The former military training base at Cornwallis will be the site of a reunion Aug. 22-24 for anyone who served, worked or trained there during its 52-year history. This is the second reunion for the base. A similar event in August, 2006, attracted participants from across Canada.
The site of HMCS Cornwallis was chosen in 1942 to train sailors needed for new ships of the Royal Canadian Navy. During that hectic period, inductees were arriving in Cornwallis at a rate of 1,000 a week and there were never less than 10,000 personnel on the base at any given time.
By the end of the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Navy was the third largest navy in the world and Cornwallis had become the largest naval training base in the British Commonwealth.
The base was declared surplus in 1946 and closed, but in 1949 with the onset of the Korean crisis, it was re-opened to again train sailors. In 1968, following unification of the Canadian Forces, the base was renamed CFB Cornwallis, and army and air personnel also became part of the makeup of the training platoons.
In 1994, the base was again deemed surplus, closed and the facilities turned over to a development agency.
For more information on the reunion, contact the organizing committee at cornwallisreunion@yahoo.ca or phone 638-8569. The event’s website is www.cornwallisreunion.ca
August reunion at former training base
August reunion at former training base
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