From the President J. Gaylord Kingston

Transcription

1 INSTITUTED 1987 VOL. XXX NO. 12 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 INCORPORATED 1988 THE ATLANTIC CHIEF & PETTY OFFICER S ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER The Crown & Anchor is published bimonthly and is dedicated to providing relevant information to members and subscribers. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Association or its members. Articles appearing in the newsletter may be reprinted with appropriate credit. ACPOA EXECUTIVE President: J. Gaylord Kingston Vice President: Dennis May Secretary: Jim Cummings Treasurer: George Stark Padre: The Reverend Patricia Malin Phone: (902) Service Officer: Hank Einarson Phone: (902) CROWN & ANCHOR Editor: J. Gaylord Kingston gaylordk@yahoo.com Layout: Cathy Belanger Printing: McLeod Safety Services Phone: (902) Distribution: DASC Industries Phone: (902) CONTACT US ACPOA P. O. Box 3533 Dartmouth, NS B2W 5G4 Phone: (902) acpoa@eastlink.ca Website: w.acpoa.net The Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower at Fort Needham Park. See our feature article on page 4 to commemorate the 100 th anniversary of this city disaster. From the President J. Gaylord Kingston A s we approach the end of another year of successful operation, we look forward to making our final year one that will be long remembered. Although we have lost so many members over the past few years, we continue to have a solid amount of support judging by the early returns of membership dues for It is truly appreciated that you are standing by the organization and we think that the reunion planned for August 2018 will be a memorable event. On Remembrance Day, as in past years, ACPOA will honour those who have served to protect our freedom by laying anchor wreaths at local events. Finally, the Executive and Board of Directors wish the membership a happy festive season and a prosperous, healthy New Year Membership dues are payable by DECEMBER 31, 2017

2 , 16 Sick & Visiting Committee Report Chair: Jim Cummings (902) Please advise the Sick & Visiting Committee if you are going to be infirmed in any way. If anyone has information on a member or sailor who may be sick or infirm, please contact Jim. We are here to offer care and compassion when needed. Fishermen s Memorial Maurice Legault (902) St. John s, NF Ron Coles (709) Liverpool Larry Truelove (902) Charlottetown, PEI Hari Boggs (902) Shelburne Fred Molyneaux (902) Quebec Area Frank Cholette (450) Truro Joe Fillion (902) Montreal Frank Cholette (405) Annapolis Royal/Valley Doug Moore (902) Brockville & Area Rev. Paul Gordon (613) Windsor & Area Don Slatter (902) Omemee, ON George Josh Warner (705) Middleton George Thomson (902) Camp Hill Veterans Memorial Building 5955 Veterans Memorial Lane Halifax, NS B3H 2E1 3 rd Floor East Robinson Blackhurst (3324) 3 rd Floor West James McCullough (3223) Muzz Leahey (3725) 4 th Floor East John Moore (4427) James Sweet (4420) Fred McGray (4528) Anna Haywood (4530) John Henbrey (4423) Gordon Fenerty (4523) 4 th Floor West Roy Marriott (4226) Maurice Kenasevitch (4129) Paul Hickey (4235) Wilfred Gregg (4120) Glyn Hilchey (4131) 5 th Floor East Bill Gould (5526) Bryce Gibson (5528) 5 th Floor West James Dempsey (5133) Mel McLeod (5223) Gerald Leslie (5127) Robert Wilson (5128) Peter Waite (5123) Jerry Sigrist (5231) Albert Clemens (5229) 6 th Floor East John Dawson (6427) William Bruce (6420) Ralph Manuge (6424) Samuel Jennings (6523) Russel Hubly (6520) Harry Suto (6531) Jim Forsyth (6525) Herbert Easterbrook (6526) 6 th Floor West Henry Cooke (6125) Stafford Yearwood (6133) Harry Dye (6124) John McCabe (6226) Con White (6223) Fishermen s Memorial Lunenburg, NS B0J 2C0 Harold Snyder Pamela Mary Steele Ridgewood 372 Aberdeen Road, Bridgewater, NS B4V 2T3 Edwin Toombs (Room 504) (902) Soldiers Memorial Hospital 462 Main Street, Middleton, NS B0S 1P0 Cecil Vantassel (902) Melville Gardens 11 Ramsgate Lane, Halifax, NS B3P 2S9 Ronald Shields (902) Francis (Pat) Robertson (902) Other Wilfy Broyden (727) At Home Maurice Legault (902) Vince Carr (902) Don Slatter (902) James Dawe (902) Greg Spellman (902) Bill Mulock, Ottawa (613) ADMIRAL DESMOND PIERS NAVAL ASSOCIATION (A Branch of the RCNA) President: Verne Lunan Secretary: Al Cox Website: adpna.com adpna@bwr.eastlink.ca Mail: ADPNA 450 LaHave Street, Unit 17, Suite 121 Bridgewater, NS B4V 4A3 2

