Ashpan Annie (January 25, 1916[1] – July 18, 2010) was the name given to Anne M. Welsh (née Liggins), a "Halifax Explosion" survivor.
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 |
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
editSeveral 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.