Titanic & Halifax Canada Connection

#Titanic_Halifax_NSCanada_Connection

I best way to start the story is to begin in Dublin Ireland where White Star was building two Ocean Liners to compete with the Cunard Shipping Line (which used in the beginning Roman names)
So this is why the name Titanic ( Greek from Titans) & its sister ship Olympic got its namesake
White Star knew it could not match Cunard for speed so it opted for size & opulence so over the next two years at the Harland / Wolff Shipyards the dream took shape

The Olympic was completed first & Captain Edward Smith was at the helm when it collided with the HMS Hawke near the Isle of Wight (two compartments filled up with water but the ship was able to make it back at port)
Because of repairs needed, workers on the Titanic site were pulled away thus leaving her maiden voyage delayed (8 weeks) & you guessed it.......into Iceberg Season

Finally as the Titanic departed from Southampton England April 10th 1912 with small stops in Cherbourg France & Queenstown Ireland with (yes the same) Captain Edward Smith maybe overconfident with surviving a collision at sea with a Naval Boat (my opinion)

 

Todays Cable Wharf in Halifax 
But in the early 1900s it was responsible for the laying & the maintenance of transatlantic cables
It was these folks who got hired by White Star with the grim task to pickup any bodies from the Titanic sinking on April 15,1912

The Mackay-Bennett left the Port of Halifax for its three day 800 nautical mile journey with a clergy, undertaker, 100 coffins, blocks of ice & regular supplies

 On a side note; St Johns Newfoundland was closer to the disaster but it was not part of Canada until 1949, its an island so relatives would have a hard time getting there to claim any bodies, plus Halifax just had more resources & knowhow
 
So once Mackay-Bennett reached the area they recovered 306 bodies which were given a number & all clothing, body markings etc was cataloged
Then 116 souls were given proper burial at sea & the ship returned with 190 victims that was well over what they were equipped to handle

Once the ship arrived into Halifax all the unclaimed bodies (of what was determined to be 2nd &3rd Class passengers) were brought to the Mayflower Curling Rink to be laid on the ice sheets with temporary walls put up for respect

All the First Class Passengers were sent to JA Snow Funeral Home on Argyle Street (now the Five Fishermen Restaurant)
One of the 59 bodies that were claimed by relatives was John Jacob Astor IV whos family paid the crew members of the Mackay-Bennett a reward for the recovery of his body

Todays Five Fishermen 

St Pauls Church (downtown Halifax at Parade Square) held a memorial service for the victims plus one of its parishioners, Mr. George Wright 

George Wright was a very successful businessman & philanthropist of Halifax.
 His house on Young Avenue (ironically) was signed over to the Local Council of Women before he boarded the Titanic through his lawyer
He has a few other Historic Registered Buildings on Barrington Street, was also a huge contributor to the YMCA & Dalhousie University
 Also he owned several boats so they created the George Wright Cup that the local Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron races for each year in his memory

St Georges Church was the site of a proper burial paid for by the crew of the Mackay Bennett with that reward money for a unknown child (19 months old)
Eventually with improved DNA testing the baby was finally identified as Sidney Leslie Goodwin in 2008 

The Fairview Lawn Cemetery is a denominational resting site run by the City of Halifax & was established in 1893.
White Star paid for the headstones & upkeep until 1930 then the Titanic Society of Atlantic Canada stepped in to take over
Approximately one third of the 121 buried here still have no name attached to the marker 😢
As you can see, every person pulled out of the water was assigned a number with James McGrady being the last at 330

Alma Palsson was thought at one point to be the mother of the unknown child so purposely were laid to rest near each other 

This headstone is much larger than the rest & again the crew of the Mackay-Bennett used their reward money to send their respects to ( as they felt) as one of their own
Eventually the identity was established & a smaller plaque was put in place for Sidney Leslie Goodwin but the large stone marker was kept for all the other children lost that night in the North Atlantic Ocean

In just over five years later the city had to endure their own tragedy after grieving & helping the Titanic

 The Halifax Explosion had close to 2000 casualties due to the blast debris, fires or collapsed buildings  plus another 9000 injured.
What Halifax learned during the horrific Titanic situation was with identifying the bodies through meticulous record keeping which helped immensely with the healing process.....again!

The Ironic Tragedy of Halifax & Titanic

Samuel Cunard was born in Halifax & amassed great wealth through banking, lumber, coal & iron
He also had built a merchant fleet of around 40 vessels to establish a mail service between England & North America.
 He moved to the UK once the British Government opened up bidding on contracts &
as they say the rest his history
 He later ventured into passenger vessels with now to present time the Port of Halifax receives approximately 200 ships with traditionally the Queen Mary 2 making a few visits per season 

The Cunard Ship RMS Carpathia rescued 705 passengers from the Titanic lifeboats & took them to New York 
After it was put into military service & was sunk by a German U-Boat it was later found in the year 2000 just 120 miles off the coast of Ireland........remember the Titanic was built in Belfast

Showing the will of the human spirit to keep moving forward

Richard Williams survived the Titanic but was in the water so long the doctors wanted to amputate both legs, he refused
After he recovered he went on to win the US Nationals 1914 & 1916, Wimbledon Doubles 1920 & Olympic Gold Mixed Doubles 1924

Hilda Slayter was born in Halifax & survived the sinking 
Then married, lived in western Canada before returning to the east coast only to have
pulled through the Halifax Explosion, then moved to England where she passed

Life is full circle as then her ashes were returned & was buried at Camp Hill Cemetery in Halifax

Post Titanic Tragedy

The Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO) of Halifax did not directly find the Titanic, but it played a crucial role in supporting the Dr Robert Ballard expedition team through logistical & scientific support. Which then through that help found the doomed ship in 1985

KeyTip
If ever in my beautiful City of Halifax, make a point of visiting The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic located the the Harbor Boardwalk next to the previously mentioned Cable Wharf 
For under $10.00 to can see exhibits of the Titanic & Halifax Explosion