Wave to Whisper: British Military Communications in Halifax and the Empire, 1780-1880

George F. McElroy was a freelance reviewer living in Oakville, Ontario.

This is a report on the development of communications and weather observations from the establishment of the first visual telegraph system in North America in 1790 by the Duke of Kent during his stay in Halifax to the 1880s, when visual signalling began to be superseded by the electric telegraph. Written in response to the need for background information to be utilized in preparing an exhibit at the Halifax Defence Complex, the report briefly describes how communication systems utilizing fire, flags, and reflections of the sun were developed from the earliest times. Around 2000 BC, the Chinese were using carrier pigeons, and beacon fires were used in the twelfth century BC by King Agamemnon during the siege of Troy. One of the appendices in this book describes in detail an alphabetical system of signalling perfected by Polybius, a Roman tutor in 170 BC. “There was no signalling system of comparable complexity until the late 18th and early 19th century.” A more modern semaphore system was invented by France during the 1780s. Britain quickly followed France’s lead, and Halifax played a prominent part in developing visual signalling systems in North America.

In Halifax, an intricate military visual telegraph was established to maintain constant communication between the Citadel, the outforts, and the harbour mouth. An electric telegraph system was installed there by 1869 and, as a result, the Citadel flags became merely a tradition and were eventually discarded. By 1900 the Halifax Citadel controlled a web of telephone and telegraph wires to the outforts.

This well-researched book contains a great deal of interesting information on the history and development of visual signalling. It will be of particular interest to readers interested in military affairs and history, but some general readers will also find it entertaining and informative.