SUNBURY COUNTY

Village of Burton
Highway 330, south of Oromocto

Named for Brigadier Ralph Burton, who served at the capture of Louisbourg in 1758 and of the City of Québec in 1759. He was then military governor of Trois-Rivières District from 1760 -1762. For his services in the Seven Years War, he received a land grant in this area.

Fort Hughes
Sir Douglas Hazen Park, Oromocto

A replica of Fort Hughes, a American Revolutionary War blockhouse, stand near its original location beside the Oromocto River. The original fort had been built in 1780 and garrisoned until the end of the war by a Loyalist regiment called the Royal Fencible Americans. Because of this connection, the town crest of Oromocto contains two soldiers from the Fencibles.

Blockhouse and Cemetery
Highway 101, Fredericton Junction

Soon after the War of 1812 began, blockhouses were built at Fredericton Junction (Hartt's Mills) and Pomeroy to guard the Oromocto River portage route between the St. John River and the Maguadavic River. This portage formed part of a longer route between Northern Maine and central New Brunswick and was thought to be a potential American invasion route. Captain Jabez West, a member of Colonel John Allan's invasion force, used this route to escape to Machias, Maine from advancing British forces in July of 1777.

The blockhouses were initially garrisoned by members of the 104th Regiment of Foot and, after the bulk of the 104th left for Canada in February of 1813, by the members of the embodied New Brunswick militia. Each garrison consisted of a Corporal and four privates. The blockhouses were vacated at the end of the war. A house was built on the site of the Fredericton Junction blockhouse in 1922 by Mr. Harold Carson.

There are four old graves in the Gladstone Cemetery on Prides Landing Road in Fredericton Junction. They are believed to be those of members of the blockhouse garrison who died there while on duty during the War of 1812. The name Richard Jacques can be faintly read on one of the head stones.

The Royal Canadian Legion monument in the Gladstone Cemetery.

The four headstones and the Royal Canadian Legion monument in the Gladstone Cemetery.	Present site of the blockhouse in Fredericton Junction, located close to the "falls" on the Oromocto River. This was the head of navigation on the river and a natural site to defend.

New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum and Site Municipal Building
420 Pleasant Drive and Minto

This museum focuses on a Second World War internment camp that was located along Highway #10 near Ripples. This camp was one of twenty-six built in Canada during the Second World War and the only one in the Maritimes. It was built at the request of Great Britain to house “foreign nationals” interned at the outbreak of war. In the first year of operation, inexplicably the British internees proved to be mainly German Jewish refugees. These British internees were either released or assigned to other camps. Between 1941 and 1945 the camp housed Germans and Italians interned by Canada, captured enemy merchant marines, and Canadian citizens considered dangerous to the war effort. The museum contains more than 600 original artifacts and a scale model of the camp. The original site on Highway 10 is signed and has a one kilometre historic trail with interpretive signs posted along the way.

CFB Gagetown
Oromocto

In 1950 Canada’s peacetime army increased to more than divisional size. No training area in eastern Canada had sufficient room for such a force to exercise and maneuver. This prompted the search for a location near an all-weather port, with terrain suitable for all types of training, in a temperate climate and where there was minimum disturbance to the local civilian population. After an extensive search, the federal government announced in July 1952 that the largest military training base in Canada encompassing 1,106 square kilometers would be established between the villages of Upper Gagetown and Westfield in New Brunswick. The land expropriated in 1953 resulted in the removal of 750 families with a total of 3,000 residents, and the destruction of 20 communities. The first large scale exercise was held at Camp Gagetown in the summer of 1954 when the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade trained there for six weeks. During the summer of 1955, the 1st Canadian Division carried out a complete formation exercise in the new camp.

In November 1969, the Commander of the Army directed the disbandment of 3 Brigade and the formation of the Combat Training Centre in Gagetown, by moving and combining the Infantry and Armour Schools at Camp Borden, Ontario, and the Field Artillery School at Shilo, Manitoba. Since then, Canadian Forces Base Gagetown has been expanded to include the Tactics School, the Air Defence School and the School of Military Engineering.

Canadian Forces Base Gagetown Military Museum
Building #A-5, CFB Gagetown, Oromocto

Located on the Base, it has an excellent displays of weapons, uniforms, equipment and memorabilia from the 1800s, the South African War, First & Second World Wars, the Korean Conflict and United Nations Missions. It also features military vehicles on display outdoors. See website: http://www.museumgagetown.ca/

The Canadian Military Engineers Museum
Mitchell Building (J-10), Combat Training Centre, CFB Gagetown

The focus of this museum is on the contribution of the Military Engineers to the development of Canada in times of peace and crisis. The building is named in honour of Captain Norman Mitchell, won a Victoria Cross in World War One. The museum is busy preparing for the Corps Centennial celebrations in 2003. See website: http://www.cmemuseum.ca

CANLOAN - Brig Milton F. Gregg VC Memorial
Entrance to the Infantry Wing of the Combat Training Centre, CFB Gagetown

By late 1944 the British Army was suffering a serious shortage of younger infantry officers. Since the Canadian Army had a surplus, an agreement, known as CANLOAN, was made whereby trained Canadian officers could volunteer to serve in British units. A total of 673 officers participated in the programme, of which 465 became casualties. Brig MF Gregg was responsible for the training and final selection of the CANLOAN officers prior to embarkation. The CANLOAN Association erected this memorial commemorating Brig Gregg's association with the group and dedicated to their fallen comrades. Mrs Erica Gregg, widow of the Brigadier, unveiled the memorial. (See Fendick, R.F. "A CANLOAN Officer".)

Crash Site of an Air OP Otter of the RCAF 401 Squadron
Entrance to CFB Gagetown’s Camp Petersville off Highway #7