I live in Halifax. This is an important part of our history in Noca Scotia. With museums and memorials. It's amazing It's now the largest of all the Atlantic province's cities.
As a Hong Kong immigrant to Canada, the heritage minute i fancy is the one about Canadian troops in HK. A Canadian unit was the only British manpower in HK during the Japanese invasion and those boys fought like hell, outnumbered 100 to 1.
Thanks for doing this video. It has a personal meaning to me. My family was affected by the explosion and many lives lost. However, there is one positive story I can tell. My great-grandmother, living in in Tufts Cove in Dartmouth, was outside watching the ship burn, while holding her five week old baby(my grandmother). A man came running up the hill, screaming in French. My great-grandmother didn't understand French, so she just ignored him. The man (who turned out to be one of the crew of the Mont Blanc) grabbed the baby and ran. My great-grandmother, of course, ran after him thinking he was stealing her baby. Well, that act probably saved her and the baby because when the ship blew, the spot that she'd been standing at had considerable damage.
Just a few years ago the city named our new Halifax/Dartmouth Ferry The Vincent Coleman. He and the explosion are not forgotten. Can hear the harbour horns blowing every Dec 6 9:05 AM if you’re in the city’s North End. 💕
As a Nova Scotian I thank you for taking such interest in our history The people of “New Scotland “ are a hearty bunch but this was a low spot in our history Really enjoying your reaction videos Thank you !
My Dad lost an uncle and cousin in the explosion. My son, named for my Dad was born on December 6th. They lived on Gottingen St. It's an important part of our history. I live in Dartmouth and there are pieces of the ships still here, roped off with plaques.
One of the animated short films nominated for an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards was the film "The Flying Sailor". It depicts the true story, and experience, of a sailor who was flung into the air by the explosion, blown 2km away, and lived to tell. As he flies through the air, the force and destruction of the explosion that levelled so much of the city is depicted beneath him. You can find it online by looking for "The Flying Sailor". A beautiful little film, deserving of accolades, and well worth watching. Halifax is also where so many of the recovered victims of the Titanic were buried. The Maritime Museum there (not all that far from where the two transport ships collided) has some relics of the Titanic. The children's shoes are sure to bring a tear.
I'd recommend looking into the story of Vimy Ridge, as well as Valour Road. Two stories from WW1 that are definitive moments for our country. I really appreciate the interest and respect you have for Canada, thank you!
The halifax explosion is a perfect example of the phrase "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" it was a combination of many mistakes by multiple people, that ultimately ended up in catastrophe. Hope everyone is taking care.
Don’t be ashamed of not knowing these things before. It’s fantastic that you’re interested and learning now. Others watching your videos will be learning about this for the first time too! When you finally get here, you may end up being a better educated tourist/traveller, than many of the locals you run into while here!!
Great review. I have to apologize to my fellow Canadians in Nova Scotia, I'm embarrassed to say that although I had heard of the Halifax explosion in school I didn't know the details or the magnitude of this horrific event. As for Vince Coleman I'd like to think he is an example of the kind of person we (myself included) should all strive to be.
The explosion was so great the floor of the harbour was exposed. There are reminders all over the city of the explosion. It's really quite amazing. Guns and anchors that were thrown from the ships in the harbour still rest where they landed over a hundred years ago. I live in Halifax and I can say that most people here are aware of it but I don't know about the rest of the country. They should be but sadly I feel they are mostly not.
Heritage Minutes! I'm flashing back to childhood. :). Fun fact:I lived in Halifax, in a place that was "scooped out" of the rock by that explosion. Another fun fact: we do use "beep be beep beep STOP THE TRAIN" in conversation (for people of a Certain Age) to refer to something someone is going to do that's a bad idea.
My Grandmother was there that day but luckily left town a few minutes before the explosion. she ended up unofficially adopting the son of a friend who wasn't so lucky.
I lived in Nova Scotia from the ages of 7-13 and I remember learning about this in school but I am ashamed to say that no mention was made of the snowstorm or how help couldn't get in or of Vince Coleman. The only time ever learning about Vince Coleman was through the Heritage minutes. He truly was an inspiring man and a true hero
Great reaction !! We have heros that you can get behind, they didn't win wars or kill lots of people, they saved lives, and gave themselves in the process. Terry Fox, Vince Coleman, the doctors who developed and gave away insulin, etc. My personal all time is Terry Fox, so young, so brave, so humble.
There are longer and much more in depth videos available that explain what and why the Mont Blanc had the cargo it was carrying and who the captains were and their characters. It was a tragedy that could have easily been avoided. It is a real joy to watch your videos and that of others who are learning about Canada and reminding us of these historical moments. Thank you.
We learn about Vince Coleman in school obviously. When I was a child listening I always thought I would do the same. But as an adult with children of my own. Would I really be able to conduct myself in that manner. I would like to think so. But am I 100% sure? No I am not. Doing the right thing would be hard in that situation. That's what makes him a real hero. When it really mattered and he knew he would die he did the right thing. RIP Vince Coleman
The crew of the Mont-Blanc came across a native woman and her baby and told her to run. When she didn’t move, one of them grabbed her baby and run for the hills. Her and her baby were the only two people they were able to save. Both a cannon and an anchor from the Mont-Blanc were found far away from the explosion and have been made into memorials. Both were warped by the heat.
I learned about the Halifax explosion as a kid from that Heritage Minute. I'm in Ontario, far from Nova Scotia, but dangit, just hearing Vince Coleman's name makes me cry every time. What a hero!
I grew up in New Brunswick, about 2 hours from Halifax. This was one of the two historical moments from the east coast provinces that was emphasized on in many history class in my schooling. There’s no one from across Canada from my generation at least that has seen the heritage moment commercial. When my stepdaughter was in grade 8/9, this was mentioned so she asked me about it. I showed her the commercial as a general knowledge of the explosion and a few years later, going home to NB to visit family, I took her down to Halifax since she was still curious about it.
My Nanny was born in 1905 and raised me. She had her ear sliced off by the door she was holding open at her Catholic school. Lived in the North End of Halifax. She always showed me the places that the wounded and dead were taken to. Big snow storm hit right after. All those WWI soldiers coming home too. Oh the stories! The anchor that was blown off one of the ships (can’t remember which) is in Fort Needham Park. I always honour that day in honour of her. Boston gets a huge and beautiful Christmas tree every year from the land of selected families in Nova Scotia. In thanks for their help during those dark days. There are so many fascinating stories about all of our provinces. Thank you for telling their stories. 😊
My family has been in Halifax for generations. My grandfather was 2 years old when the Halifax Explosion happened. His mother was looking out the window at the explosion and he screamed and pulled her attention right before the explosion happened, and if he hadn't she would have been blinded by the glass blowing out into her face
Canadian Author, Hugh MacLennan wrote 'Barometer Rising" if you're looking for insight into the 1917 explosion, this is a good source. My grandfather, then 17, was a deck hand on a tugboat in the harbour. According to his telling, the tug captain was a real mean, unfair boss, and uncharacteristically, my granddad decided to quit his job and sleep-in that morning. When the explosion hit, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his socks. The North End house split in two at that moment, and a framed portrait crashed over his shoulders... his only injury being the glass embedded in his shoulders, which took decades to emerge.
I'm so happy to found you. Thank you for your interest in my country and for sharing in film and words about Nova Scotia, and the Halifax Explosion. I was born and raised in Halifax and still live in our Lovely City, and Provience. With regards to the Halifax Explosion. My Sister-in-laws grandmother and infant Son where lost in the Halifax explosion... They were tragically and, sadly, taken out to Sea, with the tsunami. I look forward to you posting, learning more about the culture, of Halifax, Cape Breton Island, ...all of Nova Scotia. I am sure you will be delighted. Thank you again. Cheers from Halifax. ❤
I learned about this first as a teenager reading Hugh McLennan's novel ,Barometer Rising. As a woman history is way more interesting when I learn it through human impact and testimony and drama, and search for the details later. This was me in the 1970's so I went to my Mom, not google, and she filled me in, but not with this detail of physical cause. She knew what a human disaster it was.
