CHAPTER SIX

THE COLD WAR PERIOD AND UNITED NATIONS SERVICE
1946 - 1989

On 18 May 1946, General Order 115 allocated 1st Canadian Divisional Signals to the reserve force.

On 7 October 1946, General Order 248 redesignated 1st Canadian Divisional Signals as "1 Infantry Division Signal Regiment".

In December 1946 radio station "CHAK" went on the air at Aklavik. Built and initially operated by WO2 R.A. (Red) McLeod the station was a voluntary operation serving the MacKenzie River Delta. It initially had 30 watts of power, later upgraded to 100 watts, and operated on 1,290 Kilohertz. It received its license in 1947. For many years there were no commercials and its sole source of income was a 25 cents contribution to broadcast personal messages.

In 1946, Brigadier J.E. Genet, CBE, MC (Retired) who had served as Chief Signal Officer of 1st Canadian Army during the war was appointed the first Honourary Colonel Commandant of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.

In 1946, the Army component of the tri-service National Defence Communication System, a nation-wide teletype network was established by RCSIGS. Prior to this military strategic communications throughout Canada were provided primarily by commercial telegraph companies.

In 1946, Signals Welfare Incorporated was formed by the amalgamation of funds collected overseas and in Canada during the War. $47,000 was initially collected to form the basis for the sustaining fund.

In 1946 the first "Signals Day" was observed across Canada (later an annual event until absorbed into "Army Day" in 1957). Initially the first Saturday in November, the day became the nearest Saturday to the Corps Birthday (24 October) in 1952.

THE CANADIAN ARMOURED SNOWMOBILE

In 1941 the British requested information on Canadian designs for over snow vehicles. In 1943 over 100 half-tracked Bombardier B1 models were shipped overseas. While there were many existing commercial designs the Canadian military then decided to develop a "warlike" version. By 1944 the Canadian firm of Ferand and Delorme of Montreal had a fully tracked two man armoured reconnaissance snowmobile in production. Each had a Cadillac V-8 engine mounted at the rear, a Wireless Set Number 19 and a maximum of 14 mm of steel armour. Its ground pressure was only 20% of that of the more famous Universal Carrier (often incorrectly called the Bren Gun Carrier). The wide tracks gave superior mobility whether negotiating snow, mud or swamp. 396 were delivered to Britain and three to Russia while Canada retained 11. None of them actually saw action during World War II. They proved themselves on EXERCISE ESKIMO held in Saskatchewan over the winter of 1944-45 where they were used by the brigade group reconnaissance troop. Being very flexible vehicles they were also employed by signals, infantry, provost (military police) and artillery participants and used as tractors to pull up to two sleds or even artillery pieces. The 11 Canadian machines were used for EXERCISE MUSKOX where, stripped of the superfluous armour and fitted with aluminum cabins, they completed the epic 2,900 mile arctic patrol, arriving in Edmonton on 6 May 1956, only one day behind schedule.

In 1946 the strategic significance of Canada's north in the defence of Canada was realized. Exercise Muskox was the first of a decade of annual northern exercises to develop arctic knowledge, develop tactical doctrine and test communications in the far north. Exercise Muskox consisted of a 2,900 mile motorized arctic trek commencing in mid February 1946. The party started at Fort Churchill and visited Eskimo Point, Baker Lake, Perry River, Cambridge Bay, Coppermine, Port Radium, Fort Norman, Fort Simpson, Fort Nelson and Edmonton. At Cambridge Bay they visited with RCMP Inspector Larsen and the St Roch, the vessel which made the first successful voyage through the North-West Passage. The party arrived in Edmonton on 6 May 1946, only one day behind schedule.

In 1947-48 Exercise Moccasin proved that small Signal detachments could survive, move and communicate in the Arctic. Moves of up to 20 miles per day could be sustained. Many equipment expedients were developed to make the equipment in use survivable in the extremely cold and harsh conditions.

