That's an interesting story your family has.
Your family sounds like they would have 10,000 stories to share! I love hearing from people with family from Down East like myself, thanks for sharing :D
@@gmbrusselsprout Hehe, ya we have a few. I think my favorite was during my parents wedding, when both sides (after copious amounts of drinking) began singing songs from the troubles. But, the two sides being from two different ends of Ireland, my dad's side sang republican songs. My mom's side was singing songs of the orangemen. There was a brawl. And then there was cake.
There is a Royal Canadian Air Force and a Royal Canadian Navy, but just a Canadian Army. It does not carry the Royal term.
Never thought my city would end up here...
A fellow nova Scotian
I never thought Canada would end up on here.
I’m in Dartmouth
Me either!
I watch all of your videos on all of your channels on the car or while doing dishes. I just moved to Halifax ahead of schedule because of covid, so I've been watching your videos most days. How exciting that your latest is about my new city!!
Good luck sugar!
To any other Canadians here, do you remember the old "Heritage Canada" video short on tv which was about 2 minutes and was about the explosion and the railway worker Simon mentioned that saved so many lives at the cost of his own by staying to get the message to the inbound train? I always liked that video and many others.
As someone living in Halifax for 10+ years, I've spent much time learning about the city's history. I am really happy that you mentioned Africville and the Mi'kmaq communities affected by the explosion, and how the black and Indigenous communities were and still are treated by Nova Scotia.
"the crew rode for shore lest the burn or they drown, they cried 'save your souls' as they ran through the town, but their warnings were nothing but strange foreign sounds, for the townsfolk no French had they learned"
“One man, Patrick Coleman, in the railway's employ
sent word: 'Stop the trains or they'll all be destroyed
This will be my last message, farewell to you, boys.'
For a true hero's death he had earned.”
What is this from?
The Longest Johns: Fire and flame
My grandfather was there, and told me he saw a man get decapitated by a piece of shrapnel.
The city of Lynn, MA, filled with emigrants from Nova Scotia working in the shoe mills, sent massive amounts of relief supplies. In appreciation, every year since Halifax sends the city of Lynn a large Fraser Fir to be the Christmas tree in the town commons.
you also forgot about how halifax and Boston, Boston authorities learned of the disaster via telegraph that day , and quickly organized and dispatched a relief train around 10:00 PM that night, to assist survivors. In December 1918 Halifax sent a large Christmas tree to Boston as a token of thanks to the citizens of Boston for their help in recovery from the 1917 Halifax Explosion. The Christmas tree tradition began again in 1971, and every year since then the people of Nova Scotia have sent a large evergreen tree to Boston. The tree is lit in the Boston Common throughout the Christmas season.
Fuck yeah this probably should have been covered. Forever in debt to Beantown. I think it's great they helped us and we will never forget!
I live in Halifax, born in Cape Breton. love this channel. Love seeing a local story. There's a church you can you a figure outline burned in the glass of a window from the explosion
Which is just an urban legend, though still neat how the glass around the figure head stayed intact.
@@pethowl Curious to how its just an urban legend? I've seen the church and the window and can say you can see an outline of a man in the window who if I remember correctly people believed to be a police who was looking out of the window before the explosion happened. Also it's cool to see another Caper on here Melanie. With something like simons channel I never expected to come across another islander xD
@@Gamergeek56 the outline you see is the broken part of the window pane. This coupled with the position of the window of the church faced away from the harbour towards citidal hill.
The fence work around the church is original iron work and is a wonder to see albeit a bit rusty here and there
In modern times, we tend to relate explosive destructive power to the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. However, at the end of WW2, to convey the destructive might of the atomic age, they bombs explosive power was related to people through the destruction at Halifax. Everything prior to ww2 and post Halifax used the Halifax explosion as a measure of destructive might.
I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia...thanks so much this video....the story isn’t as known as it should be.... thanks once again
This is the most detailed retelling i've heard, this even beat my Halifax school history class, didnt they have to develop new medical procedures to deal with the amount of glass injurys?
Fellow nova Scotian
I thought I heard that improvements/developments were made in eye surgery and pediatric surgery due to the types of injuries from that explosion. I could be wrong though...