Many stories came out of that terrible disaster. Several years ago I saw a video on one of the commemorative services. They interviewed a lady , over one hundred years old. She had been a baby when the explosion occurred. She was thrown from her crib, and her crib landed on her. Her house caught fire. Relatives rescued her. She suffered spinal injuries, which delayed her ability to walk for over a year.
I mentioned it on the relevant Heritage Minutes video before I saw this but, in case you or anyone else wants even more detail, Maritime Horror (sort of a maritime-oriented counterpart to Fascinating Horror, which generally focuses more on disasters on land, has a 35-minute video on this named "The Halifax Disaster".) If anyone wants more in this vein, Plainly Difficult and Brick Immortar are also good channels in the same vein as Fascinating Horror and Maritime Horror. (If I remember correctly, Brick Immortar is run by an actual engineer, and Maritime Horror is by an actual mariner.)
Canadians have a history of helping out in times of disaster. In 1987, there was an unprecedented tornado in Edmonton,Alberta, referred to as black Friday. The next day, volunteers were collecting donations in the parking lot of the football stadium. The GM of the team was unloading/loading donations despite the fact there was a game that night.
December 12th 1952, in chalk river, Ontario, the first ever nuclear reactor incident, a tragic as it is a heroing story of two countries (Canada and the United States) working together to prevent a massive disaster
i grew up in Dartmouth, but my Grandparents and mother lived about a block away from that memorial. As a child I played in that park (before the memorial was there). The park is located less than a block from the Hydrostone section of the city. Down the hill a few blocks is the waterfront where it all happened, and where Vincent lived (now named Vincent St) It's a big part of our taught history as school children. My grandfather, who was a sailor/captain was reportedly one of the ships that arrived in Halifax the next day. BTW, some of the methods and procedures used for disaster documentation were learned from our city's part in the Titanic recovery....5 short years earlier. There is now a boat, one of the harbour ferries that run daily between Halifax and Dartmouth, named after Vincent Coleman.
as a canadian, i never heard of vince coleman or halifax explosion until they made the heritage minutes. he and it were not mentioned in any history classes we had from qst to 10th grade, when we could stop taking history. dont know is all school systems ignored this but we barely learned anything about canadian involvment in either world war.
The extent of my school's WWI coverage was: the Schlieffen Plan, the formation of the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance and The treaty of Versailles. So basically the cause and the aftermath, while ignoring the war itself.
@@Kieop mine was :"WW2 happened. Germanyvteamed withvJapan and Italy. Eveeyone almost immediately forgave Italy but hated Germany and Jspan for decades. "
A separated addendum to my other comment. If you haven't already watched it, I'd highly recommend Brick Immortar's videos "Ego in Engineering: The Quebec Bridge Collapse", and the 2.5 minute "Born From Collapse?: Canada's Iron Ring & The Quebec Bridge Disaster" sequel. It's not just about a piece of Canadian history, but also about the origin of a tradition in how we train and certify structural engineers.
Unfortunely, not every disaster has lead to positive changes, and the best example of this is the Lac Mégantic train disaster. It was promised that safety standards would increased and that railroads passing through towns would be deviated on the periphery never happened and this essentially due to railroads belonging to private companies that don't give a flying crap about investments in safety. This is why the incident took place in the first place - shody repairs to a locomotive because they didn't want it to just sit there and not make profit for them.
What's going on in Lahaina also reminds me of Lac Megantic. Instead of helping the people affected by the disaster, the emphasis was on attracting developpers. People who didn't even suffer damage to their homes were expropriated. the difference is that Lac Megantic never did attract those developpers/foreign investors.
People always mention Boston and what they did to help, which is great but they neglect to mention that ofcoruse the first aid to reach the city were from towns in New Brunswick and other Nova Scotian towns. And also that the trains coming from these towns had a hard time getting supplies in because the tracks had been obliterated at many points me the trains could only go so far. Also fire brigades that come to help out Halifax had immense trouble igniting the fires because their hoses were incompatible with the gage of Pipes that Halifax used. Also hello from Halifax/Dartmouth. We learned about this in school. Its innevery Canadian History textbook probably and when they teach of ww1 and canadas involvement it makes sense to bring it up. Im not sure to what extent the rest if canada learns about it, but they definitely do. I have been enjoying your videos and I've noticed that lots and lots of people for whatever reason in the last 6 months have started to react to more Canadian history and content. It's a nice change from everyone being obsessed with learning about the USA on RUclips and not caring a lick about what goes on above the Border. I have a video reccomendation that you would enjoy a lot. It's the Ice storm of 1998 in Montreal. It was a horrible and destructive, scary ice storm. It Turn Montreal into an Ice Sickle and cost the government like a billion dollars or something(maybe more) it was bad but very interesting
Originally from Nova Scotia now living in Vancouver British Columbia. Worked in Halifax when I was young and met a gentleman who was an ace mechanic but was blinded is a child watching from the living room. The last thing he ever saw was the explosion. But what amazes me more is your presentation of the situation. You a young person from another continent caring so much about the situation of the people a hundred years before. You are amazing as well and I appreciate you. Have a wonderful day and take good care. We need more like you.
I remember when I was in the Canadian Navy that the barber I went to had a picture on the wall of that barber shop surrounded by destroyed buildings and I asked what happened. That's when I heard the story of the Halifax explosion for the first time. Great channel love it.
You are educating Canadians too. The country is so big, and there's so much history that we can't know about it all and in such depth. Thank you so much.
Vince Coleman is a relative on me mom's side and my father's family home had the roof blown off (his parents both lived on the same street and were maybe toddlers at the time. I've lived here all my life and I'm still learning new things about the explosion every year.
I live on the Dartmouth side of Halifax, right top side of the narrows. I drive past a piece of a cannon that was launched from the explosion up on Chapelle street (I think that's the name). It runs parallel to Albro lake road. It blows my mind every time I look at it. My GrandFather left from Halifax some years later to fight in France in WW2.
I remember this story on the "Part of our Heritage" commercials as a kid and then again in history class in school. Thanks for doing these videos so we can remember all these important parts of our history!
This is the first video that I have learned more details about it. We always knew of it and learned about it in school, but I never actually heard of what ships were all coming and leaving. Interesting
My grandmother was only 6.5 years old at the time. She was in school in Canso, about 120 miles away, and all the windows in her school broke. Something I did not hear mentioned is that the harbour also had a deep furlough created, which deepened the passage by about 132 feet, making it the deepest harbour along the east coast of North America. You might find a couple of books interesting. One is a historical novel called ‘Barometers Rising’, written by Hugh MacLennan. The second is called ‘Shattered City’ written by historian Janet F. Kitz. There is also a movie version of that book.
I did an east coast road trip last summer. Halifax was probably my favourite stop on the trip. The Harbour Hopper tour was amazing. Part of the Mont Blanc’s anchor landed in Halifax. It was left where it landed and is a memorial to the those that died. The ship’s gun mentioned landed in Dartmouth, it is also a memorial where is landed. There is a story of a Mont Blanc sailor, who didn’t speak English, as it was a Norwegian ship with a Norwegian crew which hampered their ability to tell people to run. This sailor, while running, wanted to get people to run away with him. So as he ran past a family, he snatched a baby out of its mother’s arms and kept running. Obviously they did exactly what he wanted them to do and chased him away from the burning ship. The family and others who gave chase to a sailor that had snatched a baby, they survived.
