[maple_leaf_eh]

As I think about what I know of Nova Scotia in WW2, I am reminded that as Canada's most prominent province connected to the mainland, it was quite important for the war effort. Newfoundland of course was still a British colony until 1949, and the coast of Labrador is mercilessly rugged. Halifax and Sidney were main seaports for convoy traffic. Greenwood was a maritime patrol airbase. Camp Debert and Camp Aldershot were staging bases for units on their way to Europe.

A two storey building seems extravagant compared to the much more typical single storey tar paper and rough lumber construction huts of the day. From my readings of military spending during the depression, there was very little money available to pay the troops, to buy fuel, to buy new equipment (or fix the old stuff) or do much more than keep the proverbial lights on.