The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
This week in Nova Scotia history
May 11th – 17th
11 & 12 May 1942 — On these two dates, the Second World War came to Canadian shores when a German U-boat attacked and sunk two ships in Gulf of St. Lawrence.
On the night of the 11th, the British steamer Nicoya sailed outbound from Montreal carrying war supplies. She was sunk by German U-553, 16 kilometres off the Gaspé Peninsula. Six were lost from the Nicoya's 87 crew and passengers.
Early the following morning on the 12th, U-553 struck again, sinking the Dutch steamer Leto. Twelve were lost from the Leto's 43 crew and passengers. Survivors were in lifeboats for a couple of hours before being picked up by passing ships.
The attacks led to the creation of the Gulf Escort Force, including two corvettes, five Bangor Class minesweepers, three Fairmile motor launches, and an armed yacht. Their primary responsibility was to escort Quebec-tosydney convoys. A Sydney Force and a Yarmouth Bomber-reconnaissance Squadron were also established to support the Gulf escort services.
By July 6, when U-132 sank three ships from a 12-ship convoy (QS-15) in the Gulf, the Battle of the St. Lawrence had begun.
13 May 1861 — Margaret Marshall Saunders, CBE is born (d. 1947) in Milton, Nova Scotia. She grew up in Berwick and later studied in England and France, would become a prolific Canadian writer of children's stories and romance novels, a lecturer, and an animal rights advocate.
One of her most notable books was Beautiful Joe (1894), which sold over a million copies and was translated into several languages
14 May 1948 — The State of Israel is proclaimed in Tel Aviv by Jewish Agency Chairman, David Ben-gurion. It is the first Jewish state in 2,000 years. Many years earlier, Ben-gurion (1886-1973) had enlisted in the First World War on April 26, 1918 in New York.
He later arrived at Fort Edward in Windsor, Nova Scotia on June 1, to join up with other non-commissioned Jewish men to train in the newly formed Jewish Legion as part of the 39th Battalion Royal Fusiliers.
David Ben-gurion would later write of his experience in Windsor to Robert Dimock, then mayor of Windsor, stating, “in Windsor, one of the great dreams of my life… became a reality.”
In 2017, the Jewish Legion Centennial Society was formed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the training of the Jewish Legion in Windsor. Plans are now underway to establish a permanent memorial to mark the significance of this historic event at Fort Edward. (Source: Sara Beanlands, Jewish Legion Centenary Commemoration Speech, September 21, 2018.)
15 May 1780 — James Bowdoin (1726 - 1790), received a letter on this date from George Washington who, at the behest of the French, wrote to ask Bowdoin if he could infiltrate the town of Halifax and report back the state of the defences there as "... it may be of infinite importance to obtain this information required, and I should hope it may be done. Our very good friends and allies have it much at heart and view the reduction [capture] of Halifax as a matter of great consequence, as being the arsenal of support to the enemy's fleet in these seas and in the West Indies .... "
Bowdoin carried out his task and reported back after his journey to Halifax, providing detailed sketches to the harbour defences and water depths. Washington wrote to Bowdoin on the intelligence gathered, stating that "the plan and table of reference are very intelligible and satisfactory and convey a clear idea of many points, about which I was uninformed before ... The place appears to be very strong and to have had much attention paid to its security latterly..."
Though the French received Bowdoin's report, no plans were pursued to capture Halifax. Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine is named after James Bowdoin. (Source: Letter, George Washington to James Bowdoin, May 15, 1780. George Washington Papers at the U.S. Library of Congress.)
16 May 2010 — The first new Roman Catholic church to open in Halifax in more than 20 years, Saint Benedict Parish in Clayton Park in Halifax, celebrated its first worship service on this date. The new church combined the parishes of St. Lawrence, St. Pius X and Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
17 May 1759 — On this date, Governor Charles Lawrence and council agreed to the propositions presented by four agents on behalf of 330 settlers from the colony of Connecticut to settle in the township of Mines, joining on the Gaspereaux river.
The agents had arrived earlier in April to visit former Acadian lands being offered for settlement bordering on the Minas Basin.
The following year, other agents from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island would visit. The settlers became known as the New England Planters. Between 1759 and 1768, over 8,000, representing over 2,000 planter families, would arrive creating the townships of Annapolis, Horton, Cornwallis, Falmouth and Liverpool.
Others settled in the southern counties of what is now New Brunswick. They are considered the first major group of English-speaking immigrants to arrive in Nova Scotia who did not come directly from Great Britain.