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{{Short description|Canadian writer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{for|the British Olympic shooter|Thomas Raddall (sport shooter)}}
{{for|the British Olympic shooter|Thomas Raddall (sport shooter)}}
{{more citations needed|date=July 2017}}
'''Thomas Head Raddall''', [[Order of Canada|OC]], [[Royal Society of Canada|FRSC]] (13 November 1903 – 1 April 1994) was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction.
{{infobox person
⚫
| name = Thomas Head Raddall
| image = File:Thomas Raddall 1958 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Raddall, {{circa|1958}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1903|11|13|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Hythe, Kent|Hythe]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1994|04|01|1903|11|13|df=y}}
| death_place =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation = writer
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
⚫
}}

'''Thomas Head Raddall''' {{post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|FRSC}} (13 November 1903 &ndash; 1 April 1994) was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction.<ref name=canenc>[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/thomas-head-raddall/ Thomas Head Raddall's] entry in [[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]</ref>


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Raddall was born in [[Hythe, Kent]], England in 1903, the son of an Army officer, also named Thomas Head Raddall, and Ellen (née Gifford) Raddall. In 1913 the family moved to [[Nova Scotia]], where his father had taken a training position with the [[Canadian Militia]]. The elder Raddall then saw active service during [[World War I|the First World War]] and was killed in action at [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Amiens]] in August 1918.
Raddall was born in [[Hythe, Kent]], England in 1903, the son of an Army officer, also named [[Thomas Raddall (sport shooter)|Thomas Head Raddall]], and Ellen (née Gifford) Raddall. In 1913 the family moved to [[Nova Scotia]], where his father had taken a training position with the [[Canadian Militia]]. The elder Raddall then saw active service during [[World War I|the First World War]] and was killed in action at [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Amiens]] in August 1918.


Raddall attended Chebucto School in [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] until 6 December 1917, when the school was converted into a temporary morgue in the wake of the [[Halifax Explosion]]. The Raddall family survived the explosion and Raddall wrote about it in his memoirs, ''In My Time''.
Raddall attended Chebucto School in [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] until 6 December 1917, when the school was converted into a temporary morgue in the wake of the [[Halifax Explosion]]. The Raddall family survived the explosion and Raddall wrote about it in his memoirs, ''In My Time''.


At the age of fifteen, Raddall trained at the [[Canadian School of Telegraphy]] in [[City of Halifax|Halifax]] and shortly thereafter started working at the age of 18 as a marine telegraph operator for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company.<ref>{{cite web |author=Thomas H. Raddall |title=Nova Scotia's First Telegraph System |url=https://dalspace.library.dal.ca/bitstream/handle/10222/63970/dalrev_vol27_iss2_pp131_142.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=24 July 2023 |year=1947}}</ref>
Raddall's first job was as a wireless operator on seagoing ships, including the [[CS Mackay-Bennett|CS ''Mackay-Bennett'']], and at isolated wireless posts such as [[Sable Island]]. He later took a job as a clerk at a pulp and paper mill in [[Liverpool, Nova Scotia|Liverpool]], Nova Scotia, where he began his writing career.

Raddall's first job was as a wireless operator on seagoing ships, including the [[CS Mackay-Bennett|CS ''Mackay-Bennett'']], and stationed on land at [[Camperdown Signal Station]] and at isolated wireless posts such as [[Sable Island]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://memoryns.ca/thomas-head-raddall-fonds |title = Thomas Head Raddall fonds - MemoryNS}}</ref> He later took a job as a clerk at a pulp and paper mill in [[Liverpool, Nova Scotia|Liverpool]], Nova Scotia, where he began his writing career. There, Raddall came in contact with the master American swindler and fugitive from justice, [[Leo Koretz]], who was using the alias, Lou Keyte.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jobb|first=Dean|title=''Empire of Deception''|url=http://www.empireofdeception.com/04-02.htm}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}: ''The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation''. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and HarperCollins Canada: New York and Toronto, 2015. ({{ISBN|978-1-61620-175-3}})</ref>


== Career as a writer ==
== Career as a writer ==
Line 15: Line 36:


== Historical preservation and restoration ==
== Historical preservation and restoration ==
Raddall also worked with the Queens County Historical Society, the Historic Sites Advisory Council of Nova Scotia, and the [[Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada]]. He played a role in preserving the diary of [[Simeon Perkins]], an early colonial document published in three volumes (the fourth has yet to be published) between 1948 and 1978 by the Champlain Society, and edited by [[Harold Innis]], D. C. Harvey and C. B. Ferguson. Raddall helped to restore and preserve Perkins House Museum, a colonial house built by Simeon Perkins that is now a part of the [[Nova Scotia Museum]] system.
Raddall worked with the Queens County Historical Society, the Historic Sites Advisory Council of Nova Scotia, and the [[Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada]]. He played a role in preserving the diary of [[Simeon Perkins]], an early colonial document published in three volumes (the fourth has yet to be published) between 1948 and 1978 by the Champlain Society, and edited by [[Harold Innis]], [[Daniel Cobb Harvey|D. C. Harvey]] and C. B. Ferguson. Raddall helped to restore and preserve Perkins House Museum, a colonial house built by Simeon Perkins that is now a part of the [[Nova Scotia Museum]] system.


