Photo Identification help

[rob love]

As Rob said, Pine Ridge was just on the edge of Bird's Hill park. We used to use it for day training right into the 90s, and possibly longer. Mostly gravel pits and scrub brush. The army cadets would also go out there for weekend excersizes.

Neat to see the 18pdrs still in use that late.

[David Dunlop]

That abandoned swimming pool would be a significant feature. Anyone know enough local history of the area to know where it would have been located? My thought would be a private property or private club of some sort, possibly where the two golf courses now stand.

I recall when the first Pan American Games were held here in 1967, the Field Equestrian Events were held in the Southern area of what is now called Birds Hill Provincial Park. A few of the obstacles jumps still stand. During construction of the course, contractors discovered a number of artillery and/or mortar shells, which slowed the work for a while. The media at the time indicated the area had been an active military training site during the war. No photo proof provided at the time. Nice to see it finally show up.

David

[David Dunlop]

Hhhmmm. Possibly not near the two golf courses at all. Pine Ridge Course was established in 1912 and Elmhurst, just next door, in 1914. Those two facilities might have been avoided for training purposes. The term 'Pine Ridge', however covers a fairly significant chunk of property, in that area.

David

[David Dunlop]

Curiosity got the better of me.

I emailed the President of Elmhurst Golf & Country Club about the possibility the swimming pool was theirs.

Bingo. Seems it was a plan that was started many years ago, the details of which are a bit vague now, but the plan was abandoned. The 'swimming pool' became a water hazard for the 14th hole for a number of years but was eventually filled in as it did not really fit well with the layout of the course.

So that pinpoints the location of at least one of these photos for you, Stuart.

David

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

My knowledge of artillery is very limited. Would it be fair to say that the 18pdrs were left over from WWI and were just being used for initial training purposes at the militia level?

The interwar period was fairly sparse on new acquisitions for the Cdn Army. The guns have the Martin Perry conversion to the rubber tires from the 1930s, and were training guns early in the war. I am a little surprised to still see them in 42, but I suppose the basic artillery skills could be learned on them without having to tie up a 25pr gun needed for the war.