On 1 April 1947 Canadian National Telegraph officially took over the Northwest Communication System (paralleling the Alaska Highway) from the RCAF. This 2,400 kilometre long system was originally built by the United States Signal Corps in 1942 to link Alaska with the continental United States. The system was completed on 1 May 1943. Construction involved some 95,000 poles and 23 repeater stations built at 160 kilometre intervals. It was turned over to the RCAF in mid 1945. Many former RCAF personnel were among the first civilian employees of the newly civilian system which soon stretched to 3012 kilometres of pole line through the northern wilderness.

4 October 1947 OPERATION CANON. Sgt H.C. Cook and Sgt W.W. Judd, radio operators, were part of a team that parachuted into Moffat Inlet, Baffin Island to rescue Canon Turner, an Anglican missionary, who had accidentally wounded himself on 24 September 1947. After many difficulties and weather induced delays Canon Turner was evacuated from an improvised air strip by RCAF Dakota and taken to hospital in Winnipeg on 22 November 1947. He died of his injuries on 9 December 1947. Sgt Cook was awarded the British Empire Medal and Sgt Judd the Kings Commendation for their part in the rescue.

On 14 November 1947 the first United Nations operation was authorized. UNTCOK - United Nations Temporary Commission on Korea was authorized to supervise free and secret elections and to oversee the withdrawal of occupation forces (USSR and USA) from Korea. There was democratic success in the South however the North became the communist Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea under Kim Il Sung.

In 1948 HMCS Gloucester became the Royal Canadian Navy school for "communicator supplementary", later "radiomen special", training. This trade along with operator specialties in the RCSIGS and RCAF later evolved into the "Communicator Research, 291" trade. This training was moved to the school in Kingston in 1971 and the station closed in 1972.

On 21 April 1948 the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan - UNMOGIP was authorized to supervise, in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, the cease fire between India and Pakistan. The group commenced operations on 24 January 1949. Canada provided observers until 1979 and still provides one aircraft annually for the relocation of UNMOGIP Headquarters from one side of the border to the other.

On 29 May 1948 The United Nations Truce Supervisory Organization Middle East (UNTSO) was authorized to assist the mediator and the Truce Commission in supervising the observance of the truce in Palestine called for by the Security Council. The first troops were in place on 11 June 1948.

In May 1948 British Columbia Area Signal Squadron deployed in aid to civil power operations in British Columbia. Flooding of the Fraser River had wiped out civil communications so Signals established communications between Vancouver and Edmonton as well as in the interior. Signalmen also built dykes in the most dangerous areas. On 30 May West Coast Signal Regiment deployed and provided communications for evacuation and relief as well as dyke repair. Civilian ham operators assisted with their own radio net. Flood waters peaked on 11 June. Army involvement ended on 30 June. Seven officers, 72 men of the Regular Force, seven officers and 36 men of the Militia and 15 civilians in support roles had been involved.

In 1948-49 Exercise Sigloo demonstrated the use of divisional and corps communications in the Arctic. Moves of up to 45 miles per day were made.

In 1949 major teletype relays were integrated as an economy measure. RCSIGS operated Ottawa and Edmonton, the RCAF Vancouver and Winnipeg while the RCN operated Halifax.

In 1949 the RCAF Telecommunications Branch establishment was set at 165 officers and 1700 other ranks out of total RCAF establishment of 14,500. By 1962 Telecom had expanded to 6000 personnel.

In 1949 NRS Aklavik was established. In March 1961 its responsibilities were transferred to the new site at Inuvik and the station closed. 

In 1949 the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) celebrated their fifth anniversary at the RCEME School at Camp Barriefield, Kingston, Ontario. This fete was the largest RCEME military party ever held in Kingston. Three RCEME companies were on parade, there was a Corps field day, a precision drill team display, band concert, all ranks steak dinner and dance and a VIP reception in the RCEME Officers Mess. This celebration remained the largest RCEME party ever until 1974 when the thirtieth anniversary was celebrated during an army concentration in Wainwright, Alberta.

In 1949 NRS Masset (which had been abandoned in 1945) was opened as a HFDF station. The station was hit and damaged by an earthquake in August 1949.

In 1949 NRS Coverdale near Moncton NB opened as a HFDF station. In 1949 it was later commissioned as HMCS Coverdale. The station closed in 1971.