My family is from Nova Scotia and my brother and his wife live in Halifax as well as many other family members. I recently returned to Halifax for my Aunts funeral and stayed with my brother. He and his wife live beside the large cemetery in Halifax and we took a good couple of hours visiting it. Many of the people in there are from the explosion including the hero Coleman. Also here are those that lost their lives on the Titanic. Another way to see history. Such a very very sad time in history. We need to know and remember for those that lost their lives and so much more. We have many many great people in this country. There are so many places to visit in Halifax, that has so much information and history. We visited Pier 21 where my husbands mother arrived from England as a war bride, we were able to get so much information. Well worth a visit for anyone interested in our history and their part in it. I really enjoy your videos and have learned from them, even being a Canadian. My MIL was from York England. I love the UK as well.
My mother told me that her father, my grandfather was working on a ship that was in the harbour at the time of the explosion. He was not injured and I am sure helped with rescue efforts along side others members of the military.
Two other videos you might want to react to are Operation Yellow Ribbon and Gander's Ripple Effect. The 1st is a report about Newfoundland's part in the aftermath of 911. Gander's Ripple Effect is about that too but it's more about the creation of "Come From Away" the Canadian Broadway Musical. Yes it contains info about 911 but it actually is more about a small town helping 7000 stranded airplane passengers. It's an incredible to story of the generous nature of Canadian Newfoundlanders.
I love the documentary You Are Here: A Come From Away Story. Even when the dark side of our nature is terrorizing us, the beautiful, loving side of humanity can shine through. If aliens wanted to eliminate us because of the tremendous evil we are capable of, and inflict on each other, i would show them that film.
My great grandfather was a sheet metal worker and was in the hull of a ship during the explosion. He was was knocked unconscious and came to on the other side of the ship. My grandfather was in 9th grade and was at school. He was on the second floor at the time of the explosion and has no memory of how he got to the ground. He lost his jacket and ran home; that was the last day he ever went to school. The family home was in the “Dutch Village” area and protected by a hill between them and the narrows. My grandmother was approximately 100km away where she lived outside Truro, windows in her home broke and they felt the ground shaking. My family was fortunate to have not lost anyone on that day
Thank you for your very respectful video, I live in Dartmouth and at the start of my street is the actual cannon that was blown off the ship and the spot it landed. It is now part of a monument and each year people gather to honour the dead. I truly appreciate your interest in Canadian history.
The munitions ship explosion is not "one of the great explosions," it is an historical fact that it was, and still is, the most powerful manmade explosion up until the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. So you could describe it as the greatest non-nuclear explosion that mankind has experienced (it was an accident after all). I'm not being picky nor am I criticising. I love your videos! I'm just interested in the accuracy of the language used. And keep on making vids! Thanks! 😎
i have heard that the captain of the imo was a real piece of .... he was short tempered and refused to pay a worker after maintenance was done on the ship before the Halifax trip. he had marshals chasing after the imo after it left Philadelphia.
My great Aunt was orphan during the explosion, her mother died in the explosion and her father was at war. My great grandmother was on the train when it stopped in Truro. She was pregnant with my great grand uncle. Many years later they met and got married.
You make some great videos.. Keep going! Informative, enlightening, and your reactions and commentary are very relatable. As a Saskatchewanian, I'd love to see some Prairie commentary. As a suggestion, you should probably check out Canada's only armed insurrection, the Riel Rebellion. Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont are heroes to many, yet they're historically perceived the villains. There's lots of videos out there..
Thank you for this. It is .... amazing to watch you, watch (and learn about) us. As I Canadian, I am learning through your eyes (as-it-were). Again, Thank you. On a side note; My Grandfather was raised 50 km inland from Halifax and told us tales about how the shock wave(s?) from the explosion rattled windows and even knocked a few things off shelves in their home.
As a Halifax native and naval sailor, the Halifax explosion is still a huge lesson on signaling, clear comms, and maneuvering. To this day the area in the harbour known as the narrows is only for on ship at a time. Disney even made a USN (United States Navy) film about it in the 40s. It wasn’t just one of the largest non nuclear explosions. It remains the largest non nuclear man made explosion.
If I have the family history right, my great grandmother was one of the 300 people on the train heading into Halifax that Coleman stopped. My grandmother was born 7 years later. She wouldn't have been if it weren't for him.
I’m from Halifax and there’s actually a movie about the Halifax explosion called shattered city that my mom dad and sister were in (they spelled my sisters name wrong in the credits but that’s fine) it’s really cool to see the things in the museums regarding it. Apparently my great grandmother was in Newfoundland during and felt her windows shake that’s how insane the reverberations were 😱😱
One of my grandfathers was in the Navy on the Nanaimo in Halifax at the time of the explosion. One grandmother was living with her family in Dartmouth they tore up the floors to cover their shattered windows, my second grandmother had arrived in Halifax from UK (she married my second grandfather in England and he was part of the Canadian Army in Europe, she was joining his family in PEI with their oldest son) so 3/4 of my heritage were there during the explosion and it's aftermath and all survived - my navy grandfather's shipmates rowed towards the Mont Blanc to assist (he was offduty and in his bunk onboard) when the collision first occurred - they were lost in the explosion.
I don't know if this is touched on in this video, I am half way through. Halifax always sends a huge Christmas tree to Boston every year for their help. Edit: Ok, it is touched on, nice! Oh Nova Scotia means New Scotland in Latin.
If you're ever in Halifax, I recommend a visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. There's an exhibit about the Halifax Explosion (and another excellent one about the Titanic). One of the most touching displays is the contents of a young boy's pockets. He was a victim of the explosion and seeing the pencil stubs and other bits and pieces he was carrying put a human face on the tragedy for me. That and the fact that the north clock face at city hall is permanently stopped at 9:04:35 - the moment the Mont Blanc exploded.
My grandfather remembered that after the Explosion, he found his best friend's bicycle in a tree, but never saw his friend again. My family still lives in Halifax in the north end, in a house rebuilt after the Explosion. My grandfathers family lost everything and many neighbours too. My father remembered growing up with so many blinded moms and dads among his friends parents. He also recalled the panic in the North End in WW2 when a convoy ship caught fire in Bedford Basin. My family ran, and my grandfather shouted for everyone to get away from the windows, remembering the blast effects from years before. By the way, in the '70's, my father and I were Boston Bruin fans, and my Dad explained that my family had all become fans of anything from Boston after the help offered. My grandfather was always glad to get a coat from the train from Boston, because the snow had fallen and picking through the wreckage was cold work.
Insurance companies probably said "you have FIRE INSURANCE" but not "exploding boat damage insurance" so you are not covered, Read the "fine print" Insurance always cover their tail,
this video underscores the reality that in many "major" accidents, there is often a series of unintentional but interlinked events that serve to intensify the final combustion! I think of the Titanic and all the mis-steps ... from no deck chairs, to no rehearsal for using lifeboats; no training on wearing life jackets; angling the ship in the wrong direction so that it scraped the iceberg sideways thus opening more spaces for water to rush in ... etc. etc. etc.
It is called the Swiss Cheese model. When a series of holes (small events that might not be a problem most of time) line up and creates a huge disaster. Sort of the reverse of “For want of a nail the war/battle was lost.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheese_model Maui’s current disaster in Lahaina looks to be shaping up to be a Swiss Cheese disaster.
