I was hearing the muffled booms of the big guns last weekend, obviously from a training event up on the army base. It just sounds like rolling thunder in the distance, but it can go on for several hours. I thought you might be interested in a bit of the history of our local 'tank range'.
It was 1941 and WWII was well underway. German tanks had overrun much of France and the Allies realized they needed more tanks and more tank training. They started looking for a site where they could establish a training base. A quiet survey was done in the north half of St. Vincent Township and a decision was made. One advantage of this site was the chance to have live firing exercises with the big guns aimed at the waters of Georgian Bay. Residents received notice that their properties would be expropriated in early 1942.
On this Google image, you can easily make out the large area extending out to Cape Rich that is no longer used for settlement. The army still uses a few roads, but most have grown over, and all buildings have been removed. Only the small rural cemeteries remain. However, the pattern of the former farm fields, the woodlots and the forested slope on the north and east, as well as long narrow Mountain Lake are all very apparent. You can actually see the location of our house down in the lower right corner, inside the town of Meaford.
Before I pick up the story of the original expropriations and the operation of the base today, let me try and tell you a bit about the landscape, even though I can't get onto the base to take pictures. I'll make do with pictures from nearby that help tell the story. This is the view from Irish Mountain, just outside the entrance. You can tell we're up on a hill, the entire base sits on top of this hill.
You can see in this closer view that varying geology obviously underlies this landscape, though the forest cover disguises it. The farthest slope here is Blue Mountain, with a very flat top; the closer is the ancient glacial shoreline just east of Meaford. The geological layers that underlie those slopes also underlie the base; in fact the base is almost identical geologically speaking, to Blue Mountain.
You can also faintly see the claybanks just east of Meaford, steep slopes dipping down to water level, and all the light-coloured sediment that's been eroded from those clay deposits. Very similar claybanks exist at the north side of the base, dipping down into Georgian Bay.
These are the thin beds of dolostone, the Manitoulin Formation, that underlie the main part of the base, as seen at Irish Mountain Lookout. The base is an 'island' of higher bedrock, just like Blue Mountain. They are both plateaus of this bedrock, underlain in turn by Queenston Shale. Both are part of the Niagara Escarpment.
The claybanks east of Meaford look like this, taken on a paddle a few years back. I presume the claybanks on the north side of the army base look like this too.
Over 150 farms, 2 old one-room schools and 2 churches have vanished. Replacing them is a cluster of dormitories, offices and other facilities that shows up as the white patch at the lower edge of this area on the air photo above, the the entry point for the base.
Officially the base is known as the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre today, following the most recent re-organization of the Canadian military. Until 2018 they provided occasional tours of the base, so I have been there, though my memory is faded. They also have a gym facility which was open to public membership for a time. Today the base is closed to any public visits though; we just hear the guns!
We have similar areas here in Pennsylvania, one of which is State Game Lands 252 which had been part of the Susquehanna Ordinance Depot. It too had been occupied by farms and a few churches until World War II when the property was taken by eminent domain to construct the ordinance depot. TNT was manufactured there and shipped by railroad until development of the atomic bomb made the facility unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteFrom the map, I can see why you can hear the guns. I assume, at this time of year, the amount of boat traffic would be minimal. And I'm sure there is notice given to anyone who might be foolhardy enough to venture out on the bay.
ReplyDeleteThat was a huge loss of farmland! Sad for the farm families involved!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea there was such a base there. More info learned in blogland.
ReplyDeleteSo a good jolt got you started on this post. It's amazing how many training facilities were built during the war and now there's very little evidence of them. Twenty miles from my home was what we called the Dafoe airport. Many British pilots were trained there. Today there's nothing left.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I would never have thought you'd hear the guns but after seeing the map, i can see why you do.
ReplyDeletethere is a base in new jersey, fort dix. we can hear the booms when they are training, our local news usually warns us...the history you shared was interesting to me!!
ReplyDeleteIn the Brecklands of East Anglia there's a similar tank range known as the Stanford Training Area, which took over 6 villages and 30,000 acres of land. Curiously, despite regular live shelling, it's become a haven for wildlife. Presumably the animals and birds would rather be blown sky-high than put up with the joys of modern civilisation.
ReplyDeleteYou’re in your professorial mode.
ReplyDeleteI, like many folks in southern Ontario have been aware of the 'No Trespassing' tank range there but it was always very secretive with hardly ever any news or information about it. I wasn't even sure if it was still in operation or not. With all the great topography in your area I wished I had spent time there years ago.
ReplyDeleteInteresting history. I didn't know any of this, but then again, why would I? Thanks for the history lesson!
ReplyDeleteAnd I wonder about all those farmers trying to eek out a living. :(
ReplyDeleteInteresting to read.
ReplyDeleteHere in the UK we too have similar ranges ...
All the best Jan