3 Upcoming General Meetings Association Notices Sunday, November 12 is the date of the Association s next meeting. Guest speakers will be Paul O'Boyle of the RCN Benevolent Fund and Rear Admiral (Retd) Barry Keeler of the Last Post Fund. The date for the following month s meeting is Sunday, December 10. Both begin at 10 a.m. in the Oberon Room at the Mess. Last Post The following shipmates recently crossed the bar Camphill Veterans Socials Our visits with veterans at Camphill are Saturday, November 25 at 2 p.m. and Saturday, December 16. We look forward to your contributions of desserts/treats for veterans at the hospital. Membership Report Charter, Ordinary, Affiliate and Life Members 440 Honorary Members 14 Miscellaneous Members 12 Total Membership 466 Jim Cruddas, 85 CPO2 Chester, NS September 25, 2017 Joe MacGregor, 86 P1ST Truro, NS September 8, 2017 Wayne Cherry, 76 C1SN Dartmouth, NS October 4, 2017 Our Membership Chair is Ray Harvie at (902) or by to r.harvie.home@eastlink.ca. Membership dues for 2018, our final year of operation, are due in the office by December 31, To receive the Crown & Anchor by , please send a note to Ray. Christmas Dinner Function For tho from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear me far, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar. Alfred, Lord Tennyson Please see the event information on page 6 of the newsletter. We look forward to seeing as many members as possible attend this festive evening on December 14! HMCS Kootenay The Nova Scotia government has issued a proclamation that October 23 shall be designated as HMCS Kootenay Day. WORD OF THE MONTH It s not the years in your life It s the life in your years. 3