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==
An exact replica of Raddall's study, furnished with his possessions, is on view at the Thomas Raddall Research Centre, administered by the Queens County Historical Society, of which Raddall was a founding member in 1929. His correspondence is housed at the [[Dalhousie University]] Archives, which also runs the Thomas Raddall Electronic Archive Project, currently digitizing his published and unpublished writings. The [[Thomas Head Raddall Award|Thomas Head Raddall Literary Award]] honours his legacy.
An exact replica of Raddall's study, furnished with his possessions, is on view at the Thomas Raddall Research Centre, administered by the Queens County Historical Society, of which Raddall was a founding member in 1929.

His correspondence is housed at the [[Dalhousie University]] Archives, which also runs the Thomas Raddall Electronic Archive Project, currently{{when|date=July 2017}} digitizing his published and unpublished writings.<ref name=Dal-archive>{{Cite web|url=http://www.library.dal.ca/archives/raddall/index.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202044546/http://www.library.dal.ca/archives/raddall/index.html|url-status=dead|title=Thomas Head Raddall Digital Collection|archive-date=2 February 2006}}</ref>

The [[Thomas Head Raddall Award]] is a literary award administered for the best work of adult fiction published in the previous year by a writer from Canada's Atlantic provinces.

The [[Thomas Raddall Provincial Park]] is a park in Nova Scotia named for Raddall.<ref name=nsparks>{{cite web|url=https://parks.novascotia.ca/content/thomas-raddall|title=Thomas Raddall Provincial Park|publisher=Government of Nova Scotia}}</ref>


== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
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*''Tidefall'' - 1953
*''Tidefall'' - 1953
*''The Wedding Gift and Other Stories''
*''The Wedding Gift and Other Stories''
** {{lang|de|Das Hochzeitsgeschenk}}, in ''Kanadische Erzähler der Gegenwart.'' Hgg. Armin Arnold, Walter E. Riedel. Manesse, Zürich 1967, 1986, p 11 – 38
*''West Novas: A History of the West Nova Scotia Regiment''
*''West Novas: A History of the West Nova Scotia Regiment''
*''The Wings of Night'' - 1957
*''The Wings of Night'' - 1957

== See also ==
*[[Thomas H. Raddall Provincial Park]]
*[[Public history]]


==References==
==References==
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== External links ==
== External links ==
*[http://www.library.dal.ca/archives/raddall/index.html Thomas Head Raddall Digital Collection]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060514195735/http://www.tei-c.org/Applications/th02.xml Thomas Raddall Electronic Archive Project]
*[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006640 Thomas Head Raddall's] entry in [[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]
*[http://www.tei-c.org/Applications/th02.xml Thomas Raddall Electronic Archive Project]
*[http://www.pc.gc.ca/clmhc-hsmbc/ Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada]
*[http://www.champlainsociety.ca/ The Champlain Society]
*[http://museum.gov.ns.ca/peh/index.htm Perkins House Museum]
*[http://museum.gov.ns.ca/ Nova Scotia Museum]


{{Governor General's English fiction|state=collapsed}}
{{Governor General's English non-fiction|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
⚫
| NAME =Raddall, Thomas Head
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Canadian historian
| DATE OF BIRTH = 13 November 1903
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1 April 1994
| PLACE OF DEATH =
⚫
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raddall, Thomas Head}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raddall, Thomas Head}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
⚫
[[Category:Canadian historians]]
[[Category:Canadian male writers]]
[[Category:Canadian historical novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian historical novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian male novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian male novelists]]
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[[Category:Writers from Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Writers from Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:English emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:British emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:People from Hythe, Kent]]
[[Category:People from Hythe, Kent]]
[[Category:People from Queens County, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:People from Queens County, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Governor General's Award winning fiction writers]]
[[Category:Governor General's Award-winning fiction writers]]
[[Category:Governor General's Award winning non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:20th-century novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century historians]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian historians]]
[[Category:Male historians]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]]
⚫
[[Category:Canadian male non-fiction writers]]

Revision as of 06:33, 16 January 2024

For the British Olympic shooter, see Thomas Raddall (sport shooter).
Thomas Head Raddall
Raddall, c. 1958
Born(1903-11-13)13 November 1903
Hythe, England
Died1 April 1994(1994-04-01) (aged 90)
Occupationwriter

Thomas Head Raddall OC FRSC (13 November 1903 – 1 April 1994) was a Canadian writer of history and historical fiction.[1]

Early life

Raddall was born in Hythe, Kent, England in 1903, the son of an Army officer, also named Thomas Head Raddall, and Ellen (née Gifford) Raddall. In 1913 the family moved to Nova Scotia, where his father had taken a training position with the Canadian Militia. The elder Raddall then saw active service during the First World War and was killed in action at Amiens in August 1918.

