NOVA SCOTIA

Camp Aldershot:

Opened in 1904 as a militia training camp for infantry, cavalry and field artillery soldiers. At the time, most of the troops were house in tents, but a few temporary buildings were constructed. With the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, the camp became a very busy training facility, with upward of 7000 troops training there at any one time.

After the war, the temporary buildings were torn down, but the camp continued its role as a militia training camp. Only one building remained; Borden Hall, built in 1916.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the camp once again became a training facility for active service troops. Designated No. 14 Advanced Infantry (Rifle) Training Centre, the camp also included a School of Instruction, an Officer Training School and other trades training. Although numerous buildings were erected, the troops were still housed in tents, just like their World War I predecessors. After the war, the camp reverted back to a militia and cadet training camp.

From 1952 - 1959, various battalions of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada rotated through Camp Aldershot, and the Regimental Depot was on site until it relocated to Camp Sussex, New Brunswick in 1955.

For many years the camp sat relatively idle, with the exception of occasional weekend training by the West Nova Scotia Regiment and other militia regiments and cadet units. In 1973, a $535,000 renovation project was initiated to create a year-round militia training facility at Camp Aldershot.

As part of the Land Reserve Modernization Project in the late 1990s, Camp Aldershot was once again the recipient of an upgrade project. In 1999, Aldershot opened their new $30 million amenities including new barracks and training facility, a dining hall, a drill hall and weapons simulation centre, and a technical support centre, as well as road, electrical and water system upgrades, and installation of fibre optic cabling. Several of the camp's old World War II era buildings were demolished.

Camp Aldershot currently serves as the home of the Area Rank and Trade School.

Source Material: "Sentinel" Magazine from June 1973, DND Press Release dated 5 August 1999, "The Atlantic Soldier" newspaper, dated 22 September 1999 & information supplied by Captain G.A. Melville, Land Force Atlantic Area Headquarters (2003).