I was born in Halifax and have lived in the area off and on most of my life. Nova Scotians have been through a lot. We've been blown up, blown over and buried and we still keep kindness in our hearts and smiles on our faces. The Halifax Explosion is an important part of our history here. Although we completely recovered from it, you can still see evidence of the explosion in Halifax and Dartmouth if you know where to look. All the kids here learn about the Halifax Explosion in school and the tree donation to Boston is actually a big thing here. A committee selects one of our nicest trees and it is considered an honour to have a tree on your property chosen to donate to Boston. If the same thing were to happen now, the death toll would be unimaginable. The population is bigger than mentioned in the video. They might have excluded Dartmouth which now falls under the Halifax Regional Municipality. There was a Native community in Dartmouth wiped out of existence in Tufts Cove near the narrows where the explosion occurred. Now that whole area is filled with apartment buildings with balcony views of the Harbour on both sides of the Harbour. There is also a large power plant there now that uses oil and natural gas which likely would compound the problem. Not only would it blowing up cause damage, many Nova Scotians rely on the power that plant generates. That Harbour is one of the most important harbours on the East Coast being both a major shipping and naval port. The impact now would be felt in the US too as some of their imports travel through that Harbour. We did have a scare when I was living in the narrows when a shipping container fell dropping 4 containers of uranium but fortunately the containers never leaked. It was scary while the area was in lockdown waiting for experts to examine the containers for leaks. The Halifax Explosion leaped to all our minds. I know I stayed away from my windows until the issue was resolved.
Nova Scotia has much tragic history, from the ethnic cleansing of the Acadians to the Scalping Proclamation to being forced into Confederation. It took a generation for the richest colony to become a have-not province. 7 wars, 11 battles, The SS Atlantic, the Titanic, Swiss Air. The mining disasters. 5000 boats lost to the sea. Everywhere Memorials. The massacre.
Another reason Boston was so quick to respond is due to the fact that many Atantic Canadians at that time had close relatives living there. My maternal grandmother's sister had moved from rural Newfoundland to Boston, as an example. Back then, cross border migration was not as much of an issue as it is today.
yes, starting 1943, U-boat sank 23 merchant and naval boat all the way up the st-lawrence river . Some were event report near Ottawa. It is called '' The battle of the St. Lawrence''
You may remember the ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut a few years ago. It reminded me a lot of the Halifax Explosion and I think that it can help us try to imagine what it may have been like, though it was at a smaller scale.
I am learning about my own country by watching your videos. I knew about the Halifax explosion but had forgotten how it had happened. I remember learning about the heroics of Coleman however. Thank you.
I voted for one of the ferries to be named after him. They should make a clock/statue for him. We got statues of Robbie Burns and Walter Scott but none for V.C.!
Not knowing about this tragedy, or any other, isn't anything to be ashamed of. There's only so much anyone can know, and a lot of important issues in this world. On another note, I absolutely love Fascinating Horror. He is as thorough as possible, in such short videos, respectful, and professional. He advertises as not sensationalizing tragities, and follows through on that promise. These stories are sensational enough without. His style is totally unbiased, I've never heard him give an opinion on a tragedy itself, he sticks to facts, and includes opinions of those involved. He always gives credit to those who deserve it, and will give opinions on them, like they 'deserve recognition,' or their actions are 'commendable.' Opinions are good for some kinds of videos, but too many can really take away from others. This video is a perfect example of both kinds, done well. He is also mindful of the potential consequences of telling these stories to so many. There's one video, about a fire in a hotel, where those in charge were beyond negligent. He mentioned at the end that the new hotel, built in it's place, was owned by different people, and was known for going farther than legally required when it came to fire safety.
There is a short documentary on a channel called Brick and mortar. They go way more in-depth on the lead up to and the characters on the ships. The captain on the emo was a real piece of shite.
I was given a book that inspired me to write a song called " The Imo " it's on my You tube channel under Steve Higney. Very difficult song to write . I've lived in Nova Scotia my whole life and have viewed this harbour a thousand times. Still love it here and always will.
"When the World Fell Silent" is an excellent historical fiction book set in Halifax at the time of the explosion. The story describes the event and the aftermath from the perspective of two women. Written by Donna Jones Alward. Published in 2024. Highly recommended reading.
When I was in Elementary School, we had Canadian Readers (School History Books) that had the story of the Halifax Explosion in it. This was back in the 1960's, around 1963 or so.
fun fact, in the wake of the explosion, the city of Boston was instrumental with the assistance offered to Halifax to aid its recovery, As a result, since the mid 1900s, Boston receives a huge Christmas tree that displays in the Boston Common. Canadians always show their thanks!
A great video you may want to watch is about how, during the 9-11 attacks on the US, all the planes diverted to Canada were looked after by Canadians, housed fed and nurtured. It's a very heartwarming story during a horrendous event. It was back east in the town of Gander.
Heritage minutes and the TV show Canada a people's history, were made by the CBC. The HM's were done as commercials which I remember watching as a child. I'd like to know who came up with the Canadian house hippo.
My great grandmother was a young girl in 1917. Her entire family went down to the harbour to watch the burning ship. When the explosion happened, the force threw her into the harbour. She luckily was rescued, but the rest of her family perished.
I'm new to you're channel and like what I see so far. Everything you have done so far seems to be a collection of facts and trivia but if you really want to know what Canada is like as a people and as a culture you need to see a documentary on RUclips called "long time running" about a rock band known as the tragically hip. You really need to see this documentary to understand what it is to be Canadian.... Please, please look it up.
I had the privilege of finally getting to visit Halifax during the summer last year, and it was an incredible place. Did the water hopper tour and they did a good 20 minutes on the explosion. I then checked out museum right by the water and went into more detail.
Wow an amazing account of heroism and quick thinking on behalf of the dispatcher. A not so great end to these boats however. As a Canadian from Alberta, this is the first time I have heard of this incident. I am so sorry I didn't know more about it. Call it a poor attention in school to cut from the curriculum. Either way I was truly missing out. I thank you for educating me on this part of Canadian history that should have never been forgotten.
We was help to rebuild Halifax by Boston Massachusetts USA in every year around Christmas time we find the biggest Christmas tree and we send it to Boston and they put it up in the centre of Boston for us to say thank you for helping us during the Halifax explosion
There's still pieces of the Monte Blanc scattered around the city and embedded in buildings, preserved as memorials and heritage sites. Another famous disaster Halifax has ties to is the sinking of the Titanic. Many of the survivors, and the dead, ended up here. There's a Titanic graveyard in the city.
I live in Halifax. This is an important part of our history in Noca Scotia. With museums and memorials. It's amazing It's now the largest of all the Atlantic province's cities.
As a Hong Kong immigrant to Canada, the heritage minute i fancy is the one about Canadian troops in HK. A Canadian unit was the only British manpower in HK during the Japanese invasion and those boys fought like hell, outnumbered 100 to 1.
Thanks Tim. I will look into that. Hope you and your family are well and happy.
Thank you Mackenzie King.
Thanks for doing this video. It has a personal meaning to me. My family was affected by the explosion and many lives lost. However, there is one positive story I can tell. My great-grandmother, living in in Tufts Cove in Dartmouth, was outside watching the ship burn, while holding her five week old baby(my grandmother). A man came running up the hill, screaming in French. My great-grandmother didn't understand French, so she just ignored him. The man (who turned out to be one of the crew of the Mont Blanc) grabbed the baby and ran. My great-grandmother, of course, ran after him thinking he was stealing her baby. Well, that act probably saved her and the baby because when the ship blew, the spot that she'd been standing at had considerable damage.
Wow.
Just a few years ago the city named our new Halifax/Dartmouth Ferry The Vincent Coleman. He and the explosion are not forgotten. Can hear the harbour horns blowing every Dec 6 9:05 AM if you’re in the city’s North End. 💕
Has similar effect, yet much smaller, of a nuclear bomb 😢😢😢.
As a Nova Scotian I thank you for taking such interest in our history
The people of “New Scotland “ are a hearty bunch but this was a low spot in our history
Really enjoying your reaction videos Thank you !
