The Halifax Explosion was a maritime disaster in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 6 December 1917. SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with high explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Narrows. A fire on board the French ship ignited her cargo, causing a large explosion that devastated Halifax. Approximately 2,000 people were killed by blast, debris, fires and collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured.

Nearly all structures within 2,600 ft radius, including the entire community of Richmond, were obliterated. A pressure wave snapped trees, bent iron rails, demolished buildings, grounded vessels, and scattered fragments of the Mont-Blanc for miles. Hardly a window in the city proper survived the blast. Across the harbour, in Dartmouth, there was also widespread damage.^[1] A tsunami created by the blast wiped out the community of Mi'kmaq First Nations people who had lived in the Tuft's Cove area for generations.  Source: Wikipedia

 

On our second trip to Fairview Lawn Cemetery we were able to locate the memorial stone for the Halifax Harbour explosion victims