NOVA SCOTIA

Yarmouth Armoury / No. 60 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre :

Originally opened as a basic training centre in March 1941 at the Yarmouth Exhibition grounds. The camp was converted into an infantry training centre in November 1943. By the time the camp closed on 31 October 1945, over 20,000 men had been trained in the art of warfare.

The former drill hall remains and is now the Yarmouth Armoury, the home of the 84th Independent Field Battery (RCA) and a Cadet unit. One of the old barracks also remains, but with new siding.  Both are located at 84 Parade Street.

Another WWII-era building also remains on the south side of Parade Street, now used as the Officers’ Mess and the Sergeants and Warrant Officers’ (Senior NCOs) Mess.

In 2014, two new 50 foot by 30 foot buildings were constructed beside the Officers’ and Sr NCO Mess on the south side of Parade Street to provide additional space for classroom training due to limited space in the armouries.

Source material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol III: Atlantic” by Paul Ozorak, “Construction of troop shelters underway in Yarmouth”, The Yarmouth County Vanguard, December 14, 2014 and information provided by Christina Blake, Town of Yarmouth (2005).

Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Protector II:

Opened in Sydney on 15 March 1943, across the harbour from Point Edward Naval Base (HMCS Protector), using commercial wharves and buildings along Esplanade Street.

The station, commissioned His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Protector (HMCS) Protector, served as the home base for Atlantic convoy ships and their escorts.

The station remained open after WWII as part of the post-war RCN. In 1952, the station’s name officially became Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Protector, corresponding with the ascension of Queen Elizabeth to the throne.

In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, HMCS Protector II closed in 1965.

Little remains of the former HMCS Protector today.  The current armouries for the Cape Breton Highlanders, the Victoria Park Armoury, and the marine terminal currently occupy the property. 

Source Material: Canada’s Navy – The First Century by Marc Milner, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic” by Paul Ozorak, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Protector & “Ships who bore the name PROTECTEUR in the Commonwealth Navies 1750-1968” – http://www.navy.dnd.ca/protecteur/about/ship_about_e.asp?category=92.