Cartier Square Drill Hall

Cartier Square Drill Hall
Cartier Drill Hall in January 2005
General information
Type	Drill Hall / armoury
Location	on the bank of the Rideau Canal just south of Laurier Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Current tenants	The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own)) and The Governor General's Foot Guards
Inaugurated	1879
Owner	Canadian Forces
Design and construction
Architect	Thomas Seaton Scott, Dominion Architect
Awards and prizes	Classified - 1985 Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings

The Drill Hall at Cartier Square is a dedicated military training facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It has been a local landmark since its construction in 1879. The drill hall is 70 meters (230 ft) long and has two 43 meters (141 ft) tall mansard towers.

The hall is located on the bank of the Rideau Canal just south of Laurier Avenue. The area to the west was once a large open field used for drilling, but today is the location of the Ottawa City Hall and courthouse.

Architecture

The building was designed by Thomas Seaton Scott, first Chief Architect of the Dominion of Canada. The building is a rare surviving example of a military training facility built in the immediate post-confederation era when establishing a military presence and asserting the role of the federal government were important government aims.

Cartier Square Drill Hall, side entrance

Cartier Square Drill Hall, sideview

Rideau Canal Junior Ranks Mess behind Cartier Square Drill Hall

Units

The building was designed to house The Governor General's Foot Guards (GGFG) and elements of the 43rd "Ottawa and Carleton" Battalion of Rifles (later named The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own)).

In the Canadian Forces, an armoury is a place where a reserve unit trains, meets, and parades. Today the Drill Hall remains home to the GGFG and The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own). Both of these units are active components of Canada's Primary Reserves, providing trained volunteer soldiers to augment the Regular Army in peace and war. Each day during the summer months, it is from the Drill Hall that the Ceremonial Guard departs to initiate the Changing the Guard ceremony on Parliament Hill.

2784 Governor General's Foot Guards, Royal Canadian Army Cadets, also parade at Cartier Square Drill Hall on Wednesday evenings from 1800 to approx. 2100 hrs.

History

For over 125 years, the Drill Hall at Cartier Square has been at the centre of military mobilization and training for soldiers recruited from the Ottawa-Carleton area, overseeing soldiers deployed for service in:

• North-West Canada, 1885
• South Africa, 1899–1902
• The Great War, 1914–1918
• The Second World War, 1939–1945
• Korean War, 1950–1953
• Several peacekeeping operations including Cyprus, Sierra Leone, and the former Yugoslavia.
• Afghanistan War, 2001–present

Sculpture

Statue to Wm. B. Osgoode and John Rogers who fell in action at Cutknife Hill, 2 May 1885

A statue dedicated to Privates William B. Osgoode and John Rogers, who were killed during the Battle of Cutknife Hill on 2 May 1885 during the North-West Rebellion, was moved to Cartier Square Drill Hall in 2006 from Confederation Park. Unveiled on May 2, 1887, a tablet is also dedicated to the memory of Privates J. Rogers and Wm. B. Osgood.

Parade Square

Soldiers of The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa - Weapons training in Drill Hall

The Parade Square provides ample area for training at the section, platoon and company level and it is often loaned out to a wide variety of civilian organizations to hold large dinners and entertainment events such as the City of Ottawa Christmas Party, the Ottawa Heritage Ball, and the Ottawa Garrison Ball.

Officer`s Mess

File:Placing the Canadian Colours on Wolfe's Monument in Westminster Abbey by Emily Warren.JPG

Photo of `Placing the Canadian Colours on Wolfe's Monument in Westminster Abbey` by Emily Warren c 1919 oil painting in Officer Mess, Cartier Square Drill Hall

The Officers' Mess is used by both the Governor General's Foot Guards and The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own). Originally constructed in the 19th Century for the officers of the Foot Guards, the mess was the scene of Sir Sam Hughes' (the Minister of Militia and Defence at the time) declaration of war by Canada in 1914. In addition to an extensive art and regimental silver collection, the mess also houses the current Queen's and Regimental Colours of both regiments.

Plaques

Cameron Highlanders

• A memorial tablet is dedicated to the members of the 43rd Regiment Ottawa and Carleton Rifles who served and died in the South Africa campaign 1899 - 1902.
• A plaque is dedicated to the memory of Sergt. Cuthbert T. Thomas, member of the Number 5 Company, the Governor General Foot Guards killed in action at Paardeberg, South Africa on 27 February 1900.
• Another plaque was dedicated to the officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and Men who served with the Cameron highlanders of Ottawa during the Second World War.

Governor General's Foot Guards

• A tablet was dedicated to the memory of those Governor General's Foot Guards Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Guardsmen who gave their lives while serving with the regiment in the Second World War.

• "Forceful III", a Second-World War era Sherman tank, was dedicated to the memory Governor General's Foot Guards killed during the Second World War. Although the plaque remains, the tank was moved from the Cartier Square Drill Hall to the Canadian War Museum in 2006.

Canadian Expeditionary Forces

• A plaque was dedicated to 5326 Officers and Men who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 2nd Canadian Infantry Battalion, 1914-1918. A plaque honouring the 38th Ottawa Overseas Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force commemorates the Sixtieth Annual Reunion of the 38th Battalion Association by the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa Regimental Association on October 1, 1978.

Victoria Cross

• Unveiled on July 15, 1996, a plaque was dedicated to the memory of Filip Konowal, who was conferred the Victoria Cross

in London on 15 October 1917.

• Unveiled in 2002, a plaque was dedicated to the memory of Captain Thain Wendell MacDowell and Private Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney, two members of the 38th Canadian Infantry Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, who were awarded the Victoria Cross.

Cameron Highlander

• Unveiled on June 6, 1998, a plaque is dedicated to the Cameron highlanders of Ottawa in recognition as the Ottawa's Regiment, and for over a century of service in peace, war and natural disasters. <rerf>Cameron highlanders of Ottawa centennial</ref>
• A plaque was dedicated to the memory of the members of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa who participated in the campaign of 1944-1945 that led to the liberation of the Netherlands.
• A plaque was dedicated to the memory of David G. Spinney, a Guardsman who died while training at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa on July 10, 1987.
• A plaque is dedicated to the memory of Staff Sergeant T.J. Benbow, who died while saving five others in the Webster Hotel fire in Montreal on October 30, 1899.

Princess Louise Dragoon Guards

• Unveiled on November 26, 1979, a plaque is dedicated to all who served with the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards from 1872 to 1964. A memorial plaque is also dedicated to Officers, NCO's and Men who died while serving with the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards during the Second World War.

Drill Hall

Site	Date(s)	Designated	Location	Description	Image
Cartier Square Drill Hall	1879	Classified - 1985 Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings	Ottawa, Ontario	large centrally located building with a low-pitched gable roof houses The Governor General's Foot Guards and The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh's Own).

See also

• List of armouries in Canada
• Military history of Canada
• History of the Canadian Army
• Canadian Forces

External links

• List of Memorials at Cartier Square Drill Hall