Marine History Collection - Mug from Halifax Explosion

 “Remember Me”

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Amid the widespread devastation of the Halifax Explosion – nearly 2000 lives lost and entire neighbourhoods razed – it’s sometimes easy to overlook the stories of the families themselves. This mug belonged to the Swetnams, who lived in North End Halifax. The explosion of the munitions ship Mont-Blanc on December 6, 1917 took the lives of Lizzie Swetnam and her son, Carmen. Lizzie’s husband, William Swetnam, and their daughter, Dorothy, survived. Look at the mug – you can still see the soot from the fires that raged following the Explosion. “Remember Me” serves as a gentle admonition that we not forget all the husbands and wives and sons and daughters who lived and died on that day.