From Despair to Hope – Halifax Explosion

Writing about the aftermath of the Halifax Explosion, in a memoir about my grandfather Joe Landry’s family, has been wrought with tragedy as well as triumph.  One of the worst tragedies and greatest triumphs, involved my grandfather’s slightly younger brother Dan Landry.

Thursday, December 6, 1917
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Photo by Cal Shook

In the early hours of the morning, at 38 Union Street, a 26-year-old Dan Landry and his 23-year-old wife Annie (Adams) had finished breakfast.  Their 18-month-old son Clarence is playing with a toy on the floor nearby.  Daniel and Annie are excited, they are expecting their second child.
Before leaving for work, Daniel kissed his wife Annie and then picked up little Clarence who had toddled over to him.  Little Clarence snuggled in as he was surrounded by his father’s muscular arms.  Life was good, as Dan said goodbye. He’s got a precious toddler, a loving wife, and a little one on the way.

Within hours everything would change.

Around 8:45 a.m. in the harbor below their home, there was an accident.   The Imo, a Belgium relief ship, collided with the Mont Blanc, a French munitions ship.  As they separated, the Mont Blanc caught fire and drifted toward Pier 6.  Its crew evacuated as the Imo maneuvered away.

At 9:04 a.m. the Mont Blanc exploded, leaving the Richmond district of Halifax, where Dan and Annie’s home was located, leveled.

Dan was working for Rhodes Curry Ltd, a construction and supply company at the corner of Windsor and West Young street, about a half mile from home.  Dan, unhurt by the blast, made his way through the devastation surrounding him and headed toward home.  When he reached Fort Needham,  he saw that his neighborhood was on fire.  By the time he made it to the area of his home, there was nothing left.  His search for his wife and children would leave him in despair.

In describing her brother Dan’s son Clarence, Anna Bella (Landry) Bradley said that he was, “…the sweetest little boy… He had curly blond hair and a sweet little round face. He was adorable.  And he could talk… …he could talk like everything. And my God, he was killed, too.” In regard to everyone located at 38 Union Street when the explosion hit, “…Annie was the one that was killed, Dan’s wife, and the children, two children, I say because she was pregnant with another one.”

How does a father, having lost his wife and children, go on?

I’m grateful that Uncle Dan found a way.

Hilda and Marie Landry, Myrtle Nicholson Landry,  Dan Landry
Note: Hilda and Marie are children of Dan and Myrtle Landry,

Hope arrived a couple years later when Myrtle Nicholson and he were married.  They had a large family and many grandchildren.  Though Annie, their unborn child, and Clarence are not forgotten, nor the pain their absence has brought, life and laughter have returned through the passage of time.

Note:  Upon further identification from Dan's family, the name "Myrtle Nicholson Landry" has replaced "Anna Bella Bradley Landry" and words "Anna Bella is Dan's sister." have been removed from the photo to the right.

Uncle Joseph Burke at Ground Zero – Halifax Explosion

What follows is a Halifax Explosion story about my great Uncle Joseph Burke based on information given by my great Aunt Anna Bella, along with research.*

Uncle Joseph Burke was married to Pauline Bouchard.  They and five of their seven children, ranging in age from five to twenty-six, lived in a cottage on 19 Stairs Street in December of 1917.

On December 6, Joseph – a stevedore, was on Pier 8 helping load cargo onto a ship called Curaca.  Pier 8 ran parallel to the Halifax shore.  Pier 6 was just south of it and headed straight into the shore.

Not far away, two cargo ships – the Imo and the Mont Blanc, had collided in the harbor after heading straight at each other on the Dartmouth side of the harbor.*  At the last minute they both took evasive maneuvers that resulted in the Imo striking and piercing the Mont Blanc’s hull.  Under normal circumstances and with both ships still afloat, this wouldn’t have been a problem, but the Mont Blanc was loaded with 3000 tons of explosives.  When the Imo pulled back, the metal scraping metal created sparks that set off a fire in the first hold, located just below the Mont Blanc’s deck. Quickly flames lept onto the deck, blocking the crew from getting to the fire hose.  Fearing the ship would explode any second, the crew, captain, and harbor pilot got into life boats and rowed toward the Dartmouth shore.

Uncle Joseph was at ground zero as the Mont Blanc drifted into Pier 6 and ran aground.  He and others stopped what they were doing as the ship passed in front of them.  Smoke filled the air as flames traveled across its deck, ignited by fumes from barrels of Benzol (airplane fuel) stacked three and four high.  Then about nine barrels – one after the other, catapulted high into the air trailing smoke, exploding into flames with a loud roar.

