The Halifax Explosion
The Halifax explosion, caused by the collision between the French ship Mont-Blanc, loaded with munitions, and the Norwegian vessel Imo, resulted in the death of some 2,000 people and the total destruction of much of the city of Halifax. Among the victims of the explosion, Acting Boatswain Albert Charles Mattison, 44 years old, who died in a rescue attempt alongside the Mont-Blanc.
A view of Halifax Harbour – shortly after the 6 December 1917 explosion that killed some 2,000 people and injured 9,000.
H.M.C.S. Niobe
H.M.C.S. Niobe – The ship in which Albert Charles Mattison served as boatswain, and from which he set off with a group of six ratings in Niobe’s steam pinnace in an unsuccessful attempt to scuttle the burning munitions ship S.S. Mont Blanc in Halifax Harbour on 6 December 1917.
The Albert Medal posthumously awarded to Mattison on 18 February 1919.
Boatswain Albert Charles Mattison
All seven sailors killed instantly when the Mont Blanc exploded, after they had come alongside.
Mattison had volunteered to be part of the crew of a steamboat that tried to approach the French ship and see what could be done. The explosion of the munitions aboard the Mont-Blanc killed the entire crew of this gallant lifesaving endeavour.
For their heroism, Acting Boatswain Mattison and Stoker Petty Officer Ernest Edmund Beard posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for Gallantry in Lifesaving at Sea. Named and recognized in Parliament, along with the other five men:
- Leading Seaman Charles McMillan
- Ordinary Seaman Freeman Burnley Nickerson
- Able Seaman Albert Saunders
- Wireless Telegraph Operator George Veals
- Stoker George Roley Yates
Boatswain Albert Charles Mattison Albert Medal Citation
Husband of Annie Alice Jones (formerly Mattison), of Toronto, Ontario.
Albert Medal
Albert Medal – The Albert Medal, 2nd Class, for Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea, bronze and enamel, reverse inscribed.
‘Awarded by His Majesty to Albert Charles Mattison, late Acting Boatswain , Royal Canadian Navy, For Gallantry in attempting to save life at the cost of his own life on the occasion of the explosion at Halifax, N.S. on the 6th December 1917.’
Inscription
The medal awarded posthumously to Mattison’s widow on 18 February 1919. Currently held by the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Halifax Memorial
The HALIFAX MEMORIAL in Nova Scotia’s capital, erected in Point Pleasant Park, one of the few tangible reminders of the men who died at sea. Twenty-four ships lost by the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War and nearly 2,000 members of the RCN lost their lives.
This Memorial erected by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and unveiled in November 1967 with naval ceremony by H.P. MacKeen, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, in the presence of R. Teillet, then Minister of Veterans Affairs.
The monument a great granite Cross of Sacrifice over 12 metres high, clearly visible to all ships approaching Halifax. The cross mounted on a large podium bearing 23 bronze panels upon which are inscribed the names of over 3,000 Canadian men and women buried at sea. The dedicatory inscription, in French and English, reads as follows:
1914-1939
1918-1945
IN THE HONOUR OF
THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF THE NAVY
ARMY AND MERCHANT NAVY
OF CANADA
WHOSE NAMES
ARE INSCRIBED HERE
THEIR GRAVES ARE UNKNOWN
BUT THEIR MEMORY
SHALL ENDURE.
On June 19, 2003, the Government of Canada designated September 3rd of each year as a day to acknowledge the contribution of Merchant Navy Veterans.
Canadian War Museum
Ottawa, Ontario, April 5 2011 – The Canadian War Museum is pleased to announce that it has acquired the Albert Medal for Saving Life at Sea posthumously awarded to Albert Charles Mattison for his participation in the lifesaving operations at sea in the Halifax explosion of December 6, 1917. The medal acquired at auction for the sum of £ 19,000 (approximately $30,000).
“This new acquisition allows us to honour the memory of the sacrifice and courage of Albert Charles Mattison and all those who, like him, gave their lives in what was a massive explosion and one of the greatest tragedies in Canadian history.”
Mark O’Neill, Director General of the Canadian War Museum
The Albert Medal for Saving Life at Sea first instituted in 1866 and named in honour of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the Prince Consort and husband of Queen Victoria. The medal awarded until 1971 to individuals for saving lives at sea.
Niobe Day
HMCS Niobe the very first warship of Canada’s fledgling navy to arrive on our shores, the reason Niobe Day celebrated every year on October 21 to mark the ship’s arrival in Halifax Harbour on that day in 1910.
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Comments
One response to “Boatswain Albert Charles Mattison AM in the Great War”
A great tribute to the seven sailors killed instantly when the Mont Blanc exploded in a valiant lifesaving attempt of the Halifax explosion.
A very appropriate posting given this year marks the 105th anniversary of the Halifax. Explosion….https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/christmas-island-family-donates-45-foot-tall-tree-boston-1.6653587