Nova Scotia
Halifax: Statues & Memorials
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This information panel below reads "Completed in 1750, St. Paul`s was the first church outside Great Britain to be designated as an Anglican cathedral. Between 1987 and 1864 it served as the cathedral church of the See of Nova Scotia. For 96 years St. Paul`s was also the official garrison church for the army and navy establishment. The design of the building is based on St. Peter`s, Vere Street, London, England, by James Gibbs. St. Paul`s is the first building erected in the Palladian style in Canada."
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This superb bronze statue of Winston Churchill stands outside the city`s Spring Garden Road Memorial Library. The statue was created by Croatian-born sculptor Oscar Nemon (born Oscar Neumann; 13 March 1906 – 13 April 1985) and based on a photograph taken of Churchill when he visited Halifax in 1943. Among Nemon`s other works is the statue of Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, located in Whitehall, London.
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HMS Renown was tasked with bringing Churchill home and is seen here in mid-August 1943 off Scapa Flow before setting sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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These images, also from the Imperial War Museum archives, show Churchill addressing HMS Renown`s ship`s company at Greenock on 20 September 1943, after arriving safely back at Greenock on the Clyde. The 23,000 ton Battle-Cruiser had brought Mr Churchill and his daughter Subaltern Mary Churchill home after his long stay in Canada and the U.S. The adjacent shot shows the Prime Minister and his daughter bidding good-bye to the sailors on Renown as they make their way to the quayside.
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Below: The South African War Memorial is located in the courtyard of Province House. The statue was made by Hamilton MacCarthy (28 July 1846 – 24 October 1939) who also created the Boer War Monument in the Halifax Public Gardens and the Harold Lothrop Borden statue in Canning, Nova Scotia. MacCarthy was one of the earliest masters of monumental bronze sculpture in Canada, best known for his historical sculptures, in particular his Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia and his Samuel de Champlain overlooking Parliament Hill on Nepean Point, Ottawa.
On October 19, 1901, the Prince of Wales (the future George V) laid the cornerstone for this monument, during his and the Princess of Wales`first visit to the country. The Prince also gave medals to returning soldiers. Two weeks later, on November 1, the heroes of Paardeberg returned and marched triumphantly down George Street.
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At the base of the statue are four panels. One Panel is of the departure of troops from Halifax en route to South Africa; another is the Battle of Witpoort, which made Harold Lothrop Borden the most famous Canadian Casualty of the War; another depicts the Battle of Paardeberg (Canada's most significant battle of the war, with the most casualties); and the fourth panel is of the Siege of Mafeking. These panels were also meant to honour the three Canadian Services that fought in the war: the infantry, mounted rifles and artillery. The Nova Scotia Princess Louise Fusiliers and the Nova Scotia Highlanders participated in the war.
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Above: This memorial on the waterfront honours the members of the Norwegian Merchant Navy and Royal Norwegian Navy who were lost at sea or were buried in Nova Scotia during the Second World War.
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This mural commemorates the Tall Ships Race 2000 which the city hosted.
The Shearwater Aviation Museum
CFB Shearwater, the second oldest military airfield in Canada, is located on the Dartmouth (eastern) side of Halifax Harbour and until the mid-1990s it had various fixed-wing squadrons in residence. The status of the base has changed and it now operates as a heliport although it includes dock facilities to support training vessels of the Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic) as well as visiting warships. I had hoped to explore the Shearwater Aviation Museum which is adjacent to the base during my Nova Scotia holiday and stopped off early morning en route to Cape Breton Island after collecting our rental car. Unfortunately the museum was closed and, with a long drive ahead, I couldn`t wait around although I got a few snaps of the external exhibits through the fence.
Above: CF-101B Voodoo 101063. In June of 1961 the Canadian government placed an order for 56, two-seat F-101B Voodoo fighters, plus 10 dual control F-101Fs. These aircraft were tasked with the Defence of Canada and would play a major roll as part of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). The type began to come on-line in November of that year and would eventually equip 5 squadrons. Shearwater`s example finished its service with 416 Lynx Squadron, RCAF. Voodoo serial number 101043 is on display within the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum at Halifax International Airport, on the other side of the city.
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The pair of CT-133s on display at the Shearwater Aviation Museum are two of the 656 CT-133's built in 1953 for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) by Canadair in Montreal. The following year, RCAF gave the Royal Canadian Navy the first of 16 CT-133's to assist the Navy in preparing for the arrival of the carrier-borne Banshee jet fighter. The Museum's two CT-133's are painted in different paint schemes representing the first and last eras of the CT-133 at Shearwater.
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The first CT-133, serial number 133038 (not photographed), is finished in a natural aluminium silver with tip tanks, nose and tail painted red for high visibility. This aircraft with Royal Canadian Navy markings is typical of the paint scheme of the CT-133 when it was flown by the Navy at Shearwater in the 1950's and 1960's. The Navy used the CT-133 for pilot proficiency training and towing targets. The second CT-133, serial number 133618, pictured above is finished in low-visibility camouflage grey typical of the paint scheme when the “T- Bird”, as it was affectionately known, was last flown from Shearwater by Air Command's 434 Squadron in 1994. Throughout its 40-year tenure at Shearwater the “T-Bird” provided target services for the Navy. The last CT-133 was retired from the Canadian Forces in the spring of 2002.
Above: This anti-submarine Grumman CS2F/CP-121 Tracker of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), serial number 1501, was initially a US Navy Grumman-built S2F-1 was the first of the type delivered to the RCN. It was purchased by deHavilland Canada and used to test a wide range of avionics and anti-submarine systems as the Canadian firm`s own version went into full production. No less than 99 Trackers were eventually built under license in Canada. When the Navy`s sole aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure was decommissioned in 1970 the Trackers continued to operate from shore bases. Another Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Tracker is included in the museum`s collection.