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Name: Hilford Official Number: 122426 Signal Letters:
Name Changes:
Tonnage: 38 Gross, 26 Net
Dimensions: 64.5' long, 15.2' breadth, 6.5' deep
Built: Tancook, Nova Scotia, Canada Builder: Year: 1899
Registered Port: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada Owners: The J. Foster Rood Co., Ltd.
Engines: Steam (tug)
Horsepower:
Crew:
Career: Hilford was returning to the dockyard from convoy liaison duties in Bedford Basin when fire broke out on Mont Blanc. Lieutenant-Commander James Murray ordered Hilford to dock at Pier 9 to raise the alarm. He was one of the few in the harbour that knew the deadly nature of Mont Blanc's cargo. Murray and most of the tug's crew were killed when Hilford was blown out of the harbour onto Pier 9. The tug was later repaired and returned to service.
Sources: Armstrong, John Griffith, The Halifax Explosion and the Royal Canadian Navy (2002).; "The Halifax Explosion: A Marine Disaster" by David B. Flemming (1985); Shattered City by Janet Kitz (1989).

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