Corporal Bud White of Fort Chipawayan, NWT&Y System, dove into a whirlpool in Lake Athabaska to rescue a carpenter, Nick Purves in 1949. He was awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct for his actions.

During the winter of 1949- 50 the NWT&Y Ennadai Lake Signal Detachment arranged an airlift of the Kazan River Inuit community. The group was in danger of starvation after migrant caribou herds by-passed the area. The nomads returned the next year and were frequent recipients of the detachment's medial aid until the detachment closed three years later.

In February 1950 Exercise Sweetbrier was the first joint Canadian - American exercise in the Arctic. It was held in the Yukon and eastern Alaska. It tested the ability of troops to carry on military operations in the north.

On 1 March 1950 officers of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals presented a Drum Major's mace and sash for use by the Corps Band. The mace and sash were originally retained in a special oak case in the Officers' Mess in Vimy Barracks until required for use. Traditionally a band paraded itself to the Officers' Mess to receive the mace and sash prior to a parade or ceremony. Following the event the band would, again, parade itself to the Mess to return them back into the officers' keeping. The original band involved was a school trumpet band made up of staff members. The trumpet band existed until the mid 1950s and predated the Band of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals formed in 1952. This practice was discontinued with integration. In the 1970s the case containing the mace and sash was moved to the C & E Museum where they remain on display when not on parade. In 1986 Colonel G.L. Coady, then Commandant of the school and of the Home Station, decided to reinstate the tradition in revised format for the Vimy Band (the successor to earlier Corps bands) to again use the mace on C & E parades at Kingston. The new tradition involved the Drum Major receiving the mace from the school, leaving his own mace as surety until its return. The old RCSIGS sash was not included in the ceremony due in part to its single element identity and to its deteriorated condition. In 1987 a new C & E drum major's sash, designed by Captain J.A. MacKenzie, was acquired by the Museum. The sash was held by the Vimy Band until that band was disbanded in 1994. The new sash is worn only on C&E parades and ceremonies. In April 1993 Air Land Basic Officers Course 9301, led by Officer Cadet J.D.F. Leonard (himself a former bandsman), refurbished the mace as a class project.

On 9 April 1950 RCAF personnel landed at Alert and permanent occupancy began. Originally a temporary airfield and a weather station were set up using materials propositioned two years earlier. this was as part of joint cooperation with the Canadian Department of Transport and the United States Weather Bureau. The weather station had a three man weather reporting team. On 31 July 1950 when a parachute fouled its elevators during a supply drop a Lancaster aircraft crashed at Alert killing the crew. A subsequent aircraft dispatched to recover the casualties also crashed, fortunately without further fatalities. The nine members of the original crash are still interred at Alert. The original station still exists as part of the Department of the Environment, Atmospheric Environmental Services.

In May 1950 Signalman Mike Carter of Hay River, NWT&Y System, repeatedly risked his live crossing the ice-jammed Hay River to rescue a seriously ill Indian woman. He was awarded the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct.

On 8 May 1950 OPERATION REDRAMP, 6 Signal Regiment from Rivers, Manitoba, deployed with personnel and equipment assistance from the Fort Garry Horse and 1st Field Regiment RCHA Signal Troop to help battle the Red River flood in Manitoba. The Air Support Signal Unit, also from Rivers, arrived the next day. On 9 May OPERATION BLACKBOY, the complete evacuation of Winnipeg, was prepared for but it was not implemented as the waters crested on 16 May and by 21 May had begun to recede. At its peak the flood covered 600 square miles and had made 100,000 people homeless. Radio equipped DUKWs (2.5 ton amphibious trucks) were invaluable rescue vehicles. The experience gained two years earlier in British Columbia had proven invaluable. The force stood down (except for DUKW operations) after 18 days of operations and began to redeploy on 30 May.

On 25 June 1950 The United Nations Security Council, following the invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces, called for a cessation of hostilities in Korea and the return of North Korean forces North of the 38th Parallel. The war continued until the armistice on 27 July 1953.

