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Page 6 West Vancouver Historical Society September2000 FEATURE PRESENTATION REPORT By: Anne Vernon ALARMS & EXCURSIONS: Protecting Vancouver & The North Shore From Enemy Attack, 1914-48 Peter Moogk is a Professor of History at UBC, with a strong military background. Bom in England during World War II while his Canadian father served as Commanding Officer of the Winnipeg Rifles, Peter has followed family tradition by serving as a reserve officer with Service Battalions in Nova Scotia and British Columbia. His book "Vancouver Defended", dealing with the history of the Lower Mainland Defence forces over the years, served as the main source of inspiration for Ms lecture. Although Burrard Inlet became the main focus of the defence systems for Vancouver's inner harbour during the 20th century, Peter Moogk explained that the defence forces of the Lower Mainland originated in New Westminster in the late 1800's. There were various reasons for this - mainly fear of invasion from the United States of America, after their Civil War ended, and also the fact that the Irish Republican Army intended to "free Ireland from British rule" hy invading British Columbia! This resulted in a somewhat ill-equipped artillery corps being formed, with their camp sited at New Westminster on the north side of the Fraser River. The guns supplied to the force were of poor quality so it was fortunate for all concerned, that no invasion ever took place! The unit took part in many parades, in New Westminster and Vancouver, with those guns which could be operated being used mainly for practice drill and for firing salutes to celebrate the 24th of May - Queen Victoria's birthday. In 1871, when British Columbia became a province of Canada, the gunners were incorporated into the Canadian military as "the Seymour Battery of Garrison Artillery." and continued with their drills and parades. When in 1914 World War I (the "GreatWar") broke out, the fear of possible invasion from the German navy's China fleet brought some action. Local papers were loud in expressing the public's fears of what might happen on the west coast, as Vancouver was virtually undefended. Gun and searchlight emplacements were installed reasonably quickly and manned by members of the Vancouver Volunteer Reserve, or Home Guard. Local people worked quickly and defence points were installed in Stanley Park, near to Siwash Rock, in West Point Grey and in Narrows North. Again they were ill-equipped and seen as a stop gap measure "until the British Navy gained superiority over Germany." False alarms were the order of the day but German ships were operating in the Pacific Ocean, so there was ground for British Columbians' fears. Many local men volunteered for service in the artillery company being formed - most of them ex-gunners who had served in the regular armies of Canada and Britain. Meantime the naval base at Esquimau was being strengthened by land and sea and the picture of the defences of the Lower Mainland changed rapidly. By June 1915 many of the guns were transfered to other areas and the Stanley Park guns were neither manned nor operational. No one knows now if these guns were ever used by the militia artillery. Once again local energy came to the fore and many members of the artillery battalion transferred to various units in France and to the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force in Russia . It was more or less back to Square One between the wars, except that in the 1920’s a base was built at Jericho Beach and used by Supermarine StranraCT Flying Boats. They became a familiar sight to local inhabitants. By 1939 it was apparent to many that another war was about to break out. On August 25th of that year Ottawa ordered the mobilization of three Vancouver militia units including the 15th Coast Brigade and the 1st Searchlight Regiment. Batteries, which were under construction on York Island, in Stanley Park, Point Grey and on the north side of the First Narrows, were quickly manned. Equipment was delivered and camouflaged and all the necessary communications put into place. Vancouver was ready to defend its citizens against any attack from the sea. As before, the main point was to guard Vancouver's inner harbour with its shipyards and to this end two examination ships were permanently stationed in the entrance to the First Narrows. These, together with the manned artillery and searchlight units, kept watch on the waters of the inlet, challenging any ships which ventured in, and woe betide any captain who did not fly the requisite code flag! The gun emplacements were, of necessity, strongly built and there are still some remnants to be seen close to UBC's Anthropological Museum and the Point Atkinson lighthouse. Good camouflage was essential and, as the photogrph below shows, the searchlights were well hidden. North Shore Boat Hut - Camouflage for a Searchlight PHOTO: Ft. Rod Hill Natnl. Historic Park Peter Moogk left us with a lovely story. The only victim of artillery action in WW II was a Ashing boat whose captain did not fly the required recognition signal. The warning shot fired from North Shore guns skipped over the waves and holed the vessel - she sank just under Lions Gate Bridge!