The Halifax explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy : inquiry and intrigue / John Griffith Armstrong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Armstrong, John Griffith, 1942-

Series:

Studies in Canadian military history ; 1.

Studies in Canadian military history, 1499-6251 ; 1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Explosions--Nova Scotia--Halifax--History--20th century.

Explosions.

Halifax (N.S.)--History--20th century.

Halifax (N.S.).

Canada. Royal Canadian Navy--History--20th century.

Canada.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (256 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Vancouver : UBC Press, c2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Halifax Explosion of 1917 is a defining event in the Canadian consciousness, yet it has never been the subject of a sustained analytical history. Astonishingly, until now no one has consulted the large federal government archives that contain first-hand accounts of the disaster and the response of national authorities. Canada's recently established navy was at the epicentre of the crisis. Armstrong reveals the navy's compelling, and little-known, story by carefully retracing the events preceding the disaster and the role of the military in its aftermath. He catches the pulse of disaster response in official Ottawa and provides a compelling analysis of the legal manoeuvres, rhetoric, blunders, public controversy, and crisis management that ensued. His disturbing conclusion is that federal officials knew of potential dangers in the harbour before the explosion, took no corrective action, and kept the information from the public. As a result, a Halifax naval officer was made a scapegoat and the navy received lasting, and mostly undeserved, vilification. This is a provocative read not only for military and naval devotees but for anyone who wants to understand one of the events that shaped Canada in the twentieth century.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Illustrations

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Through Sailors' Eyes

The Royal Canadian Navy in Halifax - December 1917

Towards the Unthinkable

Halifax Tide

Through the Grim Day

Reaction and Recovery

Of Sailors, Lawyers, Goats, and Newspapers

Goats to the Slaughter

Covering the Tracks

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references: p. 237-238 and index.

ISBN:

1-283-12969-8

9786613129697

0-7748-5020-5

OCLC:

70752143