Broadside: Halifax’s wartime pilot boat disasterOn a bitter winter night during the Second World War, a British freighter smashed into a Halifax Harbour pilot boat, sending nine men to their deaths. Drawing on interviews and years of meticulous research, Rick Grant uncovers the true story of what happened, and the official Canadian government cover-up that followed. But the tragedy did not end with the sinking. Families of the lost men, including widows and fatherless children, faced both censorship and government apathy to get the compensation and truth they were owed. Rick Grant offers a dramatic, evocative, and deeply researched account of a moment in history that still resonates today for readers of Second World War history, naval history, and those interested in the human cost of seafaring. |
Contents
MAP | 9 |
INTRODUCTION | 10 |
CHAPTER 1 FATAL DECISIONS | 14 |
CHAPTER 2 THE SCRAMBLE | 29 |
CHAPTER 3 LOST AND FOUND | 38 |
CHAPTER 4 BREAKING THE NEWS | 46 |
CHAPTER 5 VILLAGE GRIEF | 50 |
CHAPTER 6 WIDOWS AND CHILDREN | 55 |
CHAPTER 10 SECRETS AND TESTIMONY | 86 |
CHAPTER 11 INVESTIGATION DAY TWO | 92 |
CHAPTER 12 SURVIVORS STORIES | 98 |
CHAPTER 13 JUSTICE CARROLLS TAKE | 105 |
CHAPTER 14 REWARDS AND PLUM POSITIONS | 110 |
CHAPTER 15 THE ESMOND S FATE | 116 |
CHAPTER 16 MONUMENT AND LAMENTS | 118 |
AFTERWORD | 126 |