Suffield Block
Encyclopedia
The Suffield Block is an area located within Cypress County
, southern Alberta
, Canada
approximately bounded by Highway 884 on the west, Highway 555 on the north,
the South Saskatchewan River
on the east and the Trans-Canada Highway
on the south. The Suffield Block is managed by CFB Suffield
.
. Upon the termination of the Second World War, ownership