Heroic dispatcher keyed warning, perished in 1917 Halifax explosion

Vincent Coleman’s last act was to warn the inbound No. 10 passenger train on Dec. 6, 1917 that an ammunition ship ablaze in Halifax harbour was about to explode. Coleman died a hero, but like so many other good stories, it didn’t happen quite the way it’s been portrayed. This is one of 15 Canadian stories we present as part the Citizen’s Canada 150 coverage.
Vincent Coleman’s last words, tapped out in the dots and dashes of Morse code, raced along the telegraph wire