My Dad lost an uncle and cousin in the explosion. My son, named for my Dad was born on December 6th. They lived on Gottingen St. It's an important part of our history. I live in Dartmouth and there are pieces of the ships still here, roped off with plaques.
I did not know that where are they located??
My grampy went to help. My mom wasn't born yet
One of the animated short films nominated for an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards was the film "The Flying Sailor". It depicts the true story, and experience, of a sailor who was flung into the air by the explosion, blown 2km away, and lived to tell. As he flies through the air, the force and destruction of the explosion that levelled so much of the city is depicted beneath him. You can find it online by looking for "The Flying Sailor". A beautiful little film, deserving of accolades, and well worth watching.
Halifax is also where so many of the recovered victims of the Titanic were buried. The Maritime Museum there (not all that far from where the two transport ships collided) has some relics of the Titanic. The children's shoes are sure to bring a tear.
Where can you find the "Flying Sailor?" I want to watch this
@@timsinkovitz Just search for it here on RUclips by title. It's just under 8 minutes.
I'd recommend looking into the story of Vimy Ridge, as well as Valour Road. Two stories from WW1 that are definitive moments for our country.
I really appreciate the interest and respect you have for Canada, thank you!
Those are two excellent Heritage Minutes.
The halifax explosion is a perfect example of the phrase "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" it was a combination of many mistakes by multiple people, that ultimately ended up in catastrophe.
Hope everyone is taking care.
Don’t be ashamed of not knowing these things before. It’s fantastic that you’re interested and learning now. Others watching your videos will be learning about this for the first time too! When you finally get here, you may end up being a better educated tourist/traveller, than many of the locals you run into while here!!
Great review.
I have to apologize to my fellow Canadians in Nova Scotia, I'm embarrassed to say that although I had heard of the Halifax explosion in school I didn't know the details or the magnitude of this horrific event.
As for Vince Coleman I'd like to think he is an example of the kind of person we (myself included) should all strive to be.
I didn't know to this level of detail
The explosion was so great the floor of the harbour was exposed. There are reminders all over the city of the explosion. It's really quite amazing. Guns and anchors that were thrown from the ships in the harbour still rest where they landed over a hundred years ago. I live in Halifax and I can say that most people here are aware of it but I don't know about the rest of the country. They should be but sadly I feel they are mostly not.
We were not taught about it in school. I knew about it because I had read the novel Barometer Rising by Hugh MacLennan.
Heritage Minutes! I'm flashing back to childhood. :). Fun fact:I lived in Halifax, in a place that was "scooped out" of the rock by that explosion. Another fun fact: we do use "beep be beep beep STOP THE TRAIN" in conversation (for people of a Certain Age) to refer to something someone is going to do that's a bad idea.
My Grandmother was there that day but luckily left town a few minutes before the explosion. she ended up unofficially adopting the son of a friend who wasn't so lucky.
I lived in Nova Scotia from the ages of 7-13 and I remember learning about this in school but I am ashamed to say that no mention was made of the snowstorm or how help couldn't get in or of Vince Coleman. The only time ever learning about Vince Coleman was through the Heritage minutes. He truly was an inspiring man and a true hero
Great reaction !! We have heros that you can get behind, they didn't win wars or kill lots of people, they saved lives, and gave themselves in the process. Terry Fox, Vince Coleman, the doctors who developed and gave away insulin, etc. My personal all time is Terry Fox, so young, so brave, so humble.
There are longer and much more in depth videos available that explain what and why the Mont Blanc had the cargo it was carrying and who the captains were and their characters. It was a tragedy that could have easily been avoided.
It is a real joy to watch your videos and that of others who are learning about Canada and reminding us of these historical moments. Thank you.
in hindsight, most human-made tragedies could be avoided; we do tend to see more clearly after the event, but never before the event.
We learn about Vince Coleman in school obviously. When I was a child listening I always thought I would do the same. But as an adult with children of my own. Would I really be able to conduct myself in that manner. I would like to think so. But am I 100% sure? No I am not. Doing the right thing would be hard in that situation. That's what makes him a real hero. When it really mattered and he knew he would die he did the right thing.
RIP Vince Coleman
The crew of the Mont-Blanc came across a native woman and her baby and told her to run. When she didn’t move, one of them grabbed her baby and run for the hills. Her and her baby were the only two people they were able to save.
Both a cannon and an anchor from the Mont-Blanc were found far away from the explosion and have been made into memorials. Both were warped by the heat.
Technically they saved the people on the train too, since it was a member of the Mont Blanc crew who informed Vincent Coleman of the danger.
I learned about the Halifax explosion as a kid from that Heritage Minute. I'm in Ontario, far from Nova Scotia, but dangit, just hearing Vince Coleman's name makes me cry every time. What a hero!
I grew up in New Brunswick, about 2 hours from Halifax. This was one of the two historical moments from the east coast provinces that was emphasized on in many history class in my schooling. There’s no one from across Canada from my generation at least that has seen the heritage moment commercial. When my stepdaughter was in grade 8/9, this was mentioned so she asked me about it. I showed her the commercial as a general knowledge of the explosion and a few years later, going home to NB to visit family, I took her down to Halifax since she was still curious about it.
My Nanny was born in 1905 and raised me. She had her ear sliced off by the door she was holding open at her Catholic school. Lived in the North End of Halifax. She always showed me the places that the wounded and dead were taken to. Big snow storm hit right after. All those WWI soldiers coming home too. Oh the stories! The anchor that was blown off one of the ships (can’t remember which) is in Fort Needham Park. I always honour that day in honour of her. Boston gets a huge and beautiful Christmas tree every year from the land of selected families in Nova Scotia. In thanks for their help during those dark days. There are so many fascinating stories about all of our provinces. Thank you for telling their stories. 😊
My family has been in Halifax for generations. My grandfather was 2 years old when the Halifax Explosion happened. His mother was looking out the window at the explosion and he screamed and pulled her attention right before the explosion happened, and if he hadn't she would have been blinded by the glass blowing out into her face
Canadian Author, Hugh MacLennan wrote 'Barometer Rising" if you're looking for insight into the 1917 explosion, this is a good source.
My grandfather, then 17, was a deck hand on a tugboat in the harbour. According to his telling, the tug captain was a real mean, unfair boss, and uncharacteristically, my granddad decided to quit his job and sleep-in that morning. When the explosion hit, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his socks. The North End house split in two at that moment, and a framed portrait crashed over his shoulders... his only injury being the glass embedded in his shoulders, which took decades to emerge.
I'm so happy to found you. Thank you for your interest in my country and for sharing in film and words about Nova Scotia, and the Halifax Explosion.
I was born and raised in Halifax and still live in our Lovely City, and Provience.
With regards to the Halifax Explosion. My Sister-in-laws grandmother and infant Son where lost in the Halifax explosion... They were tragically and, sadly, taken out to Sea, with the tsunami.
I look forward to you posting, learning more about the culture, of Halifax, Cape Breton Island, ...all of Nova Scotia. I am sure you will be delighted.
Thank you again. Cheers from Halifax. ❤
I learned about this first as a teenager reading Hugh McLennan's novel ,Barometer Rising. As a woman history is way more interesting when I learn it through human impact and testimony and drama, and search for the details later. This was me in the 1970's so I went to my Mom, not google, and she filled me in, but not with this detail of physical cause. She knew what a human disaster it was.
I learned about it through that novel too.
I donate to CNIB monthly because of this. Seeing eye dogs.
As child I saw the Vince Coleman Heritage minute .
Many stories came out of that terrible disaster. Several years ago I saw a video on one of the commemorative services. They interviewed a lady , over one hundred years old. She had been a baby when the explosion occurred. She was thrown from her crib, and her crib landed on her. Her house caught fire. Relatives rescued her. She suffered spinal injuries, which delayed her ability to walk for over a year.
