Historical Vignette
Manitoba's forgotten military base
By Derek Gagnon
Remains of the old trenches are still visible today. O
ne of the last trench systems of World War I lies mostly untouched, but for the work of time that has made the trenches that zig zag across the ground into little more than ruts in some places.
Gone are the sandbags, the guns and the men who once
called this place home for extended periods of time. In its prime, Camp Hughes was a hub of activity for Cana- dian soldiers prepping to go overseas to partake in the Great War that raged in Europe from 1914 to 1918. Now it serves as the last World War I training trench system in North America. Tis place is in Manitoba, not far from Highway 1. A complex system of trenches, meant to emulate those used on the Western Front, were dug in the prairie just to the north of where Canadian Forces Base Shilo presently sits. Te name was originally Camp Sewell but was changed to honour Canada's Minister of Militia and Defence, Major General Sir Samuel Hughes. Te history of Hughes
Te federal government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier, decided to build a training site in Military District 10 for Manitoba and Saskatchewan in 1909. Due to its accessibility from both rail lines, the site chosen was near the Spruce Woods Forest Reserve. Te first summer training camp occurred in 1910, and
22 • Winter 2016 A section of the ‘defensive fighting’ trench in 1916.
1,469 militia soldiers trained at Camp Sewell, as it was known during this period. It was named after a nearby rail siding. With the outbreak of war came rapid growth and expan-
sion. In 1915, the camp was renamed Camp Hughes. By 1916, Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden had prom- ised that the Canadian Expeditionary Force would number 500,000 strong. At its height, there were 27,754 troops trained here, mak- ing it the second largest community in Manitoba (with Winnipeg being the largest). As the number of soldiers swelled into the thousands,
camps had to be expanded and permanent buildings were erected; a 2,000-yard-long rifle range and trenches were
The Hub
Photo courtesy of Military History Society of Manitoba Archival Collection.
All photos by Derek Gagnon unless otherwise noted.
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