Righting History: The Halifax Explosion

Today I have a story to tell you guys. I’m a bit of history buff at times and I recently attended a talk given by a local author and researcher regarding a major historical event for this region. I spoke briefly with the author, Janet Maybee, after the presentation. Aside from being quite passionate about her topic, she was very sweet and encouraging, and I’m still fangirling a little bit over meeting a Real Author. You know, one of the Published Ones. But anyway, this is about the story she felt needed to be told, not mine, so, without further ado:

December 6, 1917, began like most other mornings in Halifax as the Great War raged on across the seas. People got up and went about their business, doing their part for the war effort, despite the plea in every heart that it would just end. The harbour was particularly busy at this time as hundreds of ships gathered to form convoys, trusting in the safety of numbers to fend off the the horror that lay beneath the Atlantic Ocean - the German U-boats.

To keep the Germans from sneaking into the harbour, a submarine net was placed from McNabs Island to what is now Point Pleasant Park, and another stretching across the harbour on both sides of George’s Island. Halifax marine pilot, Captain Francis Mackey spent the night aboard French munitions ship, the SS Mont Blanc, because they had arrived too late to enter the harbour the previous evening, before the nets were closed. Early on the morning of December 6, he began guiding the ship through the narrow confines of Halifax Harbour, past the many shoals and reefs toward the safe haven of Bedford Basin. After twenty-four years of guiding ships safely through the Halifax waters, Captain Mackey was quite familiar with the harbour and the protocols in place for navigating it.

The Mont Blanc had just come from New York, where she had been laden with a most deadly cargo - picric acid, TNT, gun cotton, and benzol oil. Precautions had been taken to prevent a fire from starting on board, but her crew was anxious to join a convoy and get their cargo across the Atlantic as quickly as possible.

Belgian relief vessel, the SS Imo, also was traversing the harbour that morning. After leaving her anchorage in the Bedford Basin, she turned down into the part of the harbor that is known as “the Narrows”, for good reason. Additional traffic in the water had forced the Imo to favor the Dartmouth side, even though normally she would have been closer to Halifax.  At that time of the morning, in December, the sun would have been directly in front of the ship. The captain and pilot on board could not see the approaching Mont Blanc well enough to know if it was coming or going until it was mostly too late to react. Signals were exchanged, but the lack of radios made communication difficult.

In an attempt to avoid the pending collision, pilot Mackey ordered the Mont Blanc to turn toward the middle of the channel, but the order came too late. The Imo struck the Mont Blanc near the bow. Sparks from the metal caused a fire in the spilt barrels of benzol on the deck. The resulting explosion killed over 2,000 people, and flattened an entire district of the city. Windows were shattered 100 kilometers away, and the blast was heard as far as Prince Edward Island. More Nova Scotians would die in this disaster than who would be killed on the battlefields in Europe in World War One.  

Knowing the cargo, pilot Mackey, the crew and captain of the munitions ship, all boarded lifeboats immediately and headed for the Dartmouth shore. They made it just before the blast. Pilot Mackey was knocked unconscious and buried under an uprooted tree. When he awakened, he walked along the shore to the ferry terminal. After stopping at the pilotage authority, he headed home to check on the safety of his wife and six children.

In the weeks and months that followed, an investigation into what had caused the explosion took place. The British sense of fair play did not allow for blame to be placed on the captain or pilot aboard the Imo, so Pilot Mackey became the one the powers-that-be blamed. He was stripped of his license and placed in jail.  

Even though Mackey was later absolved of all responsibility for the accident, it would be another four years before he would be given back his license and allowed to return to work as a pilot. Four years in which he would struggle to find work in order to feed his family and pay the lawyers who were fighting on his behalf. Four years in which he would have to endure the ridicule and jeers of others on the street who continued to believe that he was at fault. His reinstatement came with a change of government, rather than a change of heart. No formal apology or reparations for loss of wages were ever offered. For Francis Mackey, it was all about getting back to the job he loved.

Over the years, many legends and myths have built up surrounding the Halifax Explosion. Now, as the hundred year anniversary approaches, local researcher Janet Maybee seeks to dispel the pervading belief that pilot Mackey was at fault. Through extensive research, she has uncovered many documents that speak to the unfair treatment of Captain Francis Mackey. Despite having been cleared of all charges, and later reinstated with his pilot license, Mackey continues to be villainized in retellings of the famous disaster, often portraying him as, if not drunk, then purposefully negligent in his actions.

Let’s right history. We don’t need to re-write it: the error has already been corrected. But let’s stop the defamation of Captain Francis Mackey.

For further information regarding the Halifax Explosion and Capt. Francis Mackey, check out the following:

http://www.halifaxexplosion.net/mackeyarticle.html - a brief overview of Captain Mackey and Janet Maybee

https://www.amazon.ca/Aftershock-Halifax-Explosion-Persecution-Francis/dp/1771083441 - Janet Maybee’s recently published book “Aftershock: The Halifax Explosion and the Persecution of Pilot Francis Mackey”

http://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=0b120feb4f4b445db1959bb0b5e37dd6 - a wonderful website that includes interactive maps and records of Pilot Mackey relating his side of the story.

Hope you all enjoyed this little bit of history! Until next time, much love,

~ Belle