HMCS/CFB Cornwallis: 1942-94

Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis was built to train Second World War sailors. From apple orchard to the largest training facility in the Commonwealth, in rural Annapolis County.

DeMonts, arriving in 1605, called the Annapolis Basin Port-Royale imagining the dozens and dozens of French Navy ships which could find sheltered anchorage here. In June, 1942, the Department of National Defence (DND) began building a naval recruit training facility in southwestern Nova Scotia with convenient access to Halifax.

The Main Gate at Cornwallis. Initially, 2,500 officers, recruits, and civilian support staff were transferred here from Halifax, the Navy's east coast home. Travel was primarily by train.

As the War went on, Cornwallis grew to a peak strength of over 11,000 officers and enlisted personnel and recruits, becoming the largest naval training facility for new recruits in the British Commonwealth.

Ship-shape, and Bristol fashion: CFB Cornwallis.

The Base was an economic mainstay of Annapolis County for over fifty years. The last recruit course, # 9426, graduated on August 18, 1994. CFB Cornwallis was officially decommissioned in May, 1995.

Mapannapolis is home to a collection of local postcards, such as the ones above. Find them here.