In 1950 - 51 Exercise Sundog II involved movement of material in the Fort Churchill, Manitoba area. RCSIGS average time to move 100 miles was 12 hours versus the 12 days that other units took with their tractor trains, proving the effectiveness of light equipment developed in earlier exercises. Exercises in 1951-52 were also major endurance tests involving minimal vehicles and three month deployments for the 37 signalmen involved.

In 1951, Pinetree Radar Line construction commenced as a joint Canada - USA project. Radar early warning stations were placed to counter the Soviet air threat against North America. This later became part of the joint US-Canada North American Air Defence (NORAD) System. Initial radar stations were fully manual air defence systems with both aircraft control and early warning functions. The stations were organized into geographical sectors. As part of this expansion women were again enrolled in the RCAF (the wartime Women's Division was disbanded in 1946) and by 1954 airwomen were eligible for overseas postings.

In 1951 the C/PRC-26 man pack radio was issued. Designed by the Canadian Signals Research and Development Establishment and manufactured by Rogers Majestic this was the first Canadian developed and built post World War II military radio. It was unique for its time having, despite the tube technology of the day, replaceable modules.

In 1951 Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps training began at the Pay Training Wing in Vimy Barracks. It continued there until integration in 1968.

Commencing 15 January 1951, 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade Signal Troop formed, trained and embarked for service with 25th Canadian Infantry Brigade in Korea. It arrived in Korea in April 1951 and although the armistice took effect on 27 July 1953 the unit did not return home until late 1954. Personnel were rotated four times.

On 6 February 1952 King George VI died. Queen Elizabeth II assumed the throne.

Commencing 4 May 1951, 27 Canadian Infantry Brigade Signal Squadron formed at Kingston where it trained and later embarked for service with 27 Canadian Infantry Brigade in Germany. The unit opened for business in Hanover, Germany, on 7 November 1951. Also formed at the same time was 27th Field Regiment Signal Troop which provided artillery communications. In 1952 these two units were redesignated J Troop and E Troop respectively of 1st Canadian Signal Regiment.

In 1952 the radar station at Lac Ste-Denis, Quebec became the first PINETREE site to be completed. Originally designated Radio Station Lac St-Joseph it was renamed Lac Ste-Denis in 1952. Over the years it went by various designations including No 1 Radio Station, 202 Air Control & Warning Squadron and 11 Radar Squadron. It was one of the original Canadian funded and manned stations.

In the fall of 1952 the first RCSigs Motorcycle Display Team was formed. Patterned after the Royal Signals team which had performed since 1930 the 26 members used unmodified standard issue motorcycles to provide an action packed half hour show. They performed from the spring of 1953 until 1956 when the team was disbanded.

In 1952, the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line project was initiated with the Bell System as primary contractor and Western Electric assigned the job as PROJECT 572. The first and test station was Barter Island, part of the initial Alaska Experimental Line which opened in 1953. The system peaked at 70 sites subsequently reduced to 31 sites between 1962-83 due to technology improvements.

On 22 January 1952 the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals Band was authorized and formed at Vimy Barracks.

On 9 October 1952, General Order 312 authorized formation of 1st Canadian Signal Regiment, the first Signal unit of its size to be formed in the Active Force. It was established at Camp Borden. The existing brigade squadrons and artillery troops then designated troops of the Regiment although remaining with their formations, for example: 27 Canadian Infantry Brigade Signal Squadron in Germany became J Troop while 27th Field Regiment Signal Troop was redesignated E Troop of 1st Canadian Signal Regiment.

On 23 October 1952, 1 Line Troop was formed.

On 18 December 1952 the Apprentice Training Squadron of the Royal Canadian School of Signals was authorized. Squadrons in the School were 1 Sqn - basic and linemen training, 2 Sqn - operator training, 3 Sqn - technician training, 4 Sqn officer training, 5 Sqn - soldier apprentice training, X Troop - administration. The Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps (RCAPC) training was done in the Pay Wing, also part of the School.

In 1953, Pinetree Long range radar stations opened across Canada (including Moisie, Sioux Lookout and Sydney). Combined with US sites the system peaked at 256 sites to monitor the continent, reduced to 80 by 1983.