RCL Coronation 286 Rexdale, On.

10/05/2026

The Halifax Explosion of December 6 1917 killed nearly 2,000 people, injured 9,000 more, destroyed the north end of Halifax, and generated a pressure wave and a tsunami that left the harbour looking as though a war had been fought in it, which in a sense it had: the Mont-Blanc was a mu*****ns ship bound for the Western Front, and its cargo, the largest concentration of military explosives ever assembled in one ship to that point, was the material of the war brought briefly and catastrophically to the Canadian shore. The collision that triggered the disaster was the result of a navigational misunderstanding in the narrows of Halifax Harbour on a cold December morning. The Mont-Blanc, a French vessel under the command of Captain Aimé Le Médec, had entered the harbour from the Bedford Basin side, carrying a cargo that had been loaded at Gravesend, New York: 35 tonnes of benzol in drums on the deck, 300 rounds of am******on, 10 tonnes of gun cotton, 2,300 tonnes of picric acid, and 200 tonnes of TNT. The total explosive load of approximately 2,925 tonnes represented a concentration of destructive energy that had never before been assembled in a single ship. The Mont-Blanc was required by the international rules of war to display a red flag indicating a dangerous cargo, but the rules also required her to extinguish all lights at night in the submarine-patrolled waters of the outer harbour, and there is evidence that the daytime danger flag was not clearly displayed or was not seen by the crew of the approaching Imo. The Imo, a Norwegian ship chartered for Belgian relief, was leaving the harbour and was on the wrong side of the channel when the two ships first sighted each other.

10/05/2026

10/05/2026

Ladies Auxiliary Fall Craft Sale

09/30/2026

Arthur Currie is the finest military commander Canada has ever produced, and the full measure of his achievement becomes clear only when you consider the context in which he operated: a war of unprecedented industrial slaughter, commanded by generals on all sides who were learning their trade in real time on a battlefield for which no previous military experience had prepared them, using soldiers who were mostly civilians a year before and who died in numbers that stagger the imagination. Currie not only mastered this environment but did so better than any other corps commander on either side. The Canadian Corps under Currie from June 1917 to November 1918 never lost a position it had taken, never failed to achieve an objective it had been assigned, and never suffered the catastrophic losses that characterized British and French operations on the same front during the same period. This record was not accidental. It was the product of a specific approach to command that Currie developed and enforced consistently. Currie was born in Nairn, Ontario on December 5 1875. His family moved frequently during his childhood. He graduated from normal school, taught briefly, then moved to Victoria, British Columbia where he worked in insurance and real estate and served in the local militia. He was financially irresponsible in his personal affairs, borrowing militia regimental funds to cover personal losses and only avoiding court-martial because his friends covered the debt. This aspect of his past haunted him during the war and afterward, when political enemies used it to attack his reputation. When war was declared in August 1914, Currie was a lieutenant-colonel commanding the 50th Gordon Highlanders of Canada. He was given command of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade and arrived in France in early 1915.

09/27/2026

09/27/2026

09/14/2026

By becoming a speaker, you are joining a diverse community of veterans and Canadian Forces members who are committed to sharing their stories of service. As a speaker you have the ability to give a face and voice to historical events through your experiences and create connections with members of yo...