Many feared the Germans had attacked.
December 6, 2012 7:10 AM Subscribe
The last survivor of the 1917 Halifax Explosion is believed to have died in 2010. Today, on the 95th anniversary of the accident, those who came after share how the legacy of history's largest detonation of conventional explosives has affected their lives. [previously]
An updated link from the last thread: The Nova Scotia Tree for Boston.
In 1918, Halifax sent a Christmas tree to the City of Boston to thank them for their kindness. That gift was revived in 1971 and continues today.posted by zamboni at 9:17 AM on December 6, 2012
The 2012 tree is a 50 foot white spruce, donated by the Hick's family in Jordan Bay, Shelburne County, Nova Scotia.
Fascinating to read about this--I'd missed the earlier post. Apparently, Halifax became a national center for the treatment of blindness because of the large number of people who'd been gathered in front of glass windows facing the waterfront, watching the burning ship, at the time of the explosion.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:03 PM on December 6, 2012
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:03 PM on December 6, 2012
Reading the Wikipedia page about the explosion the description of the incident makes it out like the Imo made many errors and exacerbated the damage but the investigation section says the crew of the Mont-Blanc were to blame. Anyone have some knowledge on this?
posted by Phantomx at 4:07 PM on December 6, 2012
posted by Phantomx at 4:07 PM on December 6, 2012
Phantomx, lots of details in the main story in the previous link, including this bit:
"Mont-Blanc blew its whistle once, to say it had right of way and would maintain its course: Imo should move to the right. But Imo blew its whistle twice in reply--translation: I am staying where I am.
There was a flurry of whistles between the two ships. Then, almost at the last minute, Mont-Blanc turned hard to the left…and Imo reversed its engines--hard astern.
If only one of these moves had been made, the two ships would have avoided a collision - barely.
But the combination of last-ditch efforts made a collision inevitable."
And then on this page it talks about the Inquiry, and how Imo's owners hired some well-known lawyer who, along with a seemingly useless judge, pinned it all on the Mont-Blanc.
(It should also be noted that nobody knew the Mont-Blanc was filled with explosives except its crew, for a few questionable reasons.)
posted by Glinn at 5:16 PM on December 6, 2012
"Mont-Blanc blew its whistle once, to say it had right of way and would maintain its course: Imo should move to the right. But Imo blew its whistle twice in reply--translation: I am staying where I am.
There was a flurry of whistles between the two ships. Then, almost at the last minute, Mont-Blanc turned hard to the left…and Imo reversed its engines--hard astern.
If only one of these moves had been made, the two ships would have avoided a collision - barely.
But the combination of last-ditch efforts made a collision inevitable."
And then on this page it talks about the Inquiry, and how Imo's owners hired some well-known lawyer who, along with a seemingly useless judge, pinned it all on the Mont-Blanc.
(It should also be noted that nobody knew the Mont-Blanc was filled with explosives except its crew, for a few questionable reasons.)
posted by Glinn at 5:16 PM on December 6, 2012
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:)
Good update post, too.
posted by spock at 7:32 AM on December 6, 2012 [1 favorite]