The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy: Inquiry and Intrigue (Studies in Canadian Military History,) [Paperback]

John Griffith Armstrong (Author)

Book Description

Series: Studies in Canadian Military History, | Publication Date: July 2003

The Halifax Explosion of 1917 is a defining event in the Canadian consciousness, yet it has never been the subject of a sustained analytical history. Astonishingly, until now no one has consulted the large federal government archives that contain first-hand accounts of the disaster and the response of national authorities.

Canada's recently established navy was at the epicentre of the crisis. Armstrong reveals the navy's compelling, and little-known, story by carefully retracing the events preceding the disaster and the role of the military in its aftermath. He catches the pulse of disaster response in official Ottawa and provides a compelling analysis of the legal manoeuvres, rhetoric, blunders, public controversy, and crisis management that ensued. His disturbing conclusion is that federal officials knew of potential dangers in the harbour before the explosion, took no corrective action, and kept the information from the public. As a result, a Halifax naval officer was made a scapegoat and the navy received lasting, and mostly undeserved, vilification.

This is a provocative read not only for military and naval devotees but for anyone who wants to understand one of the events that shaped Canada in the twentieth century.

Published in association with the Canadian War Museum.

Editorial Reviews

Review

While the disaster has been subject of several popular histories, until now, the event has not been given the detailed scholarly study required to sweep away myth and provide an accurate account of what took place. John Griffith Armstrong has undertaken the first such academic work, and it is a very good study indeed. Armstrong’s focus is the role of the Royal Canadian and Royal navies in the events leading up to the explosion, its aftermath, and the investigations that followed. By shifting the attention of the reader away from the calamity that befell the city, Armstrong has provided a remarkable fresh look into the explosion.
– David Zimmermann, University of Victoria, International Journal, Summer 2005

Armstrong’s account and analysis adds considerably to our knowledge not only of the explosion, but also of the influence of the media, and the concerns of Ottawa. Having spent years in the latter as an official historian, the author has had first-hand knowledge of how covers-up work.
– Robin Highman, American Review of Canadian Studies, Winter 2005

About the Author

John Griffith Armstrong is a retired career officer who taught history at the Royal Military College of Canada and was part of the team at the Department of National Defence’s Directorate of History that wrote volume 3 of The Official History of the RCAF.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: University of Washington Press (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0774808918
• ISBN-13: 978-0774808910
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,182,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A depressing but educational story of institutional CYA, June 18, 2003

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy: Inquiry and Intrigue (Studies in Canadian Military History) (Hardcover)

On December 6, 1917, two ships in the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia, collided. The resulting fire soon led to a massive explosion that destroyed the ships, much of the harbor, and a good part of the surrounding city. The scope and impact of the tragedy is almost unimaginable. And yet, according to author John Griffith Armstrong, the event is largely forgotten by Canadians and almost universally unknown to Americans. That's too bad -- not only for the sake of the people killed or wounded, but also for the lessons we can still learn from the event and its aftermath today. Armstrong's book shows us why.

As the author notes early in his book, the Halifax explosion, to the extent it's been studied by historians at all, is generally approached from a sociological viewpoint that concentrates on the event's impact on the people of Halifax. Armstrong's brief is different. He analyses the effect of the explosion and subsequent investigation on the Royal Canadian Navy.

In so doing, he's created a surprisingly interesting story that, while it gets a little bogged down in the minutia of inquiry transcripts quoted at length, nevertheless develops a number of themes that are still relevant today. For example: the tendency of military and political bureaucracies to obfuscate, shift blame, and throw others to the wolves in order to protect themselves (and the difficulties military and civilian bureaucracies have in communicating with, or even understanding, one another); the dangers that result from unclear divisions of responsibility; the ease with which opportunistic politicians can manipulate and enflame public opinion; and much more.

It's also very interesting to see the developing institutional ethos of the Royal Canadian Navy, which had existed as a nominally independent body for less than a decade at the time of the explosion.

On the whole, this book is a study of bureaucracy, legal proceedings, and institutional evolution that frankly may not appeal to a lot of people. But for students of disasters, institutions, the navy, or just an overlooked chapter in Canadian history, this title has a lot to recommend it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Well Written Examination of a Disasters Aftermath, February 10, 2004

By 

Michael Lima (Fresno, California USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy: Inquiry and Intrigue (Studies in Canadian Military History,) (Paperback)

I purchased The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy thinking it was a depiction of the navy's efforts to assist victims of this disaster. While that aspect is slightly covered, the majority of the book deals with the ramifications that the explosion had on the Canadian Navy's organization and morale. Even though it turned out to be a different book than I expected, I still found it to be absorbing and informative.

The main reason I still enjoyed the book was due to Armstrong's superb summarization of various legal and military documents associated with the disaster's inquiry. This summarization showed how political pressure distorted an otherwise perfunctory legal hearing. The documents' sections that he chose also brought to life the scapegoats for the catastrophe and the villains behind the pillorying that followed the hearing. In bringing these proceedings and people to life, Armstrong showed that the political traumas resulting from the calamity affected people and institutions in ways that were as destructive as the explosion itself.

Many potential readers may not think that this book is worth reading, because it barely focuses on the tales of survival and heroism that sprung from the tragedy. But, thanks to his meticulous research and solid writing, Armstrong presents a cautionary tale that is especially relevant in the aftermath of September 11th. This book is one that will appeal to anyone who is interested in how people and institutions react to disaster.