Guest Columnist — Take the time to travel into the past at Camp Hughes

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/10/2013 (4566 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In 1916 there was a place not far from Brandon that was the second largest city in Manitoba. It had the largest outdoor heated swimming pool in Western Canada, six movie theatres (including the first multiplex in Canada), and a population of 28,000 people. Oh yes, and trenches. Lots of trenches. This time out, Manitoba’s ghost camp: Camp Hughes.

• Training Base — Camp Hughes was opened as Camp Sewell for militia training prior to the First World War. It expanded greatly in 1915 in order to hold almost 11,000 soldiers. That year it was also renamed as Camp Hughes in honour of the Minister of Militia, Sir Sam Hughes. In 1916, nearly 28,000 troops trained at the camp, making it the second largest city in Manitoba and the second largest training base in Canada. About 38 per cent of all Manitobans who enlisted in the First World War trained at Hughes.

• Ghost Camp — Today, little remains of the buildings at the camp. There are some concrete foundations, the swimming pool, and a small cemetery which is the final resting place for six soldiers who died in 1916, but most vestiges of this once bustling place are gone. Well, except for trenches. There is a huge trench complex dug in 1916 for training which is still almost entirely intact. It is one of the most accessible First World War era trench systems in the world and the largest remaining Great War training trench system in Canada. It is one of the best places in the world to tour if you want to understand what trench warfare was really like.

<B>• Trench Tours and Films — Every year, the Friends of Camp Hughes Committee organizes a heritage day at Camp Hughes. This year it runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6 (tomorrow). Displays include museum exhibits, archaeologists from Brandon University and a walking tour of the trench system complete with

re-enactors in period costumes.

There is no better way to experience Camp Hughes than by visiting in person. For those who cannot visit, The RCA Museum and Street Media have produced two documentaries for MTS TV that feature Camp Hughes. “Warpaths: Every Town had Soldiers” premiered last year and is playing on MTS On Demand now. “Warpaths: Ghost Camps” will premiere at 7 p.m. on Friday Nov. 8 at the Evans Theatre at Brandon University, with all proceeds going to the Brandon Film Festival Save Our Screen campaign.

Both episodes will be screened at the premiere on Nov. 8, with a Q-and-A between them, and both tell the story of Camp Hughes and Manitobans in the Great War.

In my view, your best bet is to tour the trenches this Sunday and then take in the films on Nov. 8. Camp Hughes is easy to find. Turn south off the Trans Canada (just before the Camp Hughes Rest Stop which is located on the north side of the highway) onto Provincial Road 351 and look for the Camp Hughes signs.

Time travel for a Sunday outing anyone? See you there!

» Marc George is a retired soldier who served 25 years in the Canadian Army. He is currently the Director of The RCA Museum in Shilo. He can be contacted via rcamuseum@forces.gc.ca or via twitter @TheRCAMuseum