5. The Commons
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Lieutenant Harrison and the medical orderly, Sgt E.T. Morton, made two trips between the North End and the Victoria General Hospital before he dropped the sergeant off at a dressing station by the Armouries. Isaac is a fictional character, there was no known third passenger. (See: Archibald MacMechan, The Halifax Explosion, December 6th, 1917. (Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1978).)
“The empty quarters were quickly filled with injured and shelterless women and children. They were supplied with bedding from the military stores, and hot broth was served to them through “the untiring efforts” of one of the officers stationed at the armouries.” (See: Archibald MacMechan, The Halifax Explosion, December 6th, 1917. (Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1978), p. 36.)
The comparison of Halifax to a French battlefield was made by several soldiers, such as Lt. Eric Grant, as well as journalists.
“Through fields three feet deep in snow a correspondent of the Associated Press on Saturday went over a strip of Halifax more utterly demolished than any section of Belgium or France.” (See: The Associated Press Correspondent. (10 december 1917). The Chronicle Herald.)
20 “They could hear the cries of the people underneath the ruins, shrieking or sobbing or giving directions. The next house to the one they were working on was on fire. He was told there were four children in it burning alive. The parents “Went on like maniacs.”
(See: Personal narrative of Andrew S. Cobb, Architect, #131, MG1 vol 2124, Archibald MacMechan fonds, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.)
“It affected me far worse than anything I saw in France. Over there you don’t see women and children all broken to pieces.” These victims and Isaac’s response are taken directly from the personal narrative of Ralph Proctor. (See: Personal Narrative of Ralph Proctor, #216, MG1 vol 2124, Archibald MacMechan fonds, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.)
“When they got up near the Cotton factory it became very dark, from the smoke from the burning Cotton factory - “Dark as night.” (See: Personal Narrative of Miss Castell, #127, MG1 vol 2124, Archibald MacMechan fonds, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.)
“Case of Alice McDonald from :down the shore.” … She jumped from the third story of the Cotton Factory into a pile of scrap iron. Both legs were broken, the right leg more than the left. … A young man, a returned soldier, in uniform, of the 40th Battalion sat beside her on the floor all night. He said that Alice M. was “a good girl.” (See: Personal Narrative of Christine MacKinnon, #20, MG1 vol 2124, Archibald MacMechan fonds, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.)
“R.P. made in all 23 trips on December 6th.” “...lung wound had reopened and he had a hemorrhage. “With this and the knowledge that I had swallowed glass, I was pretty scared.” However he kept on. “There was nothing else to do.”
(See: Personal Narrative of Ralph Proctor, #217, MG1 vol 2124, Archibald MacMechan fonds, Nova Scotia Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.)
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While the events depicted in this walk are true, and we have endeavoured to represent them as factually as possible, it is important to note that the characters are fictional. As such, small details about their personal lives may not be accurate. These characters have been created from the remembrances of real people, and drawn from the communities present in Halifax in December of 1917.