Joseph and those around him watched as the blasts continued and the heat of the ship intensified - then one final seismic explosion.

“ Of course, my Uncle Joe, they never found a bit of him. They never found one bit of him. That was my Aunt Pauline’s husband. And they never found him at all, he was blown to bits because he was right on the wharf when the thing went off and they didn’t find him.” – Anna Bella (Landry) Bradley

It saddens me to think of his passing and the loss of a husband, father, uncle, and friend.

Not only was Uncle Joe a stevedore, but he was a carpenter and overall handyman, according to Aunt Pauline in a statement to the Halifax Relief Commission - Case #393:

"She said she and her husband had both been born in Cape Breton. Had come to Halifax about 15 years ago. And ever since had lived in a cottage at 19 Stairs Street. They were only paying $5.00 a month rent there, as her husband was very good at carpentry and made all the repairs to the house himself. Kept it in good condition, so the landlord did not increase their rent." - info. recorded by M.A. Boss on May 8, 1918

Wow, what an attentive man my Uncle Joseph was and my Aunt Pauline seemed very proud of him.  Are there many landlords that would keep the rent low for a well maintained house today?

Note:  Along with conversations with my great Aunt Anna Bella, I've done research at Nova Scotia Archives and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic both online and on site. Reading Resources:  Ground Zero edited by Alan Ruffman and Colin D. Howell, Shattered City by Janet F. Kitz, The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Bacon

*This wording has been changed following comments from a reader asking that I might reconsider that it wasn't a game of chicken.  I've removed the words "after a game of chicken" and replaced them with the words "on the Dartmouth side of the harbor".

Do You Know the Simon and Hilda Myatt Family - Dartmouth NS - Halifax Explosion?

Photo by Cal Shook

From my great Aunt Anna Bella's memory featured in last month's blog, I'm hoping will come a much fuller story of the Myatt family.

Thanks to Paul C. Landry's comments on last month's blog post shared with the Facebook group "Nova Scotia Genealogy", I have the names of the Myatt family living in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia the day of the Halifax Explosion.   They are:

Elda Elizabeth (or Hilda) b. Sept 17, 1889 at River Bourgeois,
married Simon Myatt (Maillet) and had 3 children: 

-Anne Victoria b. Oct 10, 1908 

-Florence Margaret b. Nov 29, 1911 

-Joseph Leo b. Jan 1, 1915

At the time of the explosion my great Aunt Anna Bella and grandfather Joe Landry's first cousin Hilda Myatt would have been 28 years old  and the mother of Anne age 9, Florence age 6, and Joseph age 2.  Hilda's husband Simon might have been a bit older than her, being married once before.

Paul C. Landry, also commented about where the children ended up years after the explosion:

-Anne Victoria married Robie Whidden Oct 5, 1926, at Elmsdale, NS. In 1975 she was in Newmarket, Ontario. 

 -Florence Margaret married George Stewart Dec 31, 1935, Halifax, NS. In 1975, she was also located in NewMarket, Ontario. 

-Joseph Leo married Laura Keddy Apr 12, 1936, Enfield, NS. He was living in Toronto at the time of his birth certificate application on Mary 18, 1964. 

 I believe Simon was previously married to Rose Mary Manette, according to the census returns. He had a son Angus living with him in 1911, who reported his death Sept 2, 1926. 

 I found Angus' marriage certificate which gave his mother's name.
Angus died Mar 30, 1958, at Halifax, NS, having never married.
He also had 2 sisters. (Rose b. 1893 and Mary b. 1896)

Hilda Myatt lost and eye as a result of the Halifax Explosion and I wonder if any other family members were injured.  Do you know if there was a separate Relief Commission for the people living in Dartmouth at the time of the explosion?

Hilda died in 1918 of influenza and it might have been hard for Simon to be a single dad with young children.  Were the children able to stay with him?   Any additional information you can give me about the Myatt family before, during or after the explosion would be greatly appreciated.

Hope and Survival Quilt and Scroll of Remembrance – Halifax Explosion

It’s December 2017 and the week of the 100th Anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.  I’m at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Hope And Survival Quilt by Laurie Swim

The Hope and Survival Quilt surrounded by its Scroll of Remembrance fill the room that I’ve just entered.  A tear rolls down my check. Names of family members that I’ve been researching and writing about are on the wall being memorialized through the scroll and what they lived through is in front of me in the form of a quilt. Thanks to artist Laurie Swim for creating this and her host of volunteers.