@@ppanonymous1700 that's what I think it was too, that sounds familiar
@@trucktruckbrad ayee
There are great podcast episodes from Stuff you Missed in History Class and Dark Poutine that also cover the topic.
As far as I know this was the most powerful explosion prior to the detonation of atomic bombs.
It is not very well-known outside of the maritime provinces but the maritime museum here in Halifax keeps an extensive catalog of items thrown kilometers and shrapnel-embedded objects.
I would be curious to learn more about the anti-submarine nets and how they were deployed.
yes, it is infamously noted as the only pre-atomic, man-made explosion that can be gauged on the megaton scale
Simon would you be willing to do an episode on Africville? My grandfather grew up there and the bulldozed it
Along with the First Nations, Black people have gotten so shafted in Canada.
It's weird seeing a video about somewhere so close to me
Any Canadian growing up in the 1990s and 2000s would remember Vince Coleman, as there was a Canadian history short about the Halifax Explosion and him shown during commercials.
On a side note, ever since 1971, The Boston Christmas Tree has been gifted to the city every year by the people of Nova Scotia for their prompt assistance in the rescue and recovery efforts in the wake of the Explosion.
I see my fellow Haligonians posting too. So great to see the city featured. Thanks for including the info on both Africville and the Mi'kmaq Community.
Another point about Africville and the explosion is that the community was relatively protected from the blast due to a hill that protected them from the full force of the blast. So, as a result many survivors ended up there for help in the aftermath - which they received. However, when the time came for the residents of Africville to get the help they deserved, they did not receive support (as you mentioned).
Great episode! Thanks 😊
Hello from Halifax! so cool to see a video about my city.
I'm going to tell my family story for this. My great-grandmother, who lived in Tufts Cove, Dartmouth, went outside to watch the fire burning. She was holding her four week old baby(my grandmother) in her arms. A man(later found out to be one of the crew of the Mont Blanc) came frantically running up the hill, screaming in french. My great-grandmother didn't understand, so, the frenchman, in an effort to get her to follow him, grabbed the baby and ran. Of course, my great-grandmother ran after him. That act likely saved both of them as the spot they were standing got hit by debris.
I haven't seen the movie but if that isn't a scene in it it totally should be. amazing
love seeing my city talked about, thanks Simon!!
shout out from NB, Canada
Halifax represent! I live in dartmouth and I always love hearing Halifax mentioned in history.
Very cool episode on my hometown! A note on the WWII explosion, the area surrounding Magazine Hill in Dartmouth, where the explosion occurred has been undeveloped for decades since, as they've never swept the debris field for unexploded ordinance. A highway is currently being developed through the area, and ordinance experts are assigned to work with surveyor and construction crews to check before anything that can go boom gets dug up.
It's interesting to see the blast deflector walls by the buildings at the magazine in Dartmouth.
Nice to see my city in one of these :)
💋🇨🇦
Halifax was originally called Chebucto 😉
hey man amon to that brother im did not think i would see so many other people from halifax on here lol
saame!
ay my boy i live like what 20 min away from the halifax i might just go down later to the waterfront see whats goin on maybe even get a beer
DUDE i watch all your videos. its WILD you made one about my little home town!
Yo I live in Nova Scotia! I was so excited when I saw this because we never get talked about.
I'm a Siontist Most Canadian cities are mentioned very often
Too sad and you're right, too few know of this!
Glad you brought up Africville and the Miꞌkmaq. Definitely a lesser known part of Halifax history which shouldn't be forgotten.
I was just reading about this yesterday and thought man Simon should do a episode about this
Would you please read about a massive lottery and think that I should win it? I'll share the money with ya!
It's so crazy to have a video about the place where you live! Great stuff!
Every Canuck of a certain age has seen the Heritage Minute on CBC
Weird coincidence this was posted 3 weeks prior to Beirut's devastating explosion in 2020
Now do St. Johns, Newfoundland was it's own contry at one point, and theirs a LOT of history there
Totally agree. It's a rich history. Would be a great one.