Raddall attended Chebucto School in Halifax until 6 December 1917, when the school was converted into a temporary morgue in the wake of the Halifax Explosion. The Raddall family survived the explosion and Raddall wrote about it in his memoirs, In My Time.

At the age of fifteen, Raddall trained at the Canadian School of Telegraphy in Halifax and shortly thereafter started working at the age of 18 as a marine telegraph operator for the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company.[2]

Raddall's first job was as a wireless operator on seagoing ships, including the CS Mackay-Bennett, and stationed on land at Camperdown Signal Station and at isolated wireless posts such as Sable Island.[3] He later took a job as a clerk at a pulp and paper mill in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, where he began his writing career. There, Raddall came in contact with the master American swindler and fugitive from justice, Leo Koretz, who was using the alias, Lou Keyte.[4]

Career as a writer

Raddall was a prolific, award-winning writer. He received Governor General's Awards for three of his books, The Pied Piper of Dipper Creek (1943), Halifax, Warden of the North (1948) and The Path of Destiny (1957). He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1971.

Raddall is best known for his historical fiction, but he also published numerous non-fictional historical works. His interest in historical research grew when he was stationed at historical locations as a wireless operator, and he received crucial encouragement and assistance from Harry Piers, Curator of the Nova Scotia Museum, who became his mentor.[5] Raddall's early works included studies of privateering, civic and marine history, and Canada during the War of 1812. His history of Halifax, Warden of the North, remains influential.

Historical preservation and restoration

Raddall worked with the Queens County Historical Society, the Historic Sites Advisory Council of Nova Scotia, and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. He played a role in preserving the diary of Simeon Perkins, an early colonial document published in three volumes (the fourth has yet to be published) between 1948 and 1978 by the Champlain Society, and edited by Harold Innis, D. C. Harvey and C. B. Ferguson. Raddall helped to restore and preserve Perkins House Museum, a colonial house built by Simeon Perkins that is now a part of the Nova Scotia Museum system.

Legacy

An exact replica of Raddall's study, furnished with his possessions, is on view at the Thomas Raddall Research Centre, administered by the Queens County Historical Society, of which Raddall was a founding member in 1929.

His correspondence is housed at the Dalhousie University Archives, which also runs the Thomas Raddall Electronic Archive Project, currently[when?] digitizing his published and unpublished writings.[6]

The Thomas Head Raddall Award is a literary award administered for the best work of adult fiction published in the previous year by a writer from Canada's Atlantic provinces.

The Thomas Raddall Provincial Park is a park in Nova Scotia named for Raddall.[7]

Bibliography

  • At the Tide's Turn and Other Stories
  • The Cape Breton Giant and Other Writings
  • Courage in the Storm
  • The Dreamers
  • The Governor's Lady - 1960
  • Footsteps on Old Floors: True Tales of Mystery - 1968
  • Halifax, Warden of the North - 1948; revised edition - 1971
  • Hangman's Beach
  • His Majesty's Yankees - 1942
  • In My Time: A Memoir - 1976
  • The Markland Sagas, With a Discussion of Their Relation to Nova Scotia
  • The Mersey Story
  • A Muster of Arms and Other Stories
  • The Nymph and the Lamp - 1950
  • Path of Destiny: Canada From the British Conquest to Home Rule - 1957
  • A Pictorial Guide to Historic Nova Scotia, Featuring Louisbourg, Peggy's Cove, Sable Island
  • The Pied Piper of Dipper Creek and Other Tales
  • Pride's Fancy - 1948
  • Roger Sudden - 1946
  • The Rover: The Story of a Canadian Privateer - 1958
  • The Saga of the "Rover"
  • Son of the Hawk - 1950
  • Tambour and Other Stories
  • This Is Nova Scotia, Canada's Ocean Playground
  • Tidefall - 1953
  • The Wedding Gift and Other Stories
    • Das Hochzeitsgeschenk, in Kanadische Erzähler der Gegenwart. Hgg. Armin Arnold, Walter E. Riedel. Manesse, Zürich 1967, 1986, p 11 – 38
  • West Novas: A History of the West Nova Scotia Regiment
  • The Wings of Night - 1957

References

  1. ^ Thomas Head Raddall's entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
  2. ^ Thomas H. Raddall (1947). "Nova Scotia's First Telegraph System" (PDF). Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Thomas Head Raddall fonds - MemoryNS".
  4. ^ Jobb, Dean. "Empire of Deception".[permanent dead link]: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and HarperCollins Canada: New York and Toronto, 2015. (ISBN 978-1-61620-175-3)
  5. ^ Thomas Raddall, In My Time McClellend and Steward (1976 ), p. 116
  6. ^ "Thomas Head Raddall Digital Collection". Archived from the original on 2 February 2006.
  7. ^ "Thomas Raddall Provincial Park". Government of Nova Scotia.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_Head_Raddall&oldid=1196079140"