[Jes Andersen]

I have a few pictures of the old camp taken in the mid '60s. Lots of good memories of cadet summer training at HMCS Quadra in those days.
The 'H' huts you see today in the eastern part of the camp were built from prefabs in the early '70s. I think they came from out east out of some war stores. Looking a google today, the most of the original buildings are gone, except possibly for 2 that border what was the parade square. These were originally built in an 'E' configuration, with the mess hall and kitchen on the north end. It looks like the mess hall and kitchen are gone, as well as the NE wing of the barracks. There are many new structures, none of which can identify.

For those that are not familiar with Goose Spit, it was only water access from the Comox jetty until in the late '60s or early '70s when a road was constructed along the narrow part of the Spit, now a regional park. Before the road, everything to support the camp came by water, loaded by hand at the Comox jetty. At one time, there was a 1000 yd range with butts at the east end and firing points built on raised berms. These were supported by large concrete walls. When the road was built, the butts were demolished and one by one the firing points have been removed.

The RCAF had crash boats stationed at the HMCS Quadra jetty and still operate out of that location. One of my recollections was sailing on Baynes Sound and seeing Neptune A/S aircraft coming out from the Comox airbase. The area has lots of history, both naval and army.

In nearby Courtenay, a camp and training area operated during WW2. I have seen pictures of landing craft rafted up at a government dock in a channel off the Puntledge River. These were apparently used to train crews for beach landing operations. Just south of Goose Spit is an island, now a Marine Park which at one time, had steel observation spotting towers and barbed wire installation all over the place. The sandbars in that area were used for naval bombardment, with the ships shelling from out in Georgia Strait. The area came to the attention of the Forces when two high school students discovered a mortar round in an undeveloped area next to the nearby High School and were killed when it exploded. This whole area had been part of the ranges for the Courtenay Camp. As a result, soldiers were sent to do a complete sweep of the old range and camp areas, and also the naval impact area. During that July, one of the lowest tides in many years occurred and revealed literally tons of shells, hidden by the tides and sand since WW2. A large quantity were destroyed and the area cleaned of all remaining military structures.

If anyone has any pictures to add from those days, it would be great if they could be posted here. I've seen some over the years but can't recall where anymore.

Edit: I found a collection of relatively current pictures of the buildings on Goose Spit. The original buildings seen in the background of one of the photos was part of the single level 'E' shaped quarters that still existed in the later '70s. The new pictures show them gone and one of the wings has been replaced by a 2 story building, likely accommodation. All the other buildings that I recall, are no longer there and many new structures have expanded the camp from its original Post WW2 layout.

The Courtenay Army Camp is was actually called the Sandwick Army Camp and there was another set of barracks at what is now Lewis Park near the slough that the landing craft were tied up in, off the river. All this information was gleaned from the local museum website and another dedicated to the HMCS Quadra sea cadet camp.