I was born there in 1950 just after they became a province. I think Canada day is a day of mourning in NL because of the battle in WW1 where there were many casualties in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment that affected almost all communities on the island. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
@@abjectt5440 Yea we lost a very large Majority of our Military at the time, the Blue Putees
My great aunt was a baby in her crib at the time of the explosion. When she was pulled out. She had a few scratches. That was all.
Ayyyyy my Great Aunt Kitty was in the exact same situation XD
As another who grew up dartmouth and living in Halifax, the video was very well put together. Only other interesting factoid the viewers may have connected with was the amount of support we received from Boston, and how we still thank them yearly with the "best" Christmas tree
As someone who was born and raised in Halifax. I appreciate you doing this on Geographics. It's a story we are taught in school. But not so much in the rest of Canada. Not at all outside Canada.
Haligonian here, nice to see this event get the Geographics treatment.
"Who's responsible for this??!"
"Meh... Just blame Germany. I mean, we're going to be blaming them for everything else once the war is over anyway, so..."
I am from Nova Scotia and this story is well known to everyone who is from here, I loved how you showed it but you missed two important parts that I think people will find interesting. The first, one of the first places to help Halifax was the city of Boston (this is soooo important to Nova Scotians), they sent a relief train at 10:00 pm to help, a mear 13 h after the explosion. Still to this day, we remember what Boston did for Halifax and Nova Scotia and to thank them, Nova Scotia sends a Christmas tree to Boston (absolutely massive one) every year. The bond between Nova Scotia and Boston is extremely strong and we cherish it. Second, even though most of Halifax was destroyed, the Old Town Clock on Citadel Hill (a clock on an old British fort) was not destroyed. It has been pictured with buildings destroyed all around it and is considered one of the most iconic symbols of Halifax. That clock is something I found growing up to be very interesting about this story. I hope that people find those interesting, there is so much history about the Halifax explosion and still to this day we spend so much time in school learning about this and hearing about this event, except, this is the first I am hearing of the memorials.
I live about 100 miles, 161 kilometres, from Halifax, Nova Scotia so, of course, I've heard the stories of the explosion many times. I just wanted to thank you for presenting it in such a respectful, concise and accurate manner. Halifax is quite the city now and manages to combine modern and historic worlds. It is well worth visiting if you ever have the opportunity. Thanks again, I enjoy all of your work.
Seeing my work on the pic of a Geographics just took two weeks off my life...
Dude. I bump into you everywhere. Norfolk, the Hydrostone and now on here. lol. An early Christmas greeting to you and the lads back home.
@@eltonronjovi2238 not surprised to see you here! Love Simon and all his channels! Merry Christmas, my man. Hope you're well!
Just read the title, and immediately thought about the Mont Blanc-Imo collision. By hell was I not wrong.....
Fun fact:
The SS Imo was previously a white star line ship.
White star line is the company behind the Titanic or Olympic Class liners.
The imo is also now wrecked in the Falklands
I asked for this yesterday!!!!! And here it is! Thank you Simon!
I've been to Halifax once, I was doing a roadtrip across the east coast of Canada. I bought a lil bit of 'wacky tabaccy' when I landed in Toronto, but because of Canada's liberal weed policy it I ran out in Nova Scotia, I just looked for the closest dispensary on my phone using Tim Horton's wifi and found out Halifax had the closest one. Chronic Re-Leaf I believe it was called. Bought some Rockstar Haze and Gorilla Glue. I was surprised of the quality, I haven't seen dank that good in years (And I live a 2 hour drive from Amsterdam). And that's the story of my only 5min long visit to Halifax, Completely irrelevant? Yes! But game recognizes game so I wrote this just to compliment any one here from Halifax for their superb dank.
Try coming to British Columbia lol
I came to learn about Halifax, I got a Leafly review 🤣🤟😎
I went to Halifax 2 summers ago cause my ancestors, the Acadians, used to live in Nova Scotia before the British kicked them out in the 1700s.
Our two main exports are weed and depression
@@270Winchester Thats cool! I interesting though, that even before white people and during the settlers being here, natives were still warring and moving around the country
Haligonian representing. RIP to the shooting vics from a few months ago.
My family's from there, English side, blessings!
I had a relative living in Halifax at this time. His account of the explosion is fascinating.