4 FEATURE OF THE MONTH The Halifax Explosion Disaster December 6, 1917 The Norwegian ship SS Imo had sailed from the Netherlands en route to New York to take on relief supplies for Belgium, under the command of Haakon From. The ship arrived in Halifax on 3 December for neutral inspection and spent two days in Bedford Basin awaiting refuelling supplies. Though given clearance to leave the port on 5 December, Imo's departure was delayed as her coal load did not arrive until late that afternoon. The loading of fuel was not completed until after the antisubmarine nets had been raised for the night. Therefore, the vessel could not weigh anchor until the next morning. The French cargo ship SS Mont- Blanc arrived from New York late on 5 December, under the command of Aimé Le Medec. The vessel was fully loaded with the explosives TNT and picric acid, the highly flammable fuel benzole, and guncotton. She intended to join a slow convoy gathering in Bedford Basin readying to depart for Europe, but was too late to enter the harbour before the nets were raised. Ships carrying dangerous cargo were not allowed into the harbour before the war, but the risks posed by German submarines had resulted in a relaxation of regulations. Navigating into or out of Bedford Basin required passage through a strait called the Narrows. Ships were expected to keep to the starboard side of the channel as they passed oncoming traffic; in other words, vessels were required to pass port to port. Ships were restricted to a speed of five knots within the harbour. Collision and Fire Imo was granted clearance to leave Bedford Basin by signals from the guard ship HMCS Acadia at approximately 7:30 on the morning of 6 December with pilot William Hayes aboard. The ship entered the Narrows well above the harbour's speed limit in an attempt to make up for the delay experienced in loading her cargo. Imo met American tramp steamer SS Clara being piloted up the wrong (western) side of the harbour. The pilots agreed to pass starboard to starboard. Soon afterwards though, Imo was forced to head even 4 further towards the Dartmouth shore after passing the tugboat Stella Maris, which was travelling up the harbour to Bedford Basin near mid-channel. Horatio Brannen, the captain of Stella Maris, saw Imo approaching at excessive speed and ordered his ship closer to the western shore to avoid an accident. Francis Mackey, an experienced harbour pilot, had boarded Mont-Blanc on the evening of 5 December; he had asked about "special protections" such as a guard ship given the Mont-Blanc's cargo, but no protections were put in place. Mont-Blanc started moving at 7:30 am on 6 December, heading towards Bedford Basin. Mackey kept his eye on the ferry traffic between Halifax and Dartmouth and other small boats in the area. He first spotted Imo when she was about 0.75 miles (1.21 km) away and became concerned as her path appeared to be heading towards his ship's starboard side, as if to cut him off his own course. Mackey gave a short blast of his ship's signal whistle to indicate that he had the right of way, but was met with two short blasts from Imo, indicating that the approaching vessel would not yield its position. The captain ordered Mont-Blanc to halt her engines and angle slightly to starboard, closer to the Dartmouth side of the Narrows. He let out another single blast of his whistle, hoping the other vessel would likewise move to starboard, but was again met with a doubleblast in negation. Sailors on nearby ships heard the series of signals and, realizing that a collision was imminent, gathered to watch as Imo bore down on Mont- Blanc. Though both ships had cut their engines by this point, their momentum carried them right on top of each other at slow speed. Unable to ground his ship for fear of a shock that would set off his explosive cargo, Mackey ordered

