The Greatest Canadian: Vincent Coleman

1. The Greatest Canadian:Vincent Coleman By: Sheldon Iu

2. Background Information • Born in the 1872’s and passed away on December 6, 1917 • Married to Frances Coleman with 3 kids • Worked as a train dispatcher for the Canadian Government Railways ( previously named Intercolonial Railways of Canada) • Few years before he died, he was congratulated for helping stop a runaway train • Was very active in his railway union • In his wallet that morning was a clipping of a Union meeting in Montreal and beside that some raffle tickets for Victory Bonds

3. The day of the Halifax Explosion • Munitions French ship SS Mont Blanc collided with Norwegian ship SS Imo • SS Mont Blanc caught on fire • A sailor who was sent by his naval officer warned the station of the burning ship. • The station was only a few hundred feet from the ship • Approximately 2000 deaths, 9000 injuries, and $35 million worth of damage (about the same as $500 million today) • It is still the largest man-made accidental explosion in the world

4. Why Vince Coleman is the Greatest Canadian • When him and his co-worker learned of the news, they immediately fled the area • Upon escaping, Coleman remembered there was a train incoming from St. John, New Brunswick that was due within minutes • Rushed back to the telegraphing office to warn all inbound trains for Halifax about the burning ship • Said something along the lines of “Hold up the train. Munitions ship on fire and making for Pier 6…Goodbye boys.” • He knew he was going to die if he went back, but because of him his self sacrifice saved around 300 people. • If not for him, Halifax would go completely silent, hours would be wasted into finding what happened, and the blizzard that hit a day later would delay the arrival of relief trains

5. Arguments to challenge the greatness of Vince Coleman • According to some historians, Coleman did not actually save the train because the train was already past the point where it could be stopped, which was Rockingham station. This is the last station before Richmond station. Luckily the train was running late. • Some historians also believed the that train that was inbound for Halifax was far enough that it wont get affected by the explosion

6. My Response • There is no actual proof that he “saved” the train, but that was his intention and he stopped all other trains coming in. Even if he did not save the train, his message also served another more important purpose; he warned the entire Intercolonial of this disaster. If Coleman were not to send the telegraph, many hours would be invested into what was wrong with Halifax, as their lines were down after the explosion. This would postpone the coming of the relief trains. Upon hearing the telegraph, The Intercolonial sent 6 relief trains to help the survivors. The early hours of the help was extremely important to the lives of the survivors as the blizzard the next day slowed everything down. So if he could not save the 300 on the train, he would save the lives of hundreds of survivors. • Like I said before, there is no proof Coleman stopped the train. But if the train was far away enough, the explosion would not affect the train at all. The force of the explosion shattered all the windows and caused minor injuries to the passengers onboard.

7. Heritage Moment: Halifax Explosion • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oaRr6A-gkA