Halifax, Canada, Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book, 1917-1918

December 6, 2017 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Halifax Explosion. To commemorate this occasion, Ancestry has released a collection of records online, the Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book — a definitive listing and searchable database of those killed in the 1917 disaster. The collection is available to all Canadians for free on Ancestry.ca and contains records of courage and tragedy from those who lost their lives in the disaster.

Those commemorated in the records include:

    Halifax Protestant Orphanage Memorial Records: Among the youngest causalities of the explosion were children from the Halifax Protestant Orphanage.
    Vincent J.P. Coleman, Memorial Record: The 41-year old Intercolonial Railway Dispatcher was responsible for bringing all incoming trains around Halifax to a halt pre-explosion. Coleman saved the lives of about 300 railway passengers. Born in 1876, Coleman lost his life at his post of duty. 
    Captain Horatio H. Brannen, Memorial Record: As the Capt. of Stella Maris, Capt. Brannen and crew fought the fire caused by the collision of Imo and Mont Blanc. During his efforts to tow Mont Blanc away from the Halifax shore, the ship burst into flames. His tugboat, Stella Maris, was left crippled and tossed aside by the blast. Born in 1872, the Capt. lost his life at the age of 45 years old.
    Captain Haakon From, Memorial Record: As the Capt. of Imo, Capt. From oversaw the ship that collided with Mont Blanc. Born in 1870, From lost his life in the Halifax Explosion at the age of 47 years old.
    Pilot William Hayes, Memorial Record: Pilot and crewmember aboard Imo. Born in 1877, the pilot and crewmember of Imo worked amongst 41 French sailors. He lost his life at the age of 40 years old during the explosion.

In addition to the Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book, Ancestry will be releasing new East Coast collections in December. These include:

    Nova Scotia, Canada, Antigonish Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1823-1905

    Newfoundland, Canada, Census, 1945
    Newfoundland, Canada, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1840-1949
    Newfoundland, Canada, Census, 1921
    Prince Edward Island, Canada, Marriage Registers, 1832-1888
    Prince Edward Island, Canada, Death Card Index, 1810-1913

Newly Discovered Diary Describes Halifax Explosion

Dec. 6, 1917. Royal Navy sailor Frank Baker wrote in his diary

"We...had just drawn soap and powder and the necessary utensils for cleaning paint work,” he wrote, “when the most awful explosion I ever heard or want to hear again occurred.”

What Baker heard was the largest explosion since before the Atomic Bomb. Sailors 150 miles out to sea heard the blast. On land, people felt the jolt 300 miles away. The shock wave demolished almost everything within a half-mile.

An outbound Belgian ship, the Imo, collided with an inbound French freighter, the Mont-Blanc. The freighter carried 2,925 tons of high explosives, including 246 tons of benzol, a highly flammable motor fuel, in drums lashed to its deck.

Passersby stopped to watch the fire but when the explosion occurred the town of Halifax was devastated. There were 2000 known fatalities and over 9000 people were injured.

Baker's diary is now in an exhibit in the Dartmouth Heritage Musuem. Read the entire diary on the Smithsonian