Where has Canada's Military Gone?

[George Wallace]

Many on this site are too young to remember, but at one time Canada's Military was very well represented in most communities across the land.  Since the early 1950's, susecative Governments have cut the Defence Budget and closed down Bases from coast to coast.  In Ottawa alone there have been several base closures. 

Places like Souix Lookout, ON; Yorkton, Alsask, and Dana in SK; Sydney, NS; Foymont, ON; Summerside and Charlottetown, PEI; Chatham, NB and Chatham, ON; Saint Hubert, PQ; Penhold, AB; Picton, ON; Senetere, PQ; Val D'Or, PQ; Gander, NF;................................the list is pages long.  So long has this been going on, that many Canadians don't even know that they lived near or are living on what was once a military Base. 

Many Canadians have never even heard of Camp X.  Many don't know anything of the numerous Commonwealth Air Training Command Bases that dotted the country.  There is a former base in Ontario, near the Quebec border, just south of the 417 that once had a population of over 30,000.  Now its' landing strips are hidden in the woods and covered by piles of manure.  A few concrete small arms butts are visible in the woods.  All its buildings are gone.  Totally forgotten in time.   Military installations were very common across Canada in the 1950's.  Today they are very rare.

With the disappearance of the Bases, we have seen the disappearance of a knowledgeable Public.  There are Canadians who to this day, do not even know that Canada has a military.

Do you know what military installations were located near your home?

 

[Franko]

I know that there was a tank range in Dieppe NB that ran from about where the CCNB (Rue de la College)is to the airport terminal is currently ( Aviation Ave).

Don't believe me?

Go to the church basement in Dieppe on the corner of Acadia and St. Theresa St....the old WW2 town map is still on the wall, painted on a sheet of plywood.

It was cleared shortly after the war and seldome used during it....interesting none the less.

Regards

 

[PMedMoe]

Gander is closed?? Holy crap!! 
I remember a lot of those bases/stations.  We lived in Alsask, SK (I was born in Kindersley) when I was knee-high to a grasshopper....gopher.  My Dad had been transferred there from Foymount, ON.  I also lived in St Margaret's (Radar station) and Chatham, N.B. (when it was an Air base).  Boy, that was a big posting! A whole 15 miles up the road!    Can't forget the sound of those Voodoos, though!!
Hubby was born in Senneterre, PQ and wants to know if he can legally change his place of birth. 
There's Picton, SE of Trenton, ON that I didn't even know about until we went up there for pre-deployment training for Palladium, Roto 8.  I don't know of any places around Kingston.

 

[medaid]

Funny thing I did a paper on the demise of the CF after WWII, the glory of our military will be unparalleled for some time to come. I'm sitting in my office here in Vancouver, and I almost everywhere I look for almost a 10 block radius all used to be part of the base. Now, well now, there's a private school, new shops, restraints so on and so forth. The glory of Jericho is gone... it's so sad...

 

[Franko]

Oh, almost forgot.

CFB Moncton had a drill hall just off of Vaughn Harvey Blvd, along with enough buildings to house an entire Svc Btn complete.

Unfortunatly, in the late 90s some punk thought that it would be funny to torch the drill hall.

This was just after it was re-opened after a 4 million dollar renovation.

The site is now being used by the YMCA and Legion Veterans retirement home. Botsford street Legion is now located in the old Officers Mess.

The base proper, located just off of St George St was downsized just after a 10 million upgrade to systems and a renovation to the mess hall.

Sad really.

Regards

 

[rmacqueen]

The old air base in Centralia, ON (Huron Park) closed in the sixties and is now owned by the province.  Even though it is all civilian companies in there it has changed very little and still looks like a base.  The pmq's have been sold as private housing.

The base in London has shrunk down to a small part of Wossley Barracks with the last of the Highbury portion closing last fall.  What was once one of the largest supply bases in the country is now civilian warehousing and, again, the pmq's were sold as private houses.

The air tech training school in St Thomas, ON was converted to a psych hospital but the buildings are basically the same and the air station in Aylmer, ON is now the Ontario Police College.  They use the old runways for driving training.  There is a plaque just outside the small town of Frome, ON indicating that there was once a air gunnery or bombing school there at one time.

I always find it interesting to be driving along someplace that I was not aware there was a base and suddenly see the buildings and know.  This was how I discovered that Foymont was one.

 

[peaches]

Many of the bases were victims of unification, and also technology.  The old radar stations were eclipsed by new technology.  They actually still exist, some have moved, but they are automated.

Some air bases closed because air fleet they supported was retire, Summerside.  No Trackers, no Summerside.  A smaller CF means fewer bases, therefore a smaller footprint across Canada.  I put forward an idea to change this in another thread, but it was shot down.  Besides, I really have no say anyhow....

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

Here's one that few people know about. I used to ride my motorcycle past this old base when I was stationed at Gagetown and did a triangle circuit on my day off (Oromocto to St Stephen ...stop at Ganong Choclates....Saint John and then home throught the Training area on the number 7). The runways are still there as it was used by the Feds and NB Government for a few years. there are about two or three old PMQs still visible there too.

RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge
Pennfield

As the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan developed, it was decided to move four operational training units (OTU) from Great Britain to Canada. Once airmen had successfully learned their trade, they were sent to an OTU for operational training on a particular aircraft and for a particular task. No 34 Operational Training Unit was sent from Greenoch, Scotland to RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge in April 1942. This RCAF Station was part of No 3 Training Command of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. It had Lockheed Venturas, a light bomber, for the training of four man-crews for Bomber Command. The course for pilots and wireless operators was 12 weeks long and for air observers it was 8 weeks. Each group trained separately at first and in the final stage trained as a crew. It was operational from May 1942 to Jun 1944. From mid 1941 to May 1942 the station was also home to No 2 Air Navigation School. This school conducted a four week intensive course on astro navigation, designed to qualify students for night navigation. From Pennfield Ridge it was moved to Rivers, Manitoba. Occasional operational missions were flown from this airfield. This station experienced a number of difficulties due to serviceability problems with Venturas, persistent fog and a lack of operationally trained instructors.

 

[Mike Baker]

Gander is closed ??? How come I never knew that?!?

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

Gander is closed ??? How come I never knew that?!?

It's not fully closed we have a SAR Sqn there....they are a detachment of Greenwood.

 

[aesop081]

Here is an Obscure one....CFB Clinton , ON

 

[Mike Baker]

It's not fully closed we have a SAR Sqn there....they are a detachment of Greenwood.

Well that's a relief, I guess 

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

Well that's a relief, I guess 

It's now known as 9 Wing Gander....you can Google it and see lots of info.

 

[aesop081]

It's now known as 9 Wing Gander....you can Google it and see lots of info.

Home of 103 sqn....CH-149s

 

[old medic]

Lots of photos :

http://www.pinetreeline.org/locations.html

 

[rmacqueen]

Here is an Obscure one....CFB Clinton , ON

Forgot about that when I was doing Centralia.

 

[Mike Baker]

It's now known as 9 Wing Gander....you can Google it and see lots of info.

Thanks for the info!

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

Forgot about that when I was doing Centralia.

Ah yes....wasn't Clinton where Stephen Truscott's family was posted? It was quite a going concern that Base at one time as I remember.

 

[peaches]

Here is a rare "old base" story.  The old BOMARC missile base north of North Bay is still there, abandonded.  The whole base is there, MP shack, missile hard-stands, launch silos, warhead storage sheds etc....

 

[aesop081]

Ah yes....wasn't Clinton where Stephen Truscott's family was posted? It was quite a going concern that Base at one time as I remember.

That is correct