‘It was dedication of the heart for this hallowed ground’

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Published on Thursday, August 4, 2016

Photos by Kate Jackman-Atkinson and Christine Waddell. Following the plaque unveiling, members of the Military History Society of Manitoba and the Friends of Camp Hughes led volunteers into Camp Hughes’ trenches and across No Man’s Land, towards the enemy trenches.

By Kate Jackman-Atkinson

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

In the summer of 1916, Manitoba’s second largest city was actually a military training camp located west of Carberry. That summer, Camp Hughes was home to more than 30,000 soldiers training to head overseas to fight in World War I as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

One hundred years later, Camp Hughes has been officially recognized as a national historic site.  On July 24, the now abandoned camp came alive once more, as hundreds of people attended the plaque unveiling and ribbon cutting ceremony that opened a new pavilion. The pavilion will house interpretative panels outlining the camp’s history and significance. Following the official ceremony, members of the Military History Society of Manitoba and the Friends of Camp Hughes led attendees on a tour of the trenches.  There was also the chance to take part in an assault across “No Man’s Land”, to the enemy trenches.

(Above) Dallas Ewen (in uniform) gives orders to his soldiers as they come out of the trenches and cross No Mans Land. (Below) Five-year-old Oryan (left) and his 2 year-old sister Neveah were pretty determined to be part of the exercise as the volunteers prepared to go “over the top”.

It’s these trenches that make the Camp Hughes site so unique. “Today, what remains is the most complete, extensive and significant training trench system in the world. [They include] front and support lines, complete with fire bays, dug outs… communication trenches, island traverses and an enemy trench system,” said Grant Tyler, Military Curator, Parks Canada. This is the only place in North America where World War I era trench works can be found and one of only a few left in the world.

Today, the training trenches, rifle range, outdoor, inground swimming pool and some foundations are all that physically remain of the camp.  However, the camp also left a lasting legacy through the soldiers who trained there. “Many who trained [at Camp Hughes] in 1915 and 1916 took part in the monumental battles of the latter half of the war, including the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and the 100 Days Offensive,” said Tyler. These battles, which not only helped the Allies win the war, also played an important role in cementing Canada’s national identity. In addition to the units that trained at Camp Hughes, there were thousands more who trained at the camp and found themselves as reinforcements in other units. “The one thing in common was that they all had training at Camp Hughes,” said Bruce Tascona, past president of the Military History Society of Manitoba and a member of the Friends of Camp Hughes.

Unique and rare

Interest in the site’s historical importance began in 1987, when founding members of the Military History Society of Manitoba (MHSM) Grant Tyler and Bruce Tascona ventured to the area.  Once there, they found some relics and ditches.  They soon realized that the “ditches” were in fact the camp’s training trenches.  So began a multi-decade labour of love to document the camp and gain national recognition for the site.  “I knew Camp Hughes would have to be shared with all Canadians and that [the MHSM] would take this on for a project,” said Tascona, who has written a book chronicling the development of significance of Camp Hughes.

The road to national recognition has been a long one for the Friends of Camp Hughes, a group made up of members of the MHSM and representatives of the Town of Carberry and Municipality of North-Cypress Langford. The site was first given municipal recognition and provincial recognition in 1993, with a “unique and rare” designation. “It was this idea, that these trenches and soldiers who trained here in 1915 and 1916 helped carry Vimy Ridge, Canada’s national triumph in the Great War. For almost 30 years, this has sustained me and our group,” explained Tascona.

Bruce Tascona (left) gives away some of the pieces of ribbon from the opening of the Camp Hughes information pavilion.

In addition to seeking national recognition, the MHSM and Friends of Camp Hughes worked tirelessly to document and understand the camp.  “For the price of a tank of gas, we could come here and study the tactics and doctrine of the Great War… Our small group applied each year to the Manitoba government for a heritage research permit, with the focus to survey, collect artifacts, make reports on our findings to the province. We funded the studies of the camp with our own money. We have so few resources, we paid our own gas, sometimes we camped overnight, we made day trips. Suffice to say, it was dedication of the heart for this hallowed ground. We even ventured out in the middle of January to determine if the frost brought up any features to support our findings. We spent a lot of our own money seeking out documents from the National Archives of Canada, we found photographs in flea markets. Within our group, we shared our information. In was a multi-disciplinary study, we sought guidance from the provincial archeological department on how to do this study, for the most part, they said, ‘If you found anything good, it was because it was lost 100 years ago,” explained Tascona. 

