Halifax, Nova Scotia, riots

I recently discovered, while doing some research, that rioting and looting of this kind has a particularly interesting and bizarre antecedent. It may place things in some perspective and we can learn lessons from it, perhaps. It concerns the bizarre incidents on VE night (May 7-8) in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1945.

When the War in Europe ended, about nine thousand allied and other seamen poured out onto the streets of Halifax, which had been a vital port in the war. There had been prohibition in Halifax in the war and there was little booze to be had. Rioting and looting immediately broke out. At first it was mainly booze they were after but, having got it and drunk it, more general disorder ensued. Vehicles and buildings were set ablaze, authority figures attacked, shops broken into and contents looted. By the second morning the looters included many of the civilian population of Halifax, including women and schoolchildren (some in school uniform). Contemporary photographs show pictures quite similar to those seen recently in British cities, with looters carrying away racks of clothes, shoe boxes and food. It was only when the naval authorities ordered the men back to their ships and hostels that things quietened down. Remember, too, this was supposed to be a joyous occasion !

The official statistics are staggering, especially considering Halifax’s population was barely 60,000 at the time : stolen were nearly 7,000 cases of beer, 1225 cases of wine, 55,000 bottles of spirits and a brewery was looted of 60,000 pints of beer, 2,600 plate glass windows were broken, 207 businesses looted and a further 564 suffered some damage, 363 people arrested, most for serious offences. Three people died, though one was the result of alcoholic poisoning! All this occurred in one night and day ! The official report afterwards blamed lack of control of sailors by the naval authorities, insufficient police and faulty tactics – where have we heard that before ?

Food for thought...