Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Thursday, January 26
    Trending
    • Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)
    • This Day in History on January 26th
    • History Short: Who is the Octomom?
    • This Day in History on January 25th
    • History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh
    • Headline: The Doomsday Clock Has Moved Closer to Midnight Than Ever Before!
    • Headlines: 2023 Oscar Nominations Released!
    • This Day in History on January 24th
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»May»May 8»May 8, 1945: World War II Ends, But Starts in Canada!
    May 8

    May 8, 1945: World War II Ends, But Starts in Canada!

    Major DanBy Major DanMay 8, 2017Updated:May 8, 2021No Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp
    Halifax Riot

    A Brief History

    On May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe was declared by the victorious Allied Powers, which included Canada and Nova Scotia. The Port City of Halifax, Capital of Nova Scotia, was the scene of the Halifax Riot, an event simmering just under the surface waiting for the War to end in Europe for the War to begin at home.

    Digging Deeper

    Nova Scotia, Canada’s second smallest province, is on the Atlantic Coast and its Capital, Halifax, served during World War II as the important Western terminus of the vital ship lanes to and from England. The influx of about 25,000 military personnel strained the meager resources of the Wartime economy of the city, infringing greatly upon the populace, and taxing relations between locals and “come from aways” as the locals called the servicemen and outsiders. The servicemen, in turn, referred to the locals as “slackers” and vowed some sort of reckoning once the war was over.

    Wartime shortages were aggravated by the tremendous need and priority of the military and merchant marine to be fed, housed and supplied, leading to severe shortages for locals. Resentful locals jacked up prices for men in uniform, blatantly so, causing deep resentment. Stores had empty shelves, businesses, restaurants, movie theaters and the like had long lines or could not accommodate everyone and the tension grew throughout the war.

    When the German surrender was announced on May 7, 1945 and that May 8, 1945 would be VE Day,  the British Admiral in charge decided he owed his men the opportunity to celebrate (they had earned the victory, after all) and allowed 9000 of them shore liberty to do just that. Despite no legal place to buy a drink, plenty of illicit alcohol was available and long held feuds spilled into the open, with looting of businesses, vandalism, and fighting between civilians and military men. Arson lit up the night.

    Admiral Murray, either an idiot or somehow delusional, heard of the riot on the morning of May 8, and decided that the fault surely lay with the civilians, not his men, and released another 9500 men on liberty to celebrate! The 8th of May saw continued rioting until the problem became apparent even for Admiral Murray, who ordered a sound truck to broadcast a return to quarters message, finally ending the riot.

    East side of Göttingen Street between Falkland and Cornwallis Streets after the riots

    The damage and bill for the riot amounted to 3 men dead (2 from alcohol poisoning), almost 900 businesses damaged or looted, 1500 cases of wine, 8000 cases of beer, and 65,000 quarts of liquor looted from alcohol stores! Over 2600 sheets of plate glass had been broken, and 363 arrests had been made. The cost was estimated at over $5 million.

    Looted shoe store after the riots.

    The inquiry into the riot found Naval Command negligent in properly preparing for the victory celebration, as well as failing to take corrective action after round 1 of the riot, a finding that enraged Admiral Murray who resigned in protest of the finding.

    29 July 1942 – Rear Admiral L.W. Murray presenting awards to crew members of the destroyer HMCS St. Croix, which sank the German submarine U-90 on 24 July 1942.

    Question for students (and subscribers): Why do victory celebrations turn into riots, with damage and injury? We never could figure out that particular phenomenon, but it happens. If you have opinions or theories on the subject, please share them in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Redman, Stanley R. Behind open gangway: The Halifax riots, 1945. Lugus, 1999.

    The featured image in this article, a photograph from BiblioArchives / LibraryArchives from Canada of V-E Day Riots, east side of Gottingen Street between Falkland and Cornwallis Streets, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleMay 7, 1937: Last of the Bi-Plane vs. Bi-Plane Aerial War
    Next Article May 9, 2017: What Exactly is a Cavalier, Anyway, Lebron?
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)

    January 26, 2023

    History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh

    January 25, 2023

    Headline: The Doomsday Clock Has Moved Closer to Midnight Than Ever Before!

    January 24, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through January 26th, 2023)

    January 26, 2023

    This Day in History on January 26th

    January 26, 2023

    History Short: Who is the Octomom?

    January 26, 2023

    This Day in History on January 25th

    January 25, 2023

    History Short: The Rise and Fall of Sir Walter Raleigh

    January 25, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2022 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.