Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
To Preserve, Protect and Promote the History and Heritage of Prince Edward County
The Prince Edward Historical Society
ChronicleChronicle Founded in 1899 April 2014
TOURING
CAMP PICTON
As a fundraising and membership ini a ve, the Soci-ety arranged for a guided walking tour of Camp Pic-ton last September. The response from Members and the general public was so posi ve that two ad-di onal tours had to be arranged and conducted.
Walking among the barracks, hangars and other buildings, Loch Sloy/Camp Picton manager Jacqui Burleigh explained in detail the history of the facility and how it is used to-day. The Society is a emp ng to arrange more tours for this July or August. Dates and
mes will be sent to Members and published
in local newspapers. Space will be limited and by reserva on only so please respond promptly.
Above: Members hearing about the history of Camp Picton inside the former Officers’ Mess. Below:All Rosies without rivets.
L‐R PEHS Execu ve members Amanda Hill, Evelyn Sloane, Debi MacDonald, and Archives manager Krista Richardson.
The tour covered a lot of ground so sensible footwear was essen al.
Hangars such as this one are rented for storage purposes.
With bullet holes visible below the sign, this concrete structure was used to calibrate the aim of aircra guns.
The Prince Edward Historical Society Executive 2013-2014
President & Chronicle Editor Steve Ferguson Past President Deborah MacDonald Vice-President & Interim Treasurer Sandra Latchford Secretary Hilary Latimer Membership Coordinator Evelyn Sloane Webmistress & Member-At-Large Amanda Hill
22 The Prince Edward Historical Society ChronicleChronicle
CAMP PICTON: WARTIME TO PEACETIME
From the dark clouds of ba le that hovered over Great Britain and Europe during the Second World War, to a warm welcoming in Canada, thousands of young men trained in Prince Edward County at two of more than 100 air bases constructed across the country. The biggest, best-known and largest built under the Bri sh Commonwealth Air Training Plan stands largely intact overlooking Picton. Expanding on ar cles he wrote over the past decade, star ng in County Magazine, na onally-known Canadian journalist, researcher, historian and author Ian S. Robertson spent more than four years digging up more details, anecdotes and imag-es for Camp Picton: War me to Peace me. Newly-published by County Magazine in Bloomfield, it focuses on how and why No. 31
Bombing and Gun-nery School, RAF Pic-ton, was established, what purpose it served during and a er the war, plus its current status. Through per-sonal recollec ons, official sources, plus stories from newspa-pers, the author intro-duces readers to some of the people
who came and went from "The Hill" - including six who remain behind forever, honored by veterans and Royal Canadian Air Cadets each Remembrance Day. At the Annual General Mee ng of the Prince Edward Historical Society, Ian will explain where and how he tracked down some of the stories and facts. There are stories of lives lost, near-misses, ac vi es and travels on leaves, occasional humour and romance -- more than 100 men wed local young women. The book also reveals that a future aide to Queen Elizabeth, plus the son of a future Bri sh prime minister, were briefly sta oned in Picton. With the winds of war changing in favor of the Allied forces by 1944, officials closed many RAF sta ons. Picton, which had more than 600 men, be-came a renamed mothball base for war surplus air-cra , then was an ac ve Canadian Army base with
varying func ons, un l 1969. Two years later, the 232 Permanent Married Quarters and large barracks buildings built in the early 1950s by the H.J. McFar-land Construc on Company became a provincial government facility for mentally challenged adults. Since Prince Edward Heights closed in 1999, the old army sec on and the original base have un-dergone major changes under private ownership, which are described in Roberton's book. In addi on to telling the story of "The Hill" or "Camp Picton" as the site has long been known, he describes other military sites throughout the County. Included are Canadian Forces Detachment Mountain View, the County's second war me RAF sta on -- where well-known astronaut Chris Hadfield qualified as a glider pilot in his teens, and a lakeside communica ons facility where models of the 1950s ill-fated Avro "Arrow" jet interceptor were tested near a Cana-dian Army range soldiers trained at over several decades star ng in 1938. Informa on is also pro-vided about the larger Carrying Place communi-ca ons facility where mil-itary personnel maintain contact with RCAF, Unit-ed States Air Force and civilian pilots as far away as Europe. Copies of Camp Picton: War me to Peace‐me are available for $30 each plus tax at Books and
Company, 279 Main St., Picton, Loch-Sly Holdings (Camp Picton) on Church St., Picton, and at County Magazine Printshop, 257 Main St., Bloomfield. Cop-ies will be available a er the author's talk. Ar facts and copies of photos will be displayed.
ChronicleChronicle The Prince Edward Historical Society 33
Holding History in Your Hands
The Prince Edward County Archives
Do you know any of these people or places? The Prince Edward County Archives would love to hear from you if you do. These images are part of the Archives vast col-lec on of una ributed photo-graphs that should be displayed within a proper context. The County of Prince Ed-ward Public Archives func ons within The County of Prince Ed-ward Public Library system. The mandate of the Archives is to col-lect and preserve printed materi-als in all forms that have bearing on the history of Prince Edward County. Currently, there are approximately 500,000 pieces of history on paper within the Archives collec on.
The Archives enjoys a close associa on with the Prince Edward Historical Society, which contrib-utes to the Archives financially and through volun-teer efforts. The Archives exists because of the His-torical Society’s tradi onal support. Located adjacent to the Wellington branch of the public library at 28 East Street in Wellington, the
Archives encompasses a welcoming recep on area, computers for online searches, and a temperature controlled storage environment. As well, the Ar-chives houses equipment and so ware that allow all documents, from newspapers to scrapbooks and photos to official documents, to be maintained digi-tally. Scanning is for both preserva on purposes and
online retrieval, which is rou nely used by historians and researchers around the world.
