Vincent Coleman

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Vincent Coleman

Patrick Vincent "Vince" Coleman (* 13. March 1872 in Halifax , Nova Scotia ; † 6. December 1917 ) was a dispatcher ( "train dispatcher") of government Canadian railway company Canadian Government Railways . He was known for his behavior shortly before the Halifax explosion .

biography

Vincent Coleman worked at the time of the First World War in the Richmond railway station in the port of Halifax, which had existed since 1858 . He lived not far from his place of work in the Richmond neighborhood, was married with four children. As a dispatcher, he was one rank above a simple telegraph operator that was otherwise to be found in most train stations. His job was to coordinate the massive rail traffic of the overcrowded war port.

On the morning of December 6, 1917, the French ammunition freighter SS Mont-Blanc and the Norwegian transporter SS Imo collided in the area of ​​the port basin , causing the Mont-Blanc to catch fire. The French ship had around 2,600 tons of inflammable and explosive substances on board, but was not marked accordingly. Coleman and his superior had been informed of the ship's cargo by a seaman, whereupon they tried to escape.

Coleman, however, returned shortly afterwards to his gatekeeper house and warned all train stations up to Truro about the danger over the telegraph line . As a result, all trains to Halifax were stopped. At the last station before Halifax, based on his report, passenger train No. 10 from Saint John , New Brunswick, who should have arrived in Halifax around 8:55 a.m. with around 300 people on board. At 9:04 a.m. the Mont-Blanc exploded , devastating the Richmond district and killing almost 2,000 people. Vincent Coleman's body was recovered from the station area a few days after the explosion and buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Halifax.

Honors

Vincent Coleman is a hero in Canada. He was inducted into the Canadian Railway Hall of Fame in 2004 , and two streets in Halifax ( Vincent Street and Coleman Court ) and an apartment complex ( Vincent Coleman Apartment ) were named after him. An episode ( Halifax Explosion ) was shot about his act for Historica Minutes: History by the Minute (also Heritage Minutes for short ), a Canadian short film series about special events in Canadian history. He is portrayed by actor Ron Lea.

Since 2005 there has also been an exhibition area about him in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.

literature

  • Sally M. Walker: Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917. Henry Holt and Co., New York City 2011, ISBN 978-0-80508-945-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Patrick Vincent Coleman, Wikitree
  2. ^ Patrick Vincent Coleman, Find a Grave Memorial
  3. ↑ Historica Canada , minutes (short film)
  4. ↑ Blizzard of Glass, Sally M Walker
personal data
SURNAME Coleman, Vincent
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Coleman, Patrick Vincent; Coleman, Vince
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian dispatcher
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada
DATE OF DEATH December 6, 1917
Place of death Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada