New Sarum, Ontario
 

Colin Alford's research on the Shilo T-16 caught my attention in so far as this mystery destination for the shipment of T-16's in 1945 Southern Ontario, seemed like a really out of the way place.

If you Google it in todays world, it is really nothing more than a point on the map, just East of St, Thomas, Ontario. However, immediately West of New Sarum sits the St. Thomas Municipal Airport. The layout of this airport suggests it just might have been a wartime BCATP Station of some sort that has been successfully repurposed postwar. Seems to be a rail line running just North of the highway through New Sarum as well.

If the municipal airport started out as a BCAPT Station, by wars end was it perhaps a clearing point for military goods, and where these carriers ended up in New Sarum?

David

Agreed 100% on size and shape of the CYQS airport suggesting BCATP.
St Thomas is listed as a relief field for Aylmer ON. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ties_in_Canada
There are other examples of surplus airports being used to store vehicles prior to disposal. The crown already owned the land, they were a secure location with large expanses of pavement available for parking.

Found this on a webpage:

"M.D. No. 1 also gained Central Mechanization Depot, located in London, and popularly known as Canada's "largest Army garage." With its branches in Hagersville and New Sarum, it still functions as the most extensive Army depot of its kind."

from this site:
http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com/bl...pic_id=1129075

And, strangely enough, I believe Hagersville is one of the other BCATP airports used in the vehicle disposal process. Also Dunnville which is now semi-famous as the filming location for the TV show Canada's Worst Driver.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ties_in_Canada
Looking at it through a current eyeball, it seems difficult to imagine that the Canadian Army ever had so many vehicles (all surplus at the same time) that it needed so many airports to store them all before disposal. I don't have any idea the current DND fleet size but it sometimes feels they've been so stretched for so long that there can't be too many trucks left.....

Gents,

Here is an aerial image of Hagersville from Nov 1957. The original framed print is in the Base Borden Military Museum and Archives. The frame is approx 12" x 12" but there is not enough detail to determine exactly what types of vehicles are stored.

Colin