Features historical articles and information on non-fiction books by Joel Zemel: Scapegoat, the extraordinary legal proceedings following the 1917 Halifax Explosion, and Betrayal of Trust, Commander Wyatt and the Halifax Explosion.
This website contains images and articles related to the 1917 disaster, including the early history of the Royal Canadian Navy, the RNCC and HMC Dockyard, articles by H. B. Jefferson, Rear-Admiral Bertram Chambers, Garry Shutlak and Brian Hill. Historian Joel Zemel is the first researcher in 101 years to uncover the fate of Dr. Clement Courtenay Ligoure after he left Nova Scotia in the early 1920s. Dr. Ligoure treated hundreds of injured patients without payment following the Halifax Explosion of 1917.
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"Dr. Clement Ligoure: A Humanitarian Approach to Medical Care"
(click on left image)
"Mahatma Ghandi once said: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others." His statement perfectly describes a heretofore little known social activist and humanitarian named Dr. Clement Courtenay Ligoure. Notably, he was the first Black physician in Nova Scotia whose unconditional selflessness during the chaotic weeks following the 1917 explosion in Halifax Harbour saved hundreds of lives." (read more)
"Charles John Mayers: The Real Life Story Behind The Flying Sailor"
(click on right image)
"The common phrase, 'truth is stranger than fiction,' is applied to incredible real-life stories which defy belief. What happened on the morning of 6 December 1917 to a 22 year-old merchant mariner named Charles John Mayers (1896-1959), is as true as it is incredulous: A man, swept up by the explosion in Halifax Harbour and carried high through the air for nearly half a mile, was thrown back to earth and survived." (read more)
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Read my updated published article "Charles John Mayers: The Real-Life Story of 'The Flying Sailor'" in Volume XL Number 4 Autumn 2023 edition of Argonauta, the Newsletter of The Canadian Nautical Research Society / Societe canadienne pour la recherche nautique, pp 10-19.
Read my updated published article "Dr. Clement Ligoure: A Humanitarian Approach to Medical Care" in Volume XL Number 3 Summer 2023 edition of Argonauta, the Newsletter of The Canadian Nautical Research Society / Societe canadienne pour la recherche nautique, pp 13-24.
Read my article "The RGS Photograph: An Evaluation of a Purported 1917 Halifax Explosion Artifact" in Volume XXXVII Number 1 Winter 2021 edition of Argonauta, the Newsletter of The Canadian Nautical Research Society / Societe canadienne pour la recherche nautique, pp 9-19.
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SCAPEGOAT (second ed.) by Joel Zemel has won the prestigious international John Lyman Book Award in the category "Canadian Naval and Maritime History" for books published in 2016. The John Lyman Book Awards are given annually by the North American Society for Oceanic History to recognize excellence in published books making a major contribution to the study and understanding of maritime and naval history. They are named after Professor John Lyman of the University of North Carolina and are presented in six categories:
Canadian naval and maritime history
U.S. naval history
U.S. maritime history
History of maritime science and technology
Maritime biography and autobiography
Maritime reference works and published primary sources
Announcements of winners of the various awards have been published in the following publications: the Society for Military History, the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, and the Canadian Nautical Research Society. The awards are given out annually by the North American Society for Oceanic History.
Read articles about, or related to, the 1917 Halifax Explosion. Go to the Articles Section
Joel Zemel served as historical and design consultant for the Halifax Explosion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Stamp. The Official First Day Cover of Canada Post Corporation's was released to the general public in November of 2017. Click on the images below to view PDFs of the OFDC
New information on Halifax Explosion photographs. Recently discovered by Leon Matthys, they were first presented by Alan Ruffman at the Canadian Nautical Research Society (CNRS) Conference on 11 August 2017.
A short commentary of the circumstances leading up to the explosion.
Features historical articles and information on non-fiction books by Joel Zemel: Scapegoat, the extraordinary legal proceedings following the 1917 Halifax Explosion, and Betrayal of Trust, Commander Wyatt and the Halifax Explosion. 
