mordac Posted 25 October , 2003 Share Posted 25 October , 2003 Canadian Pals: Here's the CBC's description of the two part program: Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion October 26 & 27 on CBC TV (8:00 PM - 10:00 PM) Shattered City, an epic two-part mini-series, dramatizes a compelling piece of Canadian history. It is the story of how a tragic incident at the height of the First World War became a living metaphor for the worldwide conflict, and how Halifax arose from the ashes after severe destruction and devastation. In the early hours of December 6, 1917, the Mont Blanc, a French-owned freighter loaded to the gunnels with thousands of tons of TNT, collided with a Belgian relief ship and exploded in the Halifax Harbour. The explosion was so vast that it killed more than 2,000 people, injured 9,000 more and completely flattened two square kilometres of northern Halifax. Academy-Award nominees Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves) and Peter Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father) lead a stellar cast. Greene portrays Elijah Cobb, a character inspired by a fisherman who survived the ordeal despite all the odds. Postlethwaite plays prosecutor Charles Burchell. Vincent Walsh (Hemingway vs. Callaghan) is the oldest son of the fictional Collins family. Richard Donat (Trudeau), Lynne Griffin (Jewel) Tamara Hope (Guinevere Jones), Max Morrow (The Associates) and Clare Stone (Godsend) portray the rest of the Collins family. Garth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Birch Posted 25 October , 2003 Share Posted 25 October , 2003 Awsome When you think of it the destruction to civilians and property must have been on a par with New York on 9/11 and the shock waves throughout Canada, USA and Britain as great for the time. The main difference was that there was no TV to beam real time horror images around the world. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 25 October , 2003 Share Posted 25 October , 2003 There is a great book about this and I think named Shattered City. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 25 October , 2003 Share Posted 25 October , 2003 As a connoisseur of loud bangs and big holes, I did a back-of-an-envelope calculation. If the Halifax explosives [5,836,853 pounds weight] had been put at Spanbroekmoelen [Pool of Peace], same depth, same geology, we would be looking at a 600 to 800 feet diameter crater instead of 250 feet. These calculations using my own [unpublished as yet] research, and RE textbooks. This size is probably an underestimate, based on assuming all the materials in the ship were black powder strength: some were far stronger, some I know little of and might have burned rather than exploded. I gather at Halifax it made a permanent crater in the harbour bed, not surprising, as water is virtually incompressible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 25 October , 2003 Share Posted 25 October , 2003 The crater at Fauld in Staffordshire has to be seen to be believed. It was the site of an RAF bomb store in an old gypsum mine. 4,000 tons of high explosive detonated on 27 November 1944, leaving a crater 300 hundred feet deep and about half a mile in length. 68 people were killed, 18 of whom no trace was found. It is believed to have been the world's largest non-nuclear explosion. Having visited the site a couple of years ago, I can say that it leaves any Western Front mine crater looking very puny. Anybody who cares to visit it should also call in at Fauld Church where there are memorials to RAF personnel, Italian POW's and civilians killed in the blast. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 25 October , 2003 Share Posted 25 October , 2003 If one does the calculations for the Fauld's explosion, it fits into the family [as the big brother, of course], right from the early puny RE experiments at Chatham pre-1900, through the Great War and on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mordac Posted 25 October , 2003 Author Share Posted 25 October , 2003 There is a great book about this and I think named Shattered City. The classic Canadian book describing the Halifax explosion is Hugh MacLennan's 'Barometer Rising' first published in 1941. The book has an excellent 'afterward' written by Alistair MacLeod. You can probably pick up a copy for a couple of dollars from your local used book shop. Please note, 'Barometer Rising' is a fictional novel. Garth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
182 CEF Posted 27 October , 2003 Share Posted 27 October , 2003 Well I have watched the first 20 mins of this show and it is rather disappointing already. I hate to say this ( considering I have worked on Film crews in Toronto for 9 years, including 5 as A&Es Historical adviser/coordinater) but it seems typical of 1970s low budget Canadian productions (yes I know it was made this year). My Grandfather was in his highchair in Dartmouth (across from Halifax) when the explosian occured. He had the scars on his chin that were caused when he was blown out of the chair. Why do some film productions have to add "crap" to a true story. I have a saying when working on a film, "if it's a true story it's only 80% Bul*sh*t" Dean Owen Whitby Ontario Canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Wills Posted 27 October , 2003 Share Posted 27 October , 2003 I remember hearing a BBC World Service programme about the Halifax explosion years ago, but some of it is still vivid. Didn't the medical services run out of anaesthetic, and some of the victims had to help the hospital staff? I seem to recall that one girl, who had escaped with mild shock and a few cuts and bruises, had to assist in the operating theatre, with a fully concious patient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
182 CEF Posted 27 October , 2003 Share Posted 27 October , 2003 To this day in Nova Scotia there is a contaest to see who can grow the tallest straightest perfect tree possible. The winning tree is sent to Boston Mass as a gift for their assistance after the blast at Halifax. A train from Boston filled with medical supplies, bedding, and medical personal was the first to arrive. It had not been asked for, the people of Boston just sent it. I believe it arrived in under 36 hours after the explosion. 1 hell of a gift from people that had been on the "Other side" during the Rev War, the War of 1812 and the Fenian Raids!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
182 CEF Posted 29 October , 2003 Share Posted 29 October , 2003 Well the CBC sort of made up for the mini-series. On Wed night they had a documentry on the explosian with first hand accounts by the few survivors. The series Knocked the British for being war happy and the Americans as being know it alls, also the French were protrayed as cowards. The German soies were not so bad after all in the series one tried to save the city and died trying. If you didn't know anything about WW1 you would learn we were fighting the wrong Country!!! Dean Owen Whitby Ontaio Canada Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted 29 October , 2003 Share Posted 29 October , 2003 It was sad that they had to "Hollywoodise" the story - German spies lurking in the streets of the city, cutting the throats of Canadian sentries,etc. On the other hand there were some nice touches. The hero seems to be wearing the appropriate cap and collar badges of the 25th Nova Scotia Battalion, and they at least had him wearing a nice copy of the MC! A neighbour of mine was a survivor of the explosion, a toddler at the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 29 October , 2003 Share Posted 29 October , 2003 The book I have is a recent one, really good , had new access to many records, got it on line from maritime museum there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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