He continued, saying, “Every piece of scrap metal that we found meant something and told a story. The trenches were located, documented through a primitive form of orienteering, using compass, graph paper and pacing off the distances. Years later, with the help from the [Army’s] Survey Troop, they confirmed how accurate we were; 10,000 m of trenches have been documented, some with distinct functions and roles.”  The artifacts collected through the years of research are housed in Winnipeg at the Legion House Museum. “Sometimes, we jokingly say we have the largest collection of military scrap metal, but it all tells a story,” said Tascona.

Largest military training camp in Canada

Camp Hughes, originally named Camp Sewell, was first used by the Canadian Militia in 1910. The name was changed in 1916, in honour of then Minister of Militia, Sir Sam Hughes. “The location was selected for its suitability for the training of all combat arms, including cavalry, artillery and infantry,”  explained Tyler. Camp Hughes served as a central training base for army units in Military District #10, which covered Manitoba, Saskatchewan and some of northern Ontario. 

The camp served the Canadian Militia until 1914, and with the onset of World War I, it became a major training centre for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Tyler explained that the camp was divided into five brigade camps, consisting of bell tents, marquee tents and other temporary buildings. The temporary nature of the camp’s buildings meant that Camp Hughes was only open seasonally, from May to November.  

Starting in 1914, the population of the camp grew steadily with each year.  In 1914, about 6,600 men trained there. In 1915, the population grew to 15,000 soldiers and in 1916, the camp trained over 30,000 soldiers. At one time, it was the largest military training camp in Canada.

By 1915, it was clear that the soldiers would have to be trained in trench warfare. For the 1916 season, soldiers returning from the front lines in France and Belgium helped design a set of training trenches that could accurately simulate trench life on the Western Front.  

By 1916, the camp boasted a large business district that contained at least two dozen businesses, including six movie theatres, an administrative area that contained the headquarters and various other support services, including an outdoor swimming pool. The rail centre had been expanded over the years and by 1916, consisted of a large station, related buildings and numerous sidings and platforms.

While the trenches are the most unique feature of the camp, the rifle range at Camp Hughes also remains. Tyler explained that it is likely the only surviving example of the type of range developed for the new armies in the First World War.  The range at Camp Hughes is only 400 yards deep, much shorter than the former standard of 1,000 yards.  “With the huge influx of civilians into the army, coupled with the very close proximity of opposing trenches, it was believed that a reduced standard of marksmanship would be acceptable in these conditions,” explained Tyler.

Declining enlistment

In 1916, close to 40,000 men volunteered to join the war effort and when the camp closed for the season, the Army anticipated it would re-open again in the spring of 1917. However, declining enlistment meant that in the spring of 1917, fewer than 5,000 Manitoba men had volunteered. Enlistment had dropped off as stories of the horrors experienced at the front made their way back to Canada and the booming war-time industry offered men a less dangerous way to help the country’s war effort. The camp didn’t reopen until 1922 and remained in use until 1934.  However, as the training needs of the army changed, safety concerns related to the simultaneous use of the artillery and rifle ranges as well as difficulties moving troops around the site led to the recommendation to move the camp.

The decision was made to relocate the camp in 1932. During the depths of the Depression, a make work project saw 300 men hired to move the permanent buildings at Camp Hughes to the nearby Camp Shilo, now CFB Shilo. The Camp Hughes site was ultimately returned to the Province. Apart from one square mile which remains under military control, the rest of the land is leased out to area farmers as a source of grazing.

A group of members from Gladstone Legion #110 attended the unveiling ceremony.  From left: Joe Fraser, Ernie Tester, Reg Gray, MLA Eileen Clarke and Joe Fraser.

Today, Camp Hughes is a peaceful site of prairie grassland, but just under the surface is the indelible impact of more than 50,000 Canadian soldiers who marched through the trenches on their way to the Western Front.