Plaque unveiling a chance to go ‘over the top’
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- Published on Thursday, July 21, 2016
Submitted Article
Neepawa Banner
Manitoba’s historic contributions to the Great War will come to life once again on Sunday, July 24, with commemorative activities and the unveiling of a memorial plaque at the Camp Hughes Military Training Site, located near Carberry, Manitoba.
The Friends of Camp Hughes, in conjunction with the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board, invite the public to the unveiling of the memorial plaque. The unveiling will take place at 11:30 a.m. sharp.
Historians in period uniforms will guide tours of the trench system and even go “over the top” in a simulated trench assault. Local Military museums will have displays on hand as well.
With this rare opportunity to glimpse Manitoba history from the time of the “War to End All Wars”, visitors will have the chance to see first-hand some of the training Canadian soldiers would have received as they prepared to fight in Europe during World War I.
In 1916, as the Great War raged in Europe, Camp Hughes was renamed in honour of Canada’s Minister of Militia and Defence, Major-General Sir Sam Hughes.
Camp Hughes was an essential training base for Canada’s Army that fought in France and Flanders. During the war, over 38,000 soldiers trained at the camp and it was, for a time, the second-largest city in Manitoba, even boasting movie theatres and swimming pools for recreation.
The realistic training obtained by soldiers at Camp Hughes played a vital role in their battlefield performance later in war, including the famous victory won at Vimy Ridge in 1917.
The Camp Hughes site is one of the few places in the world (and the only place in North America) where trench works of the time remain in existence. It’s been designated a Provincial Heritage Site and a National Historic Site of Canada.
The Camp Hughes Manitoba Provincial Heritage Site is situated south of the Trans-Canada highway, 132 km west of Winnipeg, (10 kilometers west of Carberry) near Provincial Road 351.
Access to the Cemetery and Memorial Plaque is via a gravel road leading south from the Junction of Highway 351 and the Trans-Canada Highway. Follow the signs (NE 34-10-16 W).
A “Camp Hughes Cemetery” sign points the way.
Members of the public and Media are encouraged to bring sturdy footwear for the trench tours and containers of water for personal use, as well as lawn chairs if desired.
