Comox

[Robert Bergeron]

Bruce , Grant and Jes,

Thank you for your posts. Very informative.

I went for a hop for you this morning and took some pictures that you might enjoy of HMCS Quadra as it is called today..

Here they are.. The gate sign, the aerial view from an Aurora, the H Huts Jes alluded to, the old WW2 storeroom and a great view of the Warf with the 2 current RCAF rescue ( yellow ) boats. They are also used for the Sea Training of the aircrew.

The 1 st Special Service Force ( 1 SSF ) was garrisoned in Nanaimo and Courtenay at one time at the beginning of the War in the Pacific. Training was conducted in Courtenay with landing craft for the upcoming operation Cottage in the Aleutians ( Kiska Island ) Alaska against the Japanese. There are remnants and souvenirs of the passage of the Force around here. Sykes- Fairbairn or the V-46 fighting knive and a few artifacts found at the nice museum in Nanaimo are some examples.

I did a paper in Staff College on the Force so I got to read up a lot on them and got to appreciate the extreme circumstances of their employment and heroism in Italy notably and later in France .

Anyway, keep it coming , I would love hearing more from people with local experience.

PS. I don't know if someone noticed but in Bruce's pictures there are very high ranking Naval Flag officers there.... with an Aide de Camp Lieutenant ( N ) following dutifully.

[Robert Bergeron]

A very big affair . A Combined Operations thing , one of the very first of the Second World War. Amphibious , Forward Air Support , Naval Gunfire .

Canada had a whole Brigade involved. I knew a gentleman . Mr. Pelletier from Sherbrooke Qc were I am from , that participated.

He had enlisted as an NCM in Le Régiment the Hull to participate in that one . He eventually was combat promoted to an officer commission in Europe and later became the CO of my former Militia Regiment , The Sherbrooke Fusiliers after the war.

As it turned out , the Japs had left when the Combined Forces arrived . The only casualties were from friendly fire in the fog.
It is still used in Staff College as an example of the employment of a Joint Force at the Operational Level.

The 1 st special Service Force was the Special Forces component of a conventional amphibious Force during Op Cottage . They were charged with capturing certain C2 points ( Command and control ) but ultimately they encountered no opposition.

Initial training of the force was in St- Helena Montana . The beach landing training was done here.
It was a big thing at the time and it is still a big thing today and it all started in and around Courtenay BC .

They were the first. today's Canadian Special Operations Forces ( SOF ) are the direct descendants and have made theirs the symbol representing the 1 SSF, the V-42 fighting knife.

It is a big deal in my view. A very big deal.We do have a military history and it is worth telling.

Cheers.

[Jes Andersen]

Here are a couple of pictures dated 2004 of the Goose Spit buildings and surrounding area. These were taken off a web site that has years of the Quadra cadet camp photos. The rest can be viewed here:
https://cadetsbc.smugmug.com/HMCSQua...f-HMCS-QUADRA/

[Bruce MacMillan]

Originally Posted by Robert Bergeron

Bruce , Grant and Jes,
PS. I don't know if someone noticed but in Bruce's pictures there are very high ranking Naval Flag officers there.... with an Aide de Camp Lieutenant ( N ) following dutifully.

The fellow with the glasses looks like Vice-Admiral Percy Nelles, Chief of Naval Staff.

[Robert Bergeron]

Jes, Terry , Bruce, thanks for the great comments and info.

Jes & Terry : The Pinetree line website still exists and it is alive and well . It is now hosted by the Jimmy Museum in Kingston. I will try to find the link for you but I have been on it several times over the last year or so..

Bruce : Brilliant . That's the guy. Now , why would the Chief of Naval Staff drop in on such a little , remote and relatively unknown Naval installation do you think ? Remember that at the time the site could only be reached by boat as there was no causeway . Suggestions ?

The MLU site is fantastic for this kind of stuff.

[Robert Bergeron]

This is not a particularly good picture but it is my picture. I took it from the right side of the cockpit of the Aurora.

It shows how relatively remote HMCS Quadra is. During WW2 there was no causeway, no link to shore . All material and personnel had to be ferried over. So secrecy could be relatively preserved for whatever training was being conducted here.

Directly West is Comox proper with Courtenay due South. North , across the Straight is Powell River but that's far.

How do we learn more ? I think the 1st SSF is involved in the answer.

Bruce , dare I say again that you were brilliant in finding that picture ( Chief of Naval Staff ) ? Brilliant.

[Robert Bergeron]

http://www.c-and-e-museum.org/Pinetr.../homepage.html

Here it is !

Enjoy

[Robert Bergeron]

http://www.c-and-e-museum.org/RCAF.html

Here is something else.

You are welcome.

[Robert Bergeron]

Here's a picture I just found on the Pinetree Line web site.

The building is still in existence. It contains the scaled down Base theatre , the MVSO ( motor vehicle safety office ) and the very , very nice museum.

My place of employment. Paradise.