Thank you for this Simon!
Ayyyye! Favourite host covering my favorite city? Nicee
If I may, where are you from? Normally I'd think you were from Halifax, given that it's your favourite city, but the lack of u in favourite makes me think otherwise. Is it just autocorrect?
@@CardinalTreehouse sort of, it suggested one and I was unsure witch was 'right' but I spell color like so, but yes I'm from there haha
where i live now would have been leveled by this.
hey man im in lower sackville i would have herd the blast it prob would have takein out my windows
Nova Scotia gang
Lacewood. I would of been ok lol.
@@masterroshiyoshi9862 Same Dude
@@xDemishx I'm also in foggy eastern passage
Thanks for taking my suggestion, y'all. Good stuff as always! Learned things I hadn't known.
Great episode. Kind've wish these were a little longer. @Geographics between this channel and your others I really envoy your content and learning about things and events I otherwise wouldn't have even known have happened. Keep up the great work and yaa (little longer please these are great to listen to and watch).
"Every listening of Shaggy's Mr Boombastic is followed by a moment of silence..."
Halifax is a SEX NIGHT
@@primordialpouch1139 SHNG SHNG SHNG
Simon you would make a seriosuly great National Geographic narrator. They have no idea what they're missing out on.
Probably because he's a Brit living in Prague, so he'd likely be more Inclined towards the BBC
Edit: not to mention he seems to be doing just fine on his own. Sure he might have more resources with either the BBC or NatGeo, but he seems a lot more interesting in building his own media empire.
And he wouldn't be able to Blaze it, if he signed with a big media company
Oh I'm glad you covered this topic. 🇨🇦
Nice one, Simon! Hello from Halifax!
Halifax - the original "Boom Town!"
is Hiroshima then the "Big Boom Town" ? :P
actually, the crew of the Mt. Blanc was heard by many on shore ... they only spoke french ... in an English-speaking city.
even if they didnt speak the language there were other ways someone could have conveyed the imminent danger...what about waving your arms, shooing the people, even pushing some away or pulling them .... im sure at that point they will see and hear the desperation in their face and voice and atleast some would get it....once a few start running more will follow ... but they probably went " Oiu, Courir " and proceeded to get them self out of harms way.
I'm a fairly new subscriber and I'm from Dartmouth, we learned about the Halifax explosion in school and took multiple trips out into Halifax to view the memorials, one of the cooler but also darker ones is a window of a church in Halifax, it has the shadow of a woman imprinted on the window said to have been burnt on from the explosion, they say they have changed the window multiple times and yet the shadow still remains. There are some cool stories to come out of such a horrific incident I've heard a few from survivors that have since passed, overall really good coverage, nice to hear the place that no one knows about mentioned a few times lol, keep up the good work
Videos like this is why I love Simons channels. I had never heard about this.
Hey neat! I live here!
Africville? Boy that wouldn’t fly today.
The area is still called Africaville lmao and yes people are pissed off about it...
My mom's from Halifax, said that place was a hole, I don't think there was plumbing.
@@simonbeaudet2017 it was renamed at one time wasnt it? but the black community demanded it be made a memorial park
Thank you for this Simon . I was born and raised in Halifax and it is still my home. I've heard and re-heard this story countless times throughout my life. It was taught in school, featured in local and national media and even some of the oldest members of my family told me about their experiences on that day when I was a child . Your presentation is clear , factual and entertaining. Well done sir.
As a Canadian, thank you so much for making a video about the Halifax Explosion. I honestly think that the Halifax Explosion is one of the most overlooked disasters in terms of war casualties. The thought that it was the biggest explosion before Hiroshima just boggles my mind.
novascotiastrong
When you're from Halifax
Brilliant video. Thank you
I don’t usually comment but this made my evening. It’s so cool that this is covered! I heard a rumour at one point that the sound of the explosion reached even in my neck of the woods on the “south shore” of Nova Scotia. I can’t even look at the Canada history min where it is so sad.
The Museum of the Atlantic in downtown Halifax has a lovely exhibit with lots of first hand accounts items, including the dispatcher’s watch...stuck on the time of explosion and his death. Thanks for the lovely cover on this event.