Archives Manager Krista Richardson and Dig-i za on Technician and Archival Assistant Kelly Tay-lor are pleased to help with research and to assist with any local historical inquiries. For the best ser-vice, an appointment is recommended by simply
calling 613-399-2023 or e-mail: [email protected] or visit the Archives link on the library website at: www.peclibrary.org. If you can be of assistance iden fying any of these images, please call or email Krista Richardson at [email protected] or by phone at 613.399.2023.
44 The Prince Edward Historical Society ChronicleChronicle
Prince Edward Historical Society Publishing Ini a ves
The Society has published The Se ler’s Dream Prop‐erty Loca on Key, a guide to the loca ons of the proper es featured in the 2009 reprint of The Se ler’s Dream, compiled by The Prince Edward County History and Heritage Publica ons Group. City and town dwellers have long been used to iden fying their addresses by street name and number. However, when The Se ler's Dream was first published in 1984, the Province of Ontario had not yet ini ated such a system in rural Ontario. The sys-tem, now referred to as 911 addresses, enables emer-gency services to quickly locate proper es. With no 911 numbers in the original publica on, finding the pre-cise loca ons of proper es in The Se ler’s Dream was difficult and in some cases impossible. With the help of the Prince Edward Histori-cal Society, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontar-io (Quinte Branch), and the Prince Edward Heritage Advisory Commi ee, The Prince Edward County His-tory and Heritage Publica ons Group took on the task of researching the 911 numbers for each of the three hundred and thirty-one proper es in The Se ler’s Dream. Over the years many of the proper-
es have been renovated or changed to suit the taste of current owners. The Publica ons Group’s research involved eye witness iden fica on of each property, recording the 911 address, and upda ng the status of the property so that readers interested in specific buildings won’t waste me looking for altered or demolished proper es. The Group’s ex-tensive research led to the crea on of this Loca on Key. The 36-page booklet is broken down by County ward and is laid out to correspond exactly with the lis ngs in The Se ler’s Dream. It cross in-dexes the reference numbers and page numbers of the book and details the property name and its ad-dress. According to Prince Edward County History and Heritage Publica ons Group member Judith Zelmanovits, the booklet will be a boon to history and architectural enthusiasts as well as the general
Chronicle is published by the Prince Edward Historical Society 261 Main Street, Wellington, Ontario K0K 3L0.
Comments, letters and submissions can be mailed to: Chronicle Editor, 3032 County Road 10,
PO Box 64, Milford, Ontario K0K 2P0 or emailed to [email protected].
public. “We’re very excited that the Historical Socie-ty agreed to work with us to make this booklet avail-able. Our work will enable people to easily locate the wonderful proper es that so enrich the County.” The Se ler’s Dream Property Loca on Key is available for $14.95 at Books and Company in Picton or directly from the Prince Edward Historical Society at pehistsoc.wordpress.com or through The Prince Edward Historical Society, 261 Main Street, Welling-ton, Ontario K0K 3L0. The second edi on will be available in May 2014. In addi on to the Loca on Key, we are work-ing with the Museums of Prince Edward County to compile a book of their popular ‘County Muse’ pieces that appeared in County Weekly News last year. County Muse in-cluded a photograph of an ar fact in the Museum’s collec on as well as an ex-plana on of its use. We will be working with the Museum to reformat each piece for publica on purposes and will be adding informa on about more ar facts.
Speaking of Ar facts… Can anyone iden fy this 18” x 4” cast iron….thing? If so, please email [email protected] with the answer.
Visit us on-line at www.pehistsoc.wordpress.com
Visit the Prince Edward County Archives! The Archives is located in the Public Library at 28 East
Street in Wellington. Open to the public: Tuesday: 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday: 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday.
For more information, please call 613.399.2023.
55 The Prince Edward Historical Society ChronicleChronicle
The Prince Edward Historical Society To Preserve, Protect and Promote the History and Heritage of Prince Edward County
Application for Membership
Annual membership is $20.00 for an individual or $30.00 for a family at the same address, and is valid from May 1st to April 30th of the following year. The benefits of joining the Society include receiving the Society’s newsletter, Chronicle; advance notification of special events and meetings; invitations to the Society’s research initiatives including lectures, walking tours and Prince Edward County Archives’ functions. Membership dues and donations to the Society allow it to continue its work preserving the rich history of Prince Edward County.
Memberships make great gifts!
Please find enclosed my payment for membership, or my donation of $______ to the Society. Is this a new membership _____ or a renewal ______? (Please check one)
Name: ___________________________________________Telephone: _____________________________
Address: _________________________________________Email Address: ___________________________
Please send Chronicle by Canada Post ____ or Email _____ (please check one)
The Prince Edward Historical Society is affiliated with the Ontario Historical Society and the Archives Association of On-tario, and is a Registered Charitable Organization. Ontario corporation number 000666760.
Please mail this completed application and your payment to:
The Prince Edward Historical Society 261 Main Street, Wellington, Ontario K0K 3L0
Attention: Membership
Visit us on-line at www.pehistsoc.wordpress.com
Upcoming EventsUpcoming Events
The Prince Edward Historical Society
Annual General Mee ng
Sunday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m. Wellington Library, 261 Main Street, Wellington
Presenta on: Ian S. Robertson, author of Camp Picton: War me to
Peace me
The book will be available to purchase.
Refreshments to follow.
For Members OnlyFor Members Only
Friday, June 13th
Tour and lunch of the Court House and the ‘Brown House’
The Society invites Members to tour Picton’s Court House at the corner of Pi and Union Streets and the fabled ‘Brown House’ at 2 Johnston Street.
The tour is limited to 35 people at a cost of $15.00 each (cash or cheque only) with lunch to be served at Macaulay House. Please pre-register at h p:// nyurl.com/PictonTour
