Topic: Medals
Halifax Explosion Albert Medals
Extract from the London Gazette, No. 31187, 18 February 1919
Admiralty, S.W., 18th February, 1919
The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the posthumous award of the Albert Medal for gallantry in saving life at sea to:—
Mr. Albert Charles Mattison, late Acting Boatswain, Royal Canadian Navy, and
Stoker Petty Officer Edward E. Beard, late Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve
The following is the account of the services in respect of which these decorations have been conferred:---
On the 6th December, 1917, the French steamer "Mont Blanc," with a cargo of high explosives, and the Norwegian steamer "Imo" were in collision in Halifax Harbour. Fire broke out on the "Mont Blanc" immediately after the collision, and the flames very quickly rose to a height of over 100 feet. The crew abandoned their ship and pulled towards the shore. The commanding officer of the H.M.C.S. "Niobe," which was lying in the harbour, on perceiving what had happened, sent away a steam boat to see what could be done. Mr. Mattison and six men of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve volunteered to form the crew of this boat, but just as the boat got alongside the "Mont Blanc" the ship blew up, and Mr. Mattison and the whole boat's crew lost their lives. The boats' crew were fully aware of the desperate nature of the work they were engaged on, and by their gallantry and devotion to duty they sacrificed their lives in the endeavour to save the lives of others.
From the details available in the databases of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, we can assemble the full list of the Niobe sailors lost on 6 Dec, 1917, that formed the crew of the steam launch:
- Boatswain Albert Charles Mattison, HMCS Niobe, RCN (Age 44)
- VR/1731 Petty Officer Stoker Ernest Edmund Beard, HMCS Niobe, RNCVR (Age 30)
- VR/5091 Ordinary Seaman Walter Gardner, HMCS Niobe, RNCVR
- VR/2496 Leading Seaman Charles McMillan, HMCS Niobe, RNCVR (Age 27)
- VR/1891 Ordinary Seaman Freeman Burnley Nickerson, HMCS Niobe, RNCVR
- VR/1561 Able Seaman Carl Cecil Wilson, HMCS Niobe, RNCVR (Age 17)
- VR/5480 Stoker George Roley Yates, HMCS Niobe, RNCVR
All of these men are commemorated on the Halifax Memorial erected in Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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