Customarily strong and healthy, Helen Gardner was anemic and exhausted after three years’ duty in England. Ordered to return to Canada for rest and rehabilitation, her point of departure was Liverpool, England. Her destination was Halifax, but the ship on which she travelled could not enter North America’s most important port.
Halifax Explosion
On December 6, 1917 the City of Halifax was devastated when two ships collided in the harbour. The terrible explosion caused the deaths of almost two thousand people and injuries to four thousand. On the following day, a record-breaking blizzard struck the city. A passenger on one of the diverted ships, Helen arrived at New York, boarded a troop train and travelled for almost three days to Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Canadian Military Heritage Project
Women suffered great difficulties during those war years. In pamphlets, speeches, and articles they were insulted and ridiculed by men who accused them of attempting to keep their men out of the war. After the Armistice there was public acknowledgment of women’s support and accomplishments both overseas and at home. According to The Canadian Military Heritage Project, “the number of women in munitions factories exceeded 30,000….untold thousands more in banks, offices, factories, and farms”.