5 Mont-Blanc to steer hard to port (starboard helm) and crossed the Norwegian ship's bow in a lastsecond bid to avoid a collision. The two ships were almost parallel to each other, when Imo suddenly sent out three signal blasts, indicating the ship was reversing its engines. The combination of the cargo-less ship's height in the water and the transverse thrust of her right-hand propeller caused the ship's head to swing into Mont- Blanc. Imo's prow pushed into the French vessel's No. 1 hold on her starboard side. The collision occurred at 8:45 am. While the damage to Mont Blanc was not severe, it toppled barrels that broke open and flooded the deck with benzole that quickly flowed into the hold. As Imo's engines kicked in, she quickly disengaged, which created sparks inside Mont-Blanc's hull. These ignited the vapours from the benzole. A fire started at the water line and travelled quickly up the side of the ship as the benzole spewed out from crushed drums on Mont-Blanc's decks. The fire quickly became uncontrollable. Surrounded by thick black smoke, and fearing she would explode almost immediately, the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship. A growing number of Halifax citizens gathered on the street or stood at the windows of their homes or businesses to watch the spectacular fire. The frantic crew of Mont-Blanc shouted from their two lifeboats to some of the other vessels that their ship was about to explode, but they could not be heard above the noise and confusion. As the lifeboats made their way across the harbour to the Dartmouth shore, the abandoned ship continued to drift and beached herself at Pier 6 near the foot of Richmond Street. Towing two scows at the time of the collision, Stella Maris responded immediately to the fire, anchoring the barges and steaming back towards Pier 6. The tug's captain, Horatio Brannen, and his crew realized they were not equipped to fight the fire with their one small hose and quickly backed off from the burning Mont Blanc. They were approached by a whaler from HMS Highflyer and later a steam pinnace belonging to HMCS Niobe. Captain Brannen and Albert Mattison of Niobe agreed to secure a line to the French ship's stern so as to pull it away from the pier to avoid setting it on fire. The 5 (127 mm) hawser initially produced was deemed too small and orders for a 10 (254 mm) hawser came down. It was at this point that the blast occurred. Explosion At 9:05 a.m., the out-of-control fire aboard Mont-Blanc finally set off her highly explosive cargo. The ship was completely blown apart and a powerful blast wave radiated away from the explosion at more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft.) per second. Temperatures of 5,000 C (9,030 F) and pressures of thousands of atmospheres accompanied the moment of detonation at the centre of the explosion. White-hot shards of iron fell down upon Halifax and Dartmouth. Mont-Blanc's forward 90 mm gun, its barrel melted away, landed approximately 5.6 km (3.5 mi) north of the explosion site near Albro Lake in Dartmouth, while the shank of her anchor, weighing half a ton, landed 3.2 km (2.0 mi) south at Armdale. 5 A cloud of white smoke rose to over 3,600 metres (11,800 ft.). The shock wave from the blast travelled through the earth at nearly 23 times the speed of sound and was felt as far away as Cape Breton (207 km or 129 mi) and Prince Edward Island (180 km or 110 mi). An area of over 160 hectares (400 acres) was completely destroyed by the explosion, while the harbour floor was momentarily exposed by the volume of water that vaporized. A tsunami was formed by water surging in to fill the void; it rose as high as 18 metres (60 ft.) above the high-water mark on the Halifax side of the harbour. Imo was carried onto the shore at Dartmouth by the tsunami. The blast killed all but one aboard the whaler, everyone aboard the pinnace and 21 of the 26 men aboard Stella Maris; she ended up on the Dartmouth shore, severely damaged. The captain's son, First Mate Walter Brannen, who had been thrown into the hold by the blast, survived, as did four others. All but one of the Mont-Blanc crew members survived. Over 1,600 people were killed instantly and 9,000 were injured, more than 300 of whom later died. Every building within a 2.6-kilometre (1.6 mi) radius, over 12,000 in total, was destroyed or badly damaged. Hundreds of people who had been watching the fire from their homes were blinded when the blast wave shattered the windows in front of them. Stoves and lamps overturned by the force of the blast sparked fires throughout Halifax, particularly in the North End, where entire city blocks were caught up in the inferno, trapping residents inside their houses. Firefighter Billy Wells, who was thrown away from the explosion and had his clothes torn from his body, described the devastation survivors faced: "The sight was awful, with people hanging out of windows dead. Continued on page 6

6 Continued from page 5 Some with their heads missing, and some thrown onto the overhead telegraph wires." He was the only member of the eight-man crew of the fire engine Patricia to survive. Large brick and stone factories near Pier 6, such as the Acadia Sugar Refinery, disappeared into unrecognizable heaps of rubble, killing most of their workers. The Nova Scotia cotton mill located 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the blast was destroyed by fire and the collapse of its concrete floors. The Royal Naval College of Canada building was badly damaged, and several cadets and instructors maimed. The death toll could have been worse had it not been for the selfsacrifice of an Intercolonial Railway dispatcher, Patrick Vincent (Vince) Coleman, operating at the railyard about 750 feet (230 m) from Pier 6, where the explosion occurred. He and his co-worker, William Lovett, learned of the dangerous cargo aboard the burning Mont-Blanc from a sailor and began to flee. Coleman remembered, however, that an incoming passenger train from Saint John, New Brunswick, was due to arrive at the railyard within minutes. He returned to his post alone and continued to send out urgent telegraph messages to stop the train. Several variations of the message have been reported, among them this from the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic: "Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys." Coleman's message was responsible for bringing all incoming trains around Halifax to a halt. It was heard by other stations all along the Intercolonial Railway, helping railway officials to respond immediately. Passenger Train No. 10, the overnight train from Saint John, is believed to have heeded the warning and stopped a safe distance from the blast at Rockingham, saving the lives of about 300 railway passengers. Coleman was killed at his post as the explosion ripped through the city. He was honoured with a Heritage Minute in the 1990s and inducted into the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame in ACPOA Christmas Dinner THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2017 Meet & Greet Dinner 1930 Royal Canadian Legion Centennial Branch Main Street Dartmouth (902) Menu: Choice of Prime Rib or Chicken Breast Dinner (limited quantities as second choice) Cost: $25.00 per person Please confirm your attendance and meal choice before December 7 by contacting: Buck. Cannon (902) buckc@ns.sympatico.ca PAYMENT OPTIONS: By mail to ACPOA, P.O. Box 3533, Dartmouth, NS B2W 5G4, or in person at the next general meeting on November 12, or in person at the door. Cash or cheques please. Door Prizes 76

