Laurier Milton Lecture Series

Join us for our third lecture discussing - How the Canadian Army saved Halifax after the 1917 Explosion

Wilfrid Laurier University, the Town of Milton and the Milton Public Library are pleased to present the 2020-2021 Laurier Milton Lecture Series.

Wilfrid Laurier has long supported the public role of academics to bring their knowledge and thinking outside of the classroom. The Laurier Milton Lecture Series provides a wonderful opportunity to engage in a public dialogue with citizens of Milton on a broad array of important topics. We are pleased that the presentations represent the current research and analysis of members of different faculties, departments and programs.

Lectures take place the second Wednesday of each month starting September 2020 and until May 2021 from 7- 8 pm. Lectures will take place via Zoom. Registration required and is free. Please register at beinspired.ca/lmls

November 11th lecture will discuss How the Canadian Army saved Halifax after the 1917 Explosion presented by Roger Sarty, PhD, Professor, Department of History.

When Halifax was devastated by the explosion of a munitions ship on 6 December 1917, it was the Canadian Army garrison of this fortress city that came to the rescue. Yet this often heroic effort has received little recognition. Indeed the garrison commander was fired for what the authorities in Ottawa thought were his excessive demands to help the stricken civilian population. Professor Roger Sarty of the WLU History Department, a specialist in the military history of Atlantic Canada, presents the results of his recent research on the aftermath of the Halifax disaster.

Roger Sarty has a PhD in History, University of Toronto, 1983; MA in History, Duke University, 1976; BA in History, University of Toronto, 1975. Historian at the Department of National Defence 1981-1990, then Senior Historian, 1991-1998. Contributed to the official history of the Royal Canadian Air Force and was leader of the Royal Canadian Navy official history team. Head of the Exhibition Development and Historical Research Division at the Canadian War Museum, 1998-2001, and then Deputy Director of the museum, 2001-2003. In these positions, I led exhibition development for the new museum building at Vimy Place in Ottawa. I came to Laurier in 2004.