I mentioned it on the relevant Heritage Minutes video before I saw this but, in case you or anyone else wants even more detail, Maritime Horror (sort of a maritime-oriented counterpart to Fascinating Horror, which generally focuses more on disasters on land, has a 35-minute video on this named "The Halifax Disaster".)
If anyone wants more in this vein, Plainly Difficult and Brick Immortar are also good channels in the same vein as Fascinating Horror and Maritime Horror. (If I remember correctly, Brick Immortar is run by an actual engineer, and Maritime Horror is by an actual mariner.)
FH is one of the best RUclipsrs!! Go down that rabbit hole and suddenly see danger everywhere!! LOL welcome! XooX
I love Heritage moments it helps everyone to learn about our history for those who do not know about it and for others it refresh our memories.
Canadians have a history of helping out in times of disaster. In 1987, there was an unprecedented tornado in Edmonton,Alberta, referred to as black Friday. The next day, volunteers were collecting donations in the parking lot of the football stadium. The GM of the team was unloading/loading donations despite the fact there was a game that night.
My favourite heritage minutes are The Medium is the Message (Marshall McLuhan) and Jacques Plante.
December 12th 1952, in chalk river, Ontario, the first ever nuclear reactor incident, a tragic as it is a heroing story of two countries (Canada and the United States) working together to prevent a massive disaster
i grew up in Dartmouth, but my Grandparents and mother lived about a block away from that memorial. As a child I played in that park (before the memorial was there). The park is located less than a block from the Hydrostone section of the city. Down the hill a few blocks is the waterfront where it all happened, and where Vincent lived (now named Vincent St) It's a big part of our taught history as school children. My grandfather, who was a sailor/captain was reportedly one of the ships that arrived in Halifax the next day. BTW, some of the methods and procedures used for disaster documentation were learned from our city's part in the Titanic recovery....5 short years earlier. There is now a boat, one of the harbour ferries that run daily between Halifax and Dartmouth, named after Vincent Coleman.
as a canadian, i never heard of vince coleman or halifax explosion until they made the heritage minutes. he and it were not mentioned in any history classes we had from qst to 10th grade, when we could stop taking history.
dont know is all school systems ignored this but we barely learned anything about canadian involvment in either world war.
The extent of my school's WWI coverage was: the Schlieffen Plan, the formation of the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance and The treaty of Versailles. So basically the cause and the aftermath, while ignoring the war itself.
@@Kieop mine was :"WW2 happened. Germanyvteamed withvJapan and Italy. Eveeyone almost immediately forgave Italy but hated Germany and Jspan for decades. "
A separated addendum to my other comment. If you haven't already watched it, I'd highly recommend Brick Immortar's videos "Ego in Engineering: The Quebec Bridge Collapse", and the 2.5 minute "Born From Collapse?: Canada's Iron Ring & The Quebec Bridge Disaster" sequel. It's not just about a piece of Canadian history, but also about the origin of a tradition in how we train and certify structural engineers.
Unfortunely, not every disaster has lead to positive changes, and the best example of this is the Lac Mégantic train disaster. It was promised that safety standards would increased and that railroads passing through towns would be deviated on the periphery never happened and this essentially due to railroads belonging to private companies that don't give a flying crap about investments in safety. This is why the incident took place in the first place - shody repairs to a locomotive because they didn't want it to just sit there and not make profit for them.
What's going on in Lahaina also reminds me of Lac Megantic. Instead of helping the people affected by the disaster, the emphasis was on attracting developpers. People who didn't even suffer damage to their homes were expropriated. the difference is that Lac Megantic never did attract those developpers/foreign investors.
Just recently found you in recommended I’m really enjoying how heartfelt you are to honouring those passed.
This reminds me of the Lac Mégantic tragedy.
You should cover that event next! Unbelievable
Fascinating Horror has done a video about Lac Megantic as well.
People always mention Boston and what they did to help, which is great but they neglect to mention that ofcoruse the first aid to reach the city were from towns in New Brunswick and other Nova Scotian towns. And also that the trains coming from these towns had a hard time getting supplies in because the tracks had been obliterated at many points me the trains could only go so far. Also fire brigades that come to help out Halifax had immense trouble igniting the fires because their hoses were incompatible with the gage of Pipes that Halifax used. Also hello from Halifax/Dartmouth. We learned about this in school. Its innevery Canadian History textbook probably and when they teach of ww1 and canadas involvement it makes sense to bring it up. Im not sure to what extent the rest if canada learns about it, but they definitely do. I have been enjoying your videos and I've noticed that lots and lots of people for whatever reason in the last 6 months have started to react to more Canadian history and content. It's a nice change from everyone being obsessed with learning about the USA on RUclips and not caring a lick about what goes on above the Border. I have a video reccomendation that you would enjoy a lot. It's the Ice storm of 1998 in Montreal. It was a horrible and destructive, scary ice storm. It Turn Montreal into an Ice Sickle and cost the government like a billion dollars or something(maybe more) it was bad but very interesting
Uh….I hope you mean extinguish the fires otherwise I need to re learn about this disaster lol
Originally from Nova Scotia now living in Vancouver British Columbia. Worked in Halifax when I was young and met a gentleman who was an ace mechanic but was blinded is a child watching from the living room. The last thing he ever saw was the explosion. But what amazes me more is your presentation of the situation. You a young person from another continent caring so much about the situation of the people a hundred years before. You are amazing as well and I appreciate you. Have a wonderful day and take good care. We need more like you.
I remember when I was in the Canadian Navy that the barber I went to had a picture on the wall of that barber shop surrounded by destroyed buildings and I asked what happened. That's when I heard the story of the Halifax explosion for the first time. Great channel love it.
You are educating Canadians too. The country is so big, and there's so much history that we can't know about it all and in such depth. Thank you so much.
Vince Coleman is a relative on me mom's side and my father's family home had the roof blown off (his parents both lived on the same street and were maybe toddlers at the time. I've lived here all my life and I'm still learning new things about the explosion every year.
Fucking huge respect to vincent 🫡
I live on the Dartmouth side of Halifax, right top side of the narrows. I drive past a piece of a cannon that was launched from the explosion up on Chapelle street (I think that's the name). It runs parallel to Albro lake road. It blows my mind every time I look at it. My GrandFather left from Halifax some years later to fight in France in WW2.
Consider looking into the sinking of The Empress of Ireland. A huge Canadian maritime disaster too often overlooked.
FH and Martime Horrors have both done videos on the Empress of Ireland.
I remember this story on the "Part of our Heritage" commercials as a kid and then again in history class in school. Thanks for doing these videos so we can remember all these important parts of our history!
I can’t wait for more heritage moments, please do more. There are so many I haven’t seen in years. Makes me very proud to see them again. 🇨🇦 ❤
This is the first video that I have learned more details about it. We always knew of it and learned about it in school, but I never actually heard of what ships were all coming and leaving. Interesting
My grandmother was only 6.5 years old at the time. She was in school in Canso, about 120 miles away, and all the windows in her school broke.
Something I did not hear mentioned is that the harbour also had a deep furlough created, which deepened the passage by about 132 feet, making it the deepest harbour along the east coast of North America.
You might find a couple of books interesting. One is a historical novel called ‘Barometers Rising’, written by Hugh MacLennan. The second is called ‘Shattered City’ written by historian Janet F. Kitz. There is also a movie version of that book.
I did an east coast road trip last summer. Halifax was probably my favourite stop on the trip. The Harbour Hopper tour was amazing.
Part of the Mont Blanc’s anchor landed in Halifax. It was left where it landed and is a memorial to the those that died.
