Nova Scotia Archives

Archibald MacMechan

Halifax Disaster Record Office Materials

Personal narrative - Cadet Captain Kingley, R.N.C.C.

19 December 1917. — 2 pages : 30 x 39 cm.

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HALIFAX DISASTER RECORD OFFICE
ARCHIBALD MACMECHAN, F.R.S.C.
DIRECTOR
HALIFAX, N.S.

PUBLIC ARCHIVES OF NOVA SCOTIA
HALIFAX

MG 1 volume 2124 number 162

PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Cadet_Captain Kingsley, R. N. C. C.
Communicated personally to Director at 72 Victoria Road, December 19. 1917.

The cadets were standing by, brushing and getting ready for divisions. The seniors were in the senior gun-room, a long, narrow room on the eastern side of the building, facing the harbor. The junior term was in the junior gun-room on the opposite side of the building. As Cadet Captain he was near the door leading into the passage, ready for the stand-by signal, when the crash occurred, and the plaster began to fall. He shouted "All out of here", and was the last to leave the room. They rushed out of the front door. Orde was jammed in the broken door, but was helped through. After they were fallen in, Engineer-Commander Howley gave orders to carry on to the Naval Hospital, but found that it was so damaged as to be of no use, and "carried on" to the Military Hospital at Cogswell St. Kingsley was helping Holms, who was badly cut (Homs's wounds opened repeatedly after being apparently cured, and it was necessary to shorten the artery in the face and throat to prevent his dying from hemorrhage. He has some constitutional defect). Kingsley got a soldier he saw to help him along with Holms, who was afraid that he would not last long enough to reach the hospital. Ultimately Kingsley and Holms reached Camp Hill Hospital, where they found Cadet Captain MacKenzie with both eyes bandaged on account of glass wounds.


Reference: Archibald MacMechan Nova Scotia Archives MG 1 volume 2124 number 162

Nova Scotia Archives — https://archives.novascotia.ca/macmechan/archives/

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