Thomas H. Raddall
Thomas H. Raddall was a notable Canadian author born in 1903 in Hythe, England, who immigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, with his family at a young age. His early life was marked by significant events, including the Halifax explosion in 1917 and the death of his father in World War I, experiences that deeply influenced his writing. Raddall began his literary career while serving in the Coast Guard, publishing his first story in 1921. He transitioned from short stories to novels and became a full-time writer by 1938, and he was able to support his family solely through his writing.
Throughout his career, Raddall produced a wide range of works, including novels, short-story collections, and histories, often reflecting his love for Nova Scotia and its heritage. His achievements earned him multiple accolades, including three Governor General Awards and the designation of officer of the Order of Canada. After officially retiring from fiction writing in 1968, he continued to focus on memoirs and historical works. Raddall's storytelling and dedication to his region's culture have left a lasting impact on Canadian literature.
Subject Terms
Thomas H. Raddall
English-born Canadian novelist, short-fiction writer, scriptwriter, and nonfiction writer.
- Born: November 13, 1903
- Birthplace: Hythe, Kent, England
- Died: April 1, 1994
- Place of death: Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada
Biography
Thomas Head Raddall was born in 1903 in Hythe, England, to Thomas Head Raddall and Ellen Gifford Raddall. His father was a captain in the British army, and in 1913 he accepted a transfer from the school of musketry into the Canadian army as an instructor of regulars and militia. At age ten, Raddall immigrated with his parents and two sisters to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was in school there when the devastating Halifax explosion of 1917 wreaked havoc and death. Raddall escaped with only minor injuries but saw his school turn into a morgue for some of the nearly two thousand casualties. This event left its mark on young Raddall.
However, the dangers and losses of war struck home much more personally when in 1918 his father died in the battle of Amiens, France. His father’s death forced Raddall to drop out of school in the tenth grade to help support his mother and sisters. Lying about his age, he became a wireless operator in the merchant marine, and he joined the Coast Guard after World War I, serving from 1919 until 1922. He began to write fiction while stationed on Sable Island and had his first story published in 1921.
After training in accounting, Raddall took a job in 1923 as bookkeeper with the MacLeod pulp mill in Milton, near Liverpool, Nova Scotia. The job was in a region of Canada that won over his heart, offering abundant hunting and fishing while steeped in folklore to inspire his writing. In 1927, he married Edith Freeman; they had a son, Thomas Head Randall III, in 1934. In 1928, Raddall began publishing stories for Macleans magazine, and in 1933 he began a successful affiliation with Blackwood’s magazine in England. By 1938, he made the bold decision to become a full-time writer, and throughout his career he was able to support himself and his family without receiving support from any institution or agency.
During World War II, Raddall served as an officer in the west Nova Scotia regiment. He continued writing after completing his military service, switching from short stories to the crafting of novels as well. He was very productive, publishing many novels, short-story collections, histories, and autobiographies after 1948. He also wrote numerous radio and television scripts and lectured widely. In 1968, he officially retired from writing fiction but continued writing memoirs and history books.
Raddall’s achievement did not go unnoticed. He received three Governor General Awards, was elected to the Royal Society of Canada in 1949, won the Lorne Pierce Medal for Canadian Literature in 1956, and was designated an officer of the Order of Canada in 1971. He also received several honorary doctorates. Through his entertaining stories, novels, and carefully researched histories, Randall conveyed an intimate knowledge of, and love for, Nova Scotia’s past, present, and people, while making his fellow Nova Scotians proud of their heritage.
Author Works
Long Fiction:
His Majesty's Yankees, 1945
Roger Sudden, 1945
Pride's Fancy, 1946
The Nymph and the Lamp, 1950
Son of the Hawk, 1950
Tidefall, 1953
The Wings of Night, 1956
The Rover: The Story of a Canadian Privateer, 1959
The Governor's Lady, 1960
Hangman's Beach, 1966
Nonfiction:
The Path of Destiny: Canada from the British Conquest to Home Rule, 1763–1850, 1957
Halifax, Warden of the North, 1965
Footsteps on Old Floors: True Tales of Mystery, 1968
In My Time: A Memoir, 1976
Short Fiction:
The Pied Piper of Dipper Creek, and Other Tales, 1943
Tambour, and Other Stories, 1945
The Wedding Gift and Other Stories, 1947
A Muster of Arms, and Other Stories, 1954
At the Tide's Turn and Other Stories, 1959
The Dreamers, 1986
Bibliography
Raddall, Thomas Head. "'Helping to Turn the Tide': An Interview with Thomas H. Raddall." Interview by Diana Austin. Studies in Canadian Literature, vol. 22, no. 1, 1986, journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/SCL/article/view/8043/9100. Accessed 23 June 2017. Raddall discusses major themes of his work as well as his general approach to writing.
Raddall, Thomas Head. In My Time: A Memoir. McClelland and Stewart, 1976. Raddall describes his early life, including the traumatic experience of the Halifax explosion of 1917.
"Thomas Head Raddall." Historica Canada: The Canadian Encyclopedia, 10 Apr. 2013, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/thomas-head-raddall/. Accessed 23 June 2017. Highlights of Raddall's career.
Young, Alan R. "The Genesis and Composition of Thomas H. Raddall's His Majesty's Yankees." Essays on Canadian Writing, vol. 31, 1985, pp. 142–58. Literary analysis that focuses on an examination of Raddall's transition from short stories to long fiction with the publication of His Majesty's Yankees.
Young, Alan R., editor. Time & Place: The Life and Works of Thomas H. Raddall. Acadiensis, 1991. A collection of essays analyzing Raddall's life, thought, and work.