The ship’s gun mentioned landed in Dartmouth, it is also a memorial where is landed.
There is a story of a Mont Blanc sailor, who didn’t speak English, as it was a Norwegian ship with a Norwegian crew which hampered their ability to tell people to run. This sailor, while running, wanted to get people to run away with him. So as he ran past a family, he snatched a baby out of its mother’s arms and kept running. Obviously they did exactly what he wanted them to do and chased him away from the burning ship. The family and others who gave chase to a sailor that had snatched a baby, they survived.
My family is from Nova Scotia and my brother and his wife live in Halifax as well as many other family members. I recently returned to Halifax for my Aunts funeral and stayed with my brother. He and his wife live beside the large cemetery in Halifax and we took a good couple of hours visiting it. Many of the people in there are from the explosion including the hero Coleman. Also here are those that lost their lives on the Titanic. Another way to see history. Such a very very sad time in history. We need to know and remember for those that lost their lives and so much more. We have many many great people in this country. There are so many places to visit in Halifax, that has so much information and history. We visited Pier 21 where my husbands mother arrived from England as a war bride, we were able to get so much information. Well worth a visit for anyone interested in our history and their part in it. I really enjoy your videos and have learned from them, even being a Canadian. My MIL was from York England. I love the UK as well.
My mother told me that her father, my grandfather was working on a ship that was in the harbour at the time of the explosion. He was not injured and I am sure helped with rescue efforts along side others members of the military.
Two other videos you might want to react to are Operation Yellow Ribbon and Gander's Ripple Effect. The 1st is a report about Newfoundland's part in the aftermath of 911. Gander's Ripple Effect is about that too but it's more about the creation of "Come From Away" the Canadian Broadway Musical. Yes it contains info about 911 but it actually is more about a small town helping 7000 stranded airplane passengers. It's an incredible to story of the generous nature of Canadian Newfoundlanders.
I love the documentary You Are Here: A Come From Away Story.
Even when the dark side of our nature is terrorizing us, the beautiful, loving side of humanity can shine through.
If aliens wanted to eliminate us because of the tremendous evil we are capable of, and inflict on each other, i would show them that film.
My great grandfather was a sheet metal worker and was in the hull of a ship during the explosion. He was was knocked unconscious and came to on the other side of the ship.
My grandfather was in 9th grade and was at school. He was on the second floor at the time of the explosion and has no memory of how he got to the ground. He lost his jacket and ran home; that was the last day he ever went to school. The family home was in the “Dutch Village” area and protected by a hill between them and the narrows.
My grandmother was approximately 100km away where she lived outside Truro, windows in her home broke and they felt the ground shaking.
My family was fortunate to have not lost anyone on that day
Thank you for your very respectful video, I live in Dartmouth and at the start of my street is the actual cannon that was blown off the ship and the spot it landed. It is now part of a monument and each year people gather to honour the dead. I truly appreciate your interest in Canadian history.
The munitions ship explosion is not "one of the great explosions," it is an historical fact that it was, and still is, the most powerful manmade explosion up until the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. So you could describe it as the greatest non-nuclear explosion that mankind has experienced (it was an accident after all).
I'm not being picky nor am I criticising. I love your videos! I'm just interested in the accuracy of the language used.
And keep on making vids! Thanks! 😎
thank you for bringing this story to life again, we should never forget the Halifax Explosion, remember the past and look to the future.
i have heard that the captain of the imo was a real piece of .... he was short tempered and refused to pay a worker after maintenance was done on the ship before the Halifax trip. he had marshals chasing after the imo after it left Philadelphia.
My great Aunt was orphan during the explosion, her mother died in the explosion and her father was at war. My great grandmother was on the train when it stopped in Truro. She was pregnant with my great grand uncle. Many years later they met and got married.
You make some great videos.. Keep going! Informative, enlightening, and your reactions and commentary are very relatable. As a Saskatchewanian, I'd love to see some Prairie commentary. As a suggestion, you should probably check out Canada's only armed insurrection, the Riel Rebellion. Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont are heroes to many, yet they're historically perceived the villains. There's lots of videos out there..
Thank you for this. It is .... amazing to watch you, watch (and learn about) us. As I Canadian, I am learning through your eyes (as-it-were). Again, Thank you.
On a side note; My Grandfather was raised 50 km inland from Halifax and told us tales about how the shock wave(s?) from the explosion rattled windows and even knocked a few things off shelves in their home.
As a Halifax native and naval sailor, the Halifax explosion is still a huge lesson on signaling, clear comms, and maneuvering. To this day the area in the harbour known as the narrows is only for on ship at a time. Disney even made a USN (United States Navy) film about it in the 40s. It wasn’t just one of the largest non nuclear explosions. It remains the largest non nuclear man made explosion.
Hey just want to say i really like your videos! As a Canadian i have actually learned a lot watching you learn our history lol!
If I have the family history right, my great grandmother was one of the 300 people on the train heading into Halifax that Coleman stopped. My grandmother was born 7 years later. She wouldn't have been if it weren't for him.
I’m from Halifax and there’s actually a movie about the Halifax explosion called shattered city that my mom dad and sister were in (they spelled my sisters name wrong in the credits but that’s fine) it’s really cool to see the things in the museums regarding it. Apparently my great grandmother was in Newfoundland during and felt her windows shake that’s how insane the reverberations were 😱😱
Rich culture and heritage Thank you for reviving these gems❤
You asked for more Heritage minute suggestions one would why the name of Pine Street in Winnipeg was changed to Valour Road. They are all good to see.
One of my grandfathers was in the Navy on the Nanaimo in Halifax at the time of the explosion. One grandmother was living with her family in Dartmouth they tore up the floors to cover their shattered windows, my second grandmother had arrived in Halifax from UK (she married my second grandfather in England and he was part of the Canadian Army in Europe, she was joining his family in PEI with their oldest son) so 3/4 of my heritage were there during the explosion and it's aftermath and all survived - my navy grandfather's shipmates rowed towards the Mont Blanc to assist (he was offduty and in his bunk onboard) when the collision first occurred - they were lost in the explosion.
I don't know if this is touched on in this video, I am half way through. Halifax always sends a huge Christmas tree to Boston every year for their help.
Edit: Ok, it is touched on, nice! Oh Nova Scotia means New Scotland in Latin.
If you're ever in Halifax, I recommend a visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. There's an exhibit about the Halifax Explosion (and another excellent one about the Titanic). One of the most touching displays is the contents of a young boy's pockets. He was a victim of the explosion and seeing the pencil stubs and other bits and pieces he was carrying put a human face on the tragedy for me. That and the fact that the north clock face at city hall is permanently stopped at 9:04:35 - the moment the Mont Blanc exploded.
My grandfather remembered that after the Explosion, he found his best friend's bicycle in a tree, but never saw his friend again. My family still lives in Halifax in the north end, in a house rebuilt after the Explosion. My grandfathers family lost everything and many neighbours too. My father remembered growing up with so many blinded moms and dads among his friends parents. He also recalled the panic in the North End in WW2 when a convoy ship caught fire in Bedford Basin. My family ran, and my grandfather shouted for everyone to get away from the windows, remembering the blast effects from years before. By the way, in the '70's, my father and I were Boston Bruin fans, and my Dad explained that my family had all become fans of anything from Boston after the help offered. My grandfather was always glad to get a coat from the train from Boston, because the snow had fallen and picking through the wreckage was cold work.
Insurance companies probably said "you have FIRE INSURANCE" but not "exploding boat damage insurance" so you are not covered, Read the "fine print" Insurance always cover their tail,
this video underscores the reality that in many "major" accidents, there is often a series of unintentional but interlinked events that serve to intensify the final combustion! I think of the Titanic and all the mis-steps ... from no deck chairs, to no rehearsal for using lifeboats; no training on wearing life jackets; angling the ship in the wrong direction so that it scraped the iceberg sideways thus opening more spaces for water to rush in ... etc. etc. etc.