The quilt is a creatively stitched painting on a canvas of turbulent indigo blue and black clouds.
Life flies through the air in the form of a girl with her arms outstretched.  Her hat and boot, having been blown off, are flying with her.  Her pose resembles that of superman as she flies to a safe place where she survives.

As though miles below her, in the upper left hand corner a tiny map of the devastated area appears with sparkly red threads spurting out.

The framed scenes around her add to the narrative as a ship explodes, help arrives, and survivors appear, some with eyes shut having lost their sight.  Within the clouds lie finer details, like a canoe and the silhouettes of people in various heights and sizes appear to rise from the ashes.

Surrounding this masterpiece is the Scroll of Remembrance.  The magnitude of the loss is felt with height and depth of the scroll that surrounds the quilt.  One thousand nine hundred and forty six lives are remembered and represented on the 172 panels that make up the scroll. 

Scroll of Remembrance - Laurie Swim

Hundreds of volunteers took panels and embroidered names in beaded Braille and English.

Gratitude overwhelms me as I search for and find:

Annie Landry (23) and Clarence Landry (18 months) 
(Annie and Clarence - my great Uncle Dan Landry’s pregnant wife and son.)




Joseph Burke (54)
(Joseph - Pauline Bouchard Landry’s husband and father of five.  Joseph was working as a stevedore*. Pauline is my great Uncle Dan and my paternal Grandfather Joe’s mother - Charlotte Bouchard Landry's sister.)

The scroll of Remembrance touched me.
Do you know someone who is listed on the scroll?  I'd love to here how you're connected?



Note:
*A stevedore is "one who works at or is responsible for loading and unloading ships in port" according to www.merriam-webster.com

For more about Laurie Swim's work go to www.laurieswim.com

Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book - Search for Names

Stowaway Soldier (Remembrance Day)

Brave, adventurous, and quite the risk taker are terms that describe my great Uncle Leo Landry.

I'm thrilled to be sharing this short war story which almost was missed because of his rank. His service record lists him as Private Leo Landry. He originally was given a title when he entered the service that in today's world means something quite different.

Uncle Leo was born on December 15, 1896 in River Bourgeois, Cape Breton to Seraphin (Michael) Landry and Charlotte Bouchard.  My paternal grandfather Joseph is Leo’s older brother.

In 1911, the Landry family moved from River Bourgeois to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Over the next three years Canadian’s witnessed a rapid military buildup with the approach of WWI.  Halifax and its harbor were no exception.

In 1915, almost a year after the start of WWI,  military personnel and equipment were moving in and out of Halifax. The harbor and train depots were buzzing with activity. Unable to resist its draw, eighteen year old Leo joined the Canadian Permanent Army Service Corps.  He became Dr Leo Landry.

My first impression was that “Dr” stands for doctor.  During this time in history the CPASC rank “Dr” stood for Driver.  There’s a good possibility that Leo drove a team of horses that pulled canons and/or wagons with other military supplies.

From Naval Warfare

On August 17, 1915 the SS Caledonia, a British passenger ship that had been converted for use in the war, was docked in Halifax Harbor. Aboard were members of the Royal Canadian Regiment who had returned from Bermuda. In about a week’s time, most would be back on board and heading for Europe. Since not all the men re-upped, there were some openings. Unfortunately there weren’t enough spots for all who wanted to go and fight.

Leo, two of his fellow CPASC service personnel, and four other service men were among those not allowed to board. On August 25, sometime before the SS Caledonia departed for England, all seven military men would sneak onto the ship and hide. 

Once far enough out to sea these stow-a-way soldiers surrendered. They all faced rations and disciplinary action and would become part of the Royal Canadian Regiment.   My uncle was given the rank Private (Pte) Leo Landry.

I’m saddened to say that my young Uncle Leo lost his life in the Battle of Ypres on June 4, 1916.

On this Remembrance Day (Canada) and Veteran’s Day (US) –
Thank you, to all military personnel for your sacrifice and service.
May we never forget.

Note: 

Thank you:
Cousin Linda Landry Horne for your research assistance which made this blog possible.
Laurie Gildart for proofreading and editing assistance.
Captain Michael M. O' Leary for writing, "Surrendered as Stowaways"