Ashpan Annie
Anne Welsh | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anne Liggins January 25, 1916 Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Died | July 18, 2010 (aged 94) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery |
| Other names | Ashpan Annie |
| Known for | Survivor of the Halifax Explosion |
Ashpan Annie (January 25, 1916[1] – July 18, 2010) was the name given to Anne M. Welsh (née Liggins), a "Halifax Explosion" survivor.
At the time she was 23 months old. Her brother Edwin[2] and mother Anne were killed in the blast, which leveled most of the north Barrington Street structure.[3] She was blown under the kitchen stove, where the still warm ashes in the ashpan kept her alive until she was rescued by a soldier, Sgt Davies, and his dog, along with a neighbour, Mr Henneberry, who was looking for his own family who had lived nearby[4] some 26 hours later.[5]
Her father, Pte Edward, was a soldier who was overseas at the time. She was taken to the Pine Hill Convalescent Hospital, where she was discovered by her grandmother and aunt.[6]
She worked as a laundry worker at a young age, married and raised her own family. Her husband, Angus Welsh, died in the 1990s.[7]
She lived most of her life in the Hydrostone district. She died at The Berkeley, Gladstone Ridge, in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Legacy
[edit]Several songs have been written about her.
References
[edit]- ^ "Mrs. Anne M. "Ashpan Annie" Welsh". ebituaries.ca. July 21, 2010. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ "Liggins, Edwin". Halifax Explosion Remembrance Book. Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management. November 26, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
- ^ Lipscombe, Kristen. "Thinking of Dec. 6, 1917 : Halifax Explosion survivors commemorate horrific event". Halifax Herald. Archived from the original on December 6, 2004. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ Butts, Ed (April 10, 2007). SOS: Stories of Survival; True Tales of Disaster, Tragedy, and Courage. Tundra Books. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-88776-786-9. Retrieved July 20, 2010 – via Google Books.This says she was 18-months old at the time.
- ^ "Halifax explosion survivor 'Ashpan' Annie dead at 95". CTV News. July 18, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ Boutlier, Alex (July 19, 2010). "Ashpan Annie dies at 95". Metro International. Archived from the original on July 24, 2010. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
- ^ "Ashpan Annie mourned". The Daily Gleaner. July 19, 2010. p. A2. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ "Ash Pan Annie". The Halifax Explosion. 2007. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
- ^ "David Stone and Friends". CBC. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
Further reading
[edit]- MacDonald, Laura M. (2005). Curse of the Narrows: The Halifax Explosion 1917. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-200787-8.
- Bird, Michael J. (1967). The Town That Died: The True Story of the Greatest Man-Made Explosion Before Hiroshima. Ryerson Press. ISBN 0-7700-6015-3.
- Kitz, Janet (2008). Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion and the Road to Recovery (3rd ed.). Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 1-55109-670-6.
External links
[edit]- Obituary in The Chronicle Herald
- Herriman, Margaret; Graham North (March 2008). "Ashpan Annie: "Hard work will never kill you"". University of King's College School of Journalism. Archived from the original (Flash slideshow) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2010.