I've said I'd offer up passages from the two books for comparison and here they are. I'm not claiming this is the closest match, but it's one that particularly irked me, witness changing the word "gifts" to "presents" in the middle of a sentence that was otherwise largely lifted.
From Bacon:
Quote:
But on Monday, December 17, 1917—the day of the mass burial, eleven days after the explosion, and eight days before Christmas—a piece appeared on the front page of Halifax’s Daily Echo suggesting that the surviving children should be given some joy this Christmas.
The children’s section of the paper, called the “Sunshine Club,” started a fund for children in hospitals and institutions to give them “the best Christmas they ever had.” Cousin Peggy, editor of the Sunshine Club, wrote of one “wee maiden” who had taken the ice cream and presents from her birthday party to the Children’s Hospital. In the same spirit, Cousin Peggy invited her young readers to donate their toys or money so the less fortunate could enjoy a bit of the Christmas spirit.
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From Kitz:
Quote:
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Nonetheless, on Monday, December 17, the first appeal appeared on the front page of The Daily Echo (Halifax). It suggested that children who had suffered should be given some joy at Christmas. The children’s section of the newspaper, The Sunshine Club, was inaugurating a fund for the sick children in hospitals or in institutions, to give them “the best Christmas they ever had.” Cousin Peggy, editor of The Sunshine Club, told one tale of kindness. One “wee maiden,” she wrote, had given up her birthday celebration and had taken the ice cream and the gifts to the Children’s Hospital. Cousin Peggy invited all boys and girls, especially those in rural areas who had not had the chance to help, to send toys or money, to share their Christmas with the less fortunate.
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Moreover, four of the five footnotes for the entire Christmas chapter in
Halifax reference
Shattered City and in this manner: pp. 113-14, pp. 115-16, pp. 116-18 and pp. 117-118! To me, this says Bacon essentially sat down and transcribed the entire chapter, merely tweaking the language and not so very much at that as shown above. What has Bacon added? A repetition of significant dates (because we'd have forgotten that the explosion took place on the 6th otherwise) and a reminder that December 17 is eight days before Christmas.
The fifth and last footnote for the chapter, I doubt anyone will be surprised to learn, is to Barss.
All of the parts of
Halifax that rely on Kitz as their source read like that.