Pier 21: Gateway of Hope
Publisher's Description
From 1928 until 1971, Halifax's Pier 21 welcomed over a million people who came to Canada to begin anew from far and wide. Refugees and immigrants, tired after weeks on board huge ships, disembarked and waited to obtain the important "landed immigrant" stamp on their papers. During the Second World War, Canada's troops left Pier 21 in vast convoys heading to the front and evacuees from Britain came to escape the conflict. At the war's end, fortunate troops returned, and later their war brides and young children arrived, all through the famous Pier 21.
Amidst the din of the waiting areas and baggage rooms, the medical facilities and the train platforms, thousands found a certain peace, believing that their new life had begun. Canada's cultural landscape today reflects the history and traditions of these often courageous, sometimes headstrong people who crossed the turbulent waters that led to Halifax's welcoming harbour.
Through text and archival photos, Linda Granfield tells the story of this important gathering place, now a Canadian National Historic Site located in the original Pier 21 buildings on Halifax's waterfront. Pier 21: Gateway of Hope includes interviews, personal recollections, and more than 80 black and white photos which capture the spirit of these emotional times of exodus. A portion of the royalties of sales will go to support the work of the Pier 21 Society.
Linda Granfield is the award-winning author of many books of non-fiction. Her meticulous attention to detail combined with an insatiable thirst for knowledge makes history a dynamic and exhilarating subject for young readers. She is the author of High Flight: A Story of World War II, Amazing Grace: The Story of the Hymn and In Flanders Fields: The Story of the Poem by John McCrae. An immigrant herself, Linda is now a Canadian citizen and lives in Toronto with her family.
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