It is called the Swiss Cheese model. When a series of holes (small events that might not be a problem most of time) line up and creates a huge disaster. Sort of the reverse of “For want of a nail the war/battle was lost.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheese_model
Maui’s current disaster in Lahaina looks to be shaping up to be a Swiss Cheese disaster.
I was born in Halifax and have lived in the area off and on most of my life. Nova Scotians have been through a lot. We've been blown up, blown over and buried and we still keep kindness in our hearts and smiles on our faces. The Halifax Explosion is an important part of our history here. Although we completely recovered from it, you can still see evidence of the explosion in Halifax and Dartmouth if you know where to look. All the kids here learn about the Halifax Explosion in school and the tree donation to Boston is actually a big thing here. A committee selects one of our nicest trees and it is considered an honour to have a tree on your property chosen to donate to Boston.
If the same thing were to happen now, the death toll would be unimaginable. The population is bigger than mentioned in the video. They might have excluded Dartmouth which now falls under the Halifax Regional Municipality. There was a Native community in Dartmouth wiped out of existence in Tufts Cove near the narrows where the explosion occurred. Now that whole area is filled with apartment buildings with balcony views of the Harbour on both sides of the Harbour. There is also a large power plant there now that uses oil and natural gas which likely would compound the problem. Not only would it blowing up cause damage, many Nova Scotians rely on the power that plant generates.
That Harbour is one of the most important harbours on the East Coast being both a major shipping and naval port. The impact now would be felt in the US too as some of their imports travel through that Harbour. We did have a scare when I was living in the narrows when a shipping container fell dropping 4 containers of uranium but fortunately the containers never leaked. It was scary while the area was in lockdown waiting for experts to examine the containers for leaks. The Halifax Explosion leaped to all our minds. I know I stayed away from my windows until the issue was resolved.
Nova Scotia has much tragic history, from the ethnic cleansing of the Acadians to the Scalping Proclamation to being forced into Confederation. It took a generation for the richest colony to become a have-not province. 7 wars, 11 battles, The SS Atlantic, the Titanic, Swiss Air. The mining disasters. 5000 boats lost to the sea. Everywhere Memorials. The massacre.
Another reason Boston was so quick to respond is due to the fact that many Atantic Canadians at that time had close relatives living there. My maternal grandmother's sister had moved from rural Newfoundland to Boston, as an example. Back then, cross border migration was not as much of an issue as it is today.
The Boston States. We’d always went there, not Ontario or Alberta. Laws changed.
yes, starting 1943, U-boat sank 23 merchant and naval boat all the way up the st-lawrence river . Some were event report near Ottawa. It is called '' The battle of the St. Lawrence''
You may remember the ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut a few years ago. It reminded me a lot of the Halifax Explosion and I think that it can help us try to imagine what it may have been like, though it was at a smaller scale.
I am learning about my own country by watching your videos. I knew about the
Halifax explosion but had forgotten how it had happened. I remember learning about the heroics of Coleman however. Thank you.
I voted for one of the ferries to be named after him. They should make a clock/statue for him.
We got statues of Robbie Burns and Walter Scott but none for V.C.!
He should be on our money. The courage.
My Dad was a young boy in Antigonish about 220 Km away and remembered hearing a loud noise at the rime.
Not knowing about this tragedy, or any other, isn't anything to be ashamed of. There's only so much anyone can know, and a lot of important issues in this world.
On another note, I absolutely love Fascinating Horror. He is as thorough as possible, in such short videos, respectful, and professional. He advertises as not sensationalizing tragities, and follows through on that promise. These stories are sensational enough without. His style is totally unbiased, I've never heard him give an opinion on a tragedy itself, he sticks to facts, and includes opinions of those involved. He always gives credit to those who deserve it, and will give opinions on them, like they 'deserve recognition,' or their actions are 'commendable.'
Opinions are good for some kinds of videos, but too many can really take away from others. This video is a perfect example of both kinds, done well.
He is also mindful of the potential consequences of telling these stories to so many. There's one video, about a fire in a hotel, where those in charge were beyond negligent. He mentioned at the end that the new hotel, built in it's place, was owned by different people, and was known for going farther than legally required when it came to fire safety.
There is a short documentary on a channel called Brick and mortar. They go way more in-depth on the lead up to and the characters on the ships. The captain on the emo was a real piece of shite.
I was given a book that inspired me to write a song called " The Imo " it's on my You tube channel under Steve Higney. Very difficult song to write . I've lived in Nova Scotia my whole life and have viewed this harbour a thousand times. Still love it here and always will.
Thank you for doing the whole video and also explaining the reason why the person who saved many people did not survive
"When the World Fell Silent" is an excellent historical fiction book set in Halifax at the time of the explosion. The story describes the event and the aftermath from the perspective of two women. Written by Donna Jones Alward. Published in 2024. Highly recommended reading.
When I was in Elementary School, we had Canadian Readers (School History Books) that had the story of the Halifax Explosion in it. This was back in the 1960's, around 1963 or so.
Find the Heritage Minute about the Frank Slide...devastated a whole town when the mountain shrugged.
fun fact, in the wake of the explosion, the city of Boston was instrumental with the assistance offered to Halifax to aid its recovery, As a result, since the mid 1900s, Boston receives a huge Christmas tree that displays in the Boston Common. Canadians always show their thanks!
We have a cross Harbour ferry called the "Vincent Coleman" and building name after him.
There are so many of the old original ones
There may be almost 100 of them from the 90s They were always on cbc
Check out the Terry Fox Video..Canada at Our Best!
A great video you may want to watch is about how, during the 9-11 attacks on the US, all the planes diverted to Canada were looked after by Canadians, housed fed and nurtured. It's a very heartwarming story during a horrendous event. It was back east in the town of Gander.
Heritage minutes and the TV show Canada a people's history, were made by the CBC. The HM's were done as commercials which I remember watching as a child. I'd like to know who came up with the Canadian house hippo.
Yer a good boy Mert. Carry on. As far as I am concerned you are an honourary Canadian.
My great grandmother was a young girl in 1917. Her entire family went down to the harbour to watch the burning ship. When the explosion happened, the force threw her into the harbour. She luckily was rescued, but the rest of her family perished.
I'm new to you're channel and like what I see so far. Everything you have done so far seems to be a collection of facts and trivia but if you really want to know what Canada is like as a people and as a culture you need to see a documentary on RUclips called "long time running" about a rock band known as the tragically hip. You really need to see this documentary to understand what it is to be Canadian.... Please, please look it up.
I had the privilege of finally getting to visit Halifax during the summer last year, and it was an incredible place. Did the water hopper tour and they did a good 20 minutes on the explosion. I then checked out museum right by the water and went into more detail.
Wow an amazing account of heroism and quick thinking on behalf of the dispatcher. A not so great end to these boats however. As a Canadian from Alberta, this is the first time I have heard of this incident. I am so sorry I didn't know more about it. Call it a poor attention in school to cut from the curriculum. Either way I was truly missing out. I thank you for educating me on this part of Canadian history that should have never been forgotten.
We was help to rebuild Halifax by Boston Massachusetts USA in every year around Christmas time we find the biggest Christmas tree and we send it to Boston and they put it up in the centre of Boston for us to say thank you for helping us during the Halifax explosion
There's still pieces of the Monte Blanc scattered around the city and embedded in buildings, preserved as memorials and heritage sites.
Another famous disaster Halifax has ties to is the sinking of the Titanic. Many of the survivors, and the dead, ended up here. There's a Titanic graveyard in the city.