The Halifax Explosion was a disaster that occurred 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 strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin. A fire on board the Mont-Blanc led to a massive explosion that devastated the Richmond district of Halifax. 1,782 people were killed, largely in Halifax and Dartmouth, by the blast, debris, fires, or collapsed buildings, and an estimated 9,000 others were injured. The blast was the largest human-made explosion at the time, releasing the equivalent energy of roughly 2.9 kilotons of TNT (12 TJ).

Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry
assembled at Wellington Barracks, Halifax, N. S.
on the 14th day of January 1918
by order of Lt. Col. H. L. Chipman, O. C. Comp. Batt.
for the purpose of collecting and recording all evidence procurable relating to the death of no. 283202 Pte. E. H. Rost of 6. S. S. Coy attached to "C" Coy. Comp. Batt.
1st witness
No. 1060315, Sergt. D. A. Lambert, 1st N. S. Depot Battn.: On the morning of Dec. 6th, 1917 about 9.40 one of the bandsman reported to me that Pte. E. H. Rost had been killed and that his body was at the Medical Room. I went to the Medical Room and saw the remains, which I identified as those of Pte. E. H. Rost.
2nd witness
No. 6891, Cpl. J. Hogbin, R. C. R. states: I am Cpl. in charge of the medical office and on the morning of Dec. 6th, 1917, I was on duty. At about 9.25 a.m. a man was brought to the medical office and on examining him I pronounced him dead. As there was only one man killed at Wellington Barracks I presumed that the body refered to was the body of Pte. E. H. Rost.
3rd witness
At Wellington Barracks, Halifax, N. S., Lieut. W. B. Arthur, Asst. Adjutant, states: On the morning of December 6th, 1917 I was in the Medical office between the hours of 10.30 and 11 o'clock, where I saw the body of Pte. E. H. Rost, who had been killed by the explosion that morning. I saw the body taken away on a team.

Memorial Service for Private Avery Veinotte 1918 (Bridgewater Bulletin)
A memorial service in honour of Private Avery P. Veinotte, killed in action on February 5th., in France, will be held in the Union Church West Northfield on the third Sunday afternoon, June 16, at 2:30. The service will be conducted by his pastor, Rev. E. V. Nonamaker. Avery Pearlie Veinotte was the adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Veinotte of West Northfield. He enlisted in the 112th. Battalion in the winter of 1915. During a trench bombardment by the enemy he, together with three of his companions, was instantly killed by a heavy trench mortar shell on February 5,1918 and was buried February 6th., by Captain E. E. Pugsley, Canadian Methodist chaplain.

William Harold Rhuland was married to Olive Lillian Demont in Maitland, Hampshire, Nova Scotia, Canada on 05 August 1916.

William Norse was married to Mary Forrester in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada on 17 October 1890. He was born in Bridgewater and his parents were Edward and Louisa Norse.

The Province, Friday, 14 July 1944:
STRUM - On July 13, 1944, in Shaughnessy Military Hospital, Fred Lorraine Strum, sapper, with the C. E. T. C. unit, in his 42nd year. Survived by his loving wife; 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Funeral service and burial at Aylesford, Nova Scotia. The Bell Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Remark: The reference to a wife in his obituary seems not to be correct.

Owen Havelock Vaughan came into the USA in 1924 and was married to Florence Margaret Slauenwhite in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA in 1928.

Lawrence Willoughby Veinotte was married to Eva Marguerite Strum in Lunenburg, County Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada on 10 April 1931.

Lewis Nelson Morrison was married to Grace Gwendolyn Smith in Nova Scotia, Canada on 16 June 1925. His parents were Daniel Neil Morrison and Bessie Crosby Morrison, nee Lewis.

The marriage of Cecil Clayton Fancy to Eva Martha Nass was registered in Lunenburg, County Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada in 1923.

William Ralph Zwicker was married to Joy Constance Joudrey in Bridgewater, County Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada on 06 April 1940.

Everett Rupert James was married to Dorothy Marion Marie Graves in Mahone Bay, County Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada on 18 October 1939.

William Burton Ernst Jr. was born at Bridgewater, Nova Scotia on 4 May 1924. His father, shown as a lawyer, was born at Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia and his mother was born in London, England. His father was the Minister of Marine & Fisheries Dominion Government and his grandfather was the Honourable William G. Ernst, former member of the Canadian Parliament. He had two sisters, Mary Patricia Ernst and a married sister Ann Ross living in Scotland. Ann was William’s twin sister. He attended Bridgewater School, Nova Scotia between 1929-1937, Bridgewater High between 1937-1939 and Glebe Collegiate, Ottawa, from 1939 to 1941. William enjoyed many sports including hockey, tennis and skiing and photography was his hobby. He worked for the Dominion Government, Radio Branch in Ottawa as a clerk, from 1941 until enlistment on 4 May 1942.

Frederick Harris Colin Bruhm was married to Joyce Shirley Lantz in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada on 01 March 1941.

The marriage of Vernon Benjamin Ramey to Susan Sayers was registered in Brighton, Sussex, England during the first quarter of 1943.

Son of the late Private Cecil Clayton Sr. and Eva Martha Fancy, nee Nass, of Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. Brother of Bertha, Segrid, Doris and Lorna. His father, Private Cecil Clayton Fancy, who served with the West Nova Scotia Regiment during the Second World War, lost his life on 16 Dec 1943 and was laid to rest in the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery in Italy.