Ice and Explosions

Will Poole c. 1916

My grandfather William Edgar Poole was a very quiet man who rarely spoke ill of anyone.  Joey Smallwood would from time to time get the odd chastising (not directly) but from my recollection that would be the extent of it.

That is until my senior high school year.  That was when I was required to read the novel Death on the Ice by Cassie Brown.  It dealt with the sealing disaster of 1914 involving the S.S. Newfoundland and the S. S. Stephano.  Because my grandparents were alive at the time of the disaster, I brought it up to them and relayed what I had read according to Ms. Brown.

There is no doubt that Poppy had his opinions but mostly kept them to himself ..... until I said the name Abram Kean.  And with that I had seen a side of my grandfather I didn't even know existed; an anger that did not hesitate to show.

I was astonished to say the least and asked my grandmother what I had said wrong.  I had done nothing according to her but I had actually unleashed a flood of memories, sadness and pain.  She told me that my grandfather had a berth on the sealing ship as did a friend of his.  He and his buddy (who's name I can not remember unfortunately) had been on the ship when my grandfather had a "bad feeling".  I assume it was that nagging inner voice, that gut instinct that we sometimes have and don't listen to nearly enough.  But that day, thankfully, he did.  He told his friend that he didn't have a good feeling about it all and was going to get off.  Now having a berth on a sealing ship was not an easy thing to obtain and considered quite a prize.  One was certainly a lucky fellow to get that chance!  His friend thought he was crazy to give up his spot but there was no changing my grandfather's mind.  Reluctantly his friend left with him but as years passed, he remained forever thankful to my grandfather

I don't think Pop felt especially lucky.  Perhaps there was a bit of survivor guilt coupled with the contempt he felt towards Abram Kean.  Although charges were never laid, Abram Kean, his son Westbury and the men's leader George Tuft were all found by an inquiry to have displayed errors in judgement.  But to most, including my grandfather, it was Abram Kean who caused the deaths and injuries to those men.  Many of the survivors, their families, friends and the general public wanted an end to Kean's career.  There were calls and protests for him to retire but to no avail.  To add insult to injury, Kean went on to receive the Order of the British Empire in 1934 for bringing in his 1 millionth seal pelt.

It may have been 1979, but to my grandfather no time had passed. 1914 had only been a blink away.

Pop continued with his life on the sea, fishing off the Labrador (where he met my grandmother) and joining the British Merchant Mariners that aided in the war effort.  During  this time, my grandfather was travelling between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia bringing supplies to the ships that were going over to Europe.  It was a time when every role in fighting the devastating war was extremely important.  After all, the previous year saw the Battle of the Somme and the fall of the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont Hamel.

In 1917, Pop and his fellow mariners were in Halifax on one of their voyages.  It was the 6th of December and they had left Halifax Harbour and were on their way back to St. John's.  Shortly after their departure, they felt the explosion and immediately were made aware of what took place.  The result hit him hard; the thousands who died and even more injured.  What we all know as The Halifax Explosion was his second brush with death.

In 1918 as the Great War was coming to an end, he left the Merchant Marines and returned to Labrador to marry his sweetheart.  As a first mate, he was exemplary in his duties.  So much so, he was asked to stay as they wanted him to work towards becoming a Captain.  He chose a different path; to live quietly, on the Labrador with the woman he loved.

My grandfather, Will Poole was born on this date in 1891.  He lived to be 90 years old.

Pop circa 1971 (photo: Loretta Poole)