'An East Coast Port': Halifax in Wartime, 1939-1945

On 18 July 1945, an ammunition barge blew up at the Naval Magazine jetty on Bedford Basin. Fire spread quickly to piles of ammunition. A chain reaction of fire, explosion and concussion rocked Halifax that day and into the next. Much of North End Halifax was smoothly evacuated the first day, while the remainder of the city went on high alert. However, the Bedford Magazine Explosion did not approach the force of the 1917 Halifax Harbour Explosion – although windows shattered, plaster cracked and minor injuries and one death were reported.

Date: 18 July 1945

Reference: Yarmouth County Historical Society Nova Scotia Archives 1981-517 1