7 ~ Golden Memories ~ November 2017 December 2017 Edward MacDonald Beaverbank, NS 101 Years Young On November 11 Ken & Joyce Maybury Dartmouth, NS 64 Years of Wedded Bliss On November 19 William Conrad Halifax, NS 101 Years Young On December 22 Dennis & Dorothy Carson Five Islands, NS 57 Years of Wedded Bliss On December 16 Joseph Montgomery Scarborough, ON 100 Years Young On November 24 Jim & Glenda Johnson Halifax, NS 61 Years of Wedded Bliss On November 16 Guy Ouellet Hubley, NS 92 Years Young On December 21 John & Esther Gregory Dartmouth, NS 57 Years of Wedded Bliss On December 21 Sid Wallace Calgary, AB 94 Years Young On November 1 Robert & Connie MacDonald Orleans, ON 55 Years of Wedded Bliss On November 17 Joe & Sharon Fillion Truro, NS 60 Years of Wedded Bliss On December 21 Jean Paul & Edie Rochon Dartmouth, NS 48 Years of Wedded Bliss On December 6 Doug Giles Orillia, ON 94 Years Young On November 21 Rolfe & Fay Clark Kingston NS 66Years of Wedded Bliss On November 4 Ed & Lorna D Orsay Halifax, NS 37 Years of Wedded Bliss On December 18 Lyle McKearney Mount Stewart, PEI 93 Years Young On November 11 Wayne & Olga Beno Eastern Passage, NS 52 Years of Wedded Bliss On November 27 Roy & Lil Robertson Lake Echo, NS 70 Years of Wedded Bliss On November 28 Tom & Marion Arthurs Greenwood, NS 65 years of Wedded Bliss On November 1 William & Dorothy Wales London, ON 68 Years of Wedded Bliss On November 12 Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark. Don't miss the boat. Remember that we are all in the same boat! Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. Stay fit. When you're 65 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Don't listen to critics. Just get on with the job that needs to be done. Build your future on high ground. For safety's sake, travel in pairs. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. When you're stressed, float awhile. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. No matter the storm, there's always a rainbow waiting. 7

8 The President thanks Commander Gary Pollock, a director of the NATO Veterans Association, following his presentation at ACPOA s October meeting. Days of Yore Nov. 25, 1944 HMCS Shawinigan torpedoed - 91 lost Nov. 6, 1867 First parliament opens - members get $6.00/day Nov. 16, 1867 William Hall awarded the Victoria Cross Nov. 11, 1918 Armistice is signed at 11 a.m. to end WW 1 Nov. 28, RCN volunteers begin sub training in the UK Dec. 7, 1941 HMCS Windflower collision - 3 lost Dec. 24, 1944 HMCS Clayoquot torpedoed - 8 lost Dec. 4 St. Barbara s Day Gunners Dec. 24,1814 War of ends - we win! Dec. 6, 1917 Halifax Explosion - 7 members of HMCS Niobe lost Dec. 3, 1969 HMCS Bonaventure gas tank accident 4 lost Dec. 12, 1969 RCN fixed wing aviation dies Atlantic Chief & Petty Officer s Association P. O. Box 3533 Dartmouth, NS B2W 5G4 Canada Post Publication Mail Sales Agreement No