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Annual Training Camps: 1866-1914

An unidentified battalion drills at Camp Niagara in the 1890s. Library and Archives Canada photo.

Historical note: For most of the era covered by this article the name of the unit was the 34th Ontario Battalion of Infantry. It was changed to the 34th Ontario Regiment in 1900. For the sake of clarity, I will refer to it by its modern name. Battalions and regiments are used interchangeably.

Summer training camp was the highlight of the year for militiamen in the 19th Century and the early 20th Century. For a few decades it was the only training that the soldiers received in a year or even two years. This training was often referred to as the “annual drill”.

The Ontario Regiment’s first camp was in September 1866 near Thorold. This camp was part of a series of militia camps intended to deter further incursions across the border by Fenian raiders.

The most frequent location for summer training was Camp Niagara, located adjacent to the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. A notable exception was Whitby which was the site of the camp in 1868, 1877, 1880 and 1895. Holland Landing hosted the camp in 1874 and 1875. Port Perry was the location of the 1878 camp and Toronto for 1884. Some of these camps will be the subject of future articles on this site.

With the Fenian threat removed in the early 1870s and the subsequent lower defence budgets, the camps became less frequent. At this time, regiments were designated as either city regiments or rural regiments. City regiments were allowed to hold an annual training camp, but it was usually held at the local headquarters. As a rural regiment, the Ontarios generally attended camp every second year, normally at a remote location. This was finally rectified in the 1890s when camps became an annual event. The duration of the camps ran from eight to sixteen days, depending on the available budget that year.

Company commanders were expected to bring a full complement of soldiers to camp each year, which led to some less desirable men being included at times. Some were under-age and some were unfit. An 1871 report from the Oshawa Vindicator indicated that the soldiers, “at first looked upon the camp as a place of recreation and amusement, and it was with trouble that some of them were persuaded that it was to learn and practice what their country needed the most in their hour of danger that brought them here.” The problem was recurring and as late as 1914 the Whitby Gazette & Chronicle noted that the Regiment’s soldiers were “above average” that year. It continued to say that the officers were able to, “eliminate from their payroll the man who makes the annual camp an opportunity to fill two weeks full of as much carousing and as little honest work as possible.” The article noted that in previous years some companies had been known to “fill their ranks with men who were recruits from the great mass of city loafers.”

Regimental Headquarters was located in Whitby in this era and the town was the muster point before traveling to the annual camp. In the early days the Regiment’s companies in the northern part of Ontario County came to Whitby by wagon. Trains were the method of transportation when they became available. The Oshawa companies often marched to Whitby. Once gathered in Whitby the Regiment marched to the Whitby Harbour and sailed to Niagara-on-the-Lake via steamer.


It was a short march from the Niagara-on-the-Lake dock to the militia camp. Work would quickly get underway setting up the tents (in later years the advance parties had the tents ready) and getting the camp established. Several other battalions would arrive at Niagara at approximately the same time to train together. There could be up to 5,000 soldiers at the camp some years.

In later years it became more common to conduct elementary drill training in the preceding two weeks before camp. This was not always practiced and generally the majority of the men were completely untrained upon arriving at Niagara. This meant that several of the first days of the camp were devoted to the fundamentals of soldiering. The new soldiers were split off to train separately while the returning soldiers renewed their stale skills. Much of the day was spent on drill, starting with squad drill, progressing to company drill and if time allowed in a year, battalion drill.

One day was allocated for rifle firing on the ranges, with each battalion rotating through the ranges each day. For most of this era the rifle was the Snider-Enfield. By the mid-1890s this weapon was quite obsolete and was finally being replaced with the Lee-Enfield. The Ross rifle made its first appearance at the 1908 camp. The ranges appear to have been adhoc in the early years, evolving into a permanent 200-yard range at some point. In 1909 a six-hundred yard range was opened at Niagara.

Sunday was an off-day for the soldiers. There was a church service in the morning and the men could explore Niagara Falls or Niagara-on-the-Lake in the afternoon. Sundays were open for visitors in some years. In other years it appears that the camp was open almost any day for civilians to visit. This could include family, friends and various local officials. There were even organized excursions from Whitby to visit the camp.

One day would be given over to an inspection by an officer of general rank. He conducted a detailed inspection of camp tent lines and each battalion’s weapons, uniforms, pay records and mess accounts.

The camp would usually end with a tactical exercise of some type. In 1909 the Ontarios were part of the blue force in defensive positions at Niagara-on-the-Lake. They were attacked by the red force which was occupying Niagara Falls. Each soldier was issued with twenty blank rounds.

The Ontario Regiment Band played an active role during the camps. A 1914 Whitby Gazette & Chronicle article described their work. The band played at the 0600 roll call and again during the march to and from the morning and afternoon drilling. The band practiced while the troops were at drill. They played again each evening at the officers’ mess. On range day they played and marched with the troops to the range.

The local newspapers covered the camps in varying detail each year. The Whitby camps received generous coverage, but many Niagara camps were well reported on, either with a reporter on site or through letters of the soldiers sent from the camp. Newspaper articles covered the Regiment’s departure from Whitby, arrival at camp, the daily training schedule, results of rifle firing, outcome of the inspection, details of the tactical exercise and the Regiment’s return home. There were also bits of trivia of interest to the local readers. In 1897 the Whitby Chronicle reported that “Sergeant Major Lawrence is the busiest, handsomest and one of the most popular men in camp.” Further, readers were informed that Number 1 Company’s, “Tommy Tasker is the best cook in the regiment.” There must have been a competition between RSM Lawrence and Lieutenant Theodore King as the young officer was described as, “…the smartest dressed subaltern in the battalion. On guest nights he is resplendent in red and gold, with a waxed mustache. He is the brightest particular star of No. 2 Co.”

The soldiers were paid for their training. The rates of pay fluctuated greatly over this era, presumably due to the size of the Department of the Militia budget. Privates, corporals and sergeants all made 50 cents a day in 1866. This jumped to a $1 per day in 1869. By 1871 the pay for a private had dropped to 50 cents, corporals at 60 cents and sergeants at 80 cents. The pay stayed flat for over 40 years, but finally increased around 1913. In 1914 privates were paid either 75 cents or 85 cents a day. Sergeants were now up to $1.10 per day. Throughout the pre-First World War era, the daily pay for a militiaman was lower than that of a labourer. The 1914 private’s daily pay of 75 cents is equivalent to $19.11 in 2022 funds. A private recruit in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve in 2022 is paid $101.96 per day.

The 1914 camp began on 14 June, with the Regiment assembling at the Whitby Armoury before traveling to Camp Niagara for twelve days of training. On 28 June, two days after their arrival home, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand set off a chain of events that led to the First World War. The next time that many of these soldiers would return to Camp Niagara would be as members of various battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, training to fight on the European battlefields.

Camp Niagara continued to be the regular site of the annual camp until the 1940s. There was a brief return in the early 1960s, until the closing of Camp Niagara in mid-decade.

Rod Henderson

Rod Henderson is the Regimental Historian of the Ontario Regiment. He served as a Sergeant in the Regiment and is the author of “Fidelis Et Paratus: The History of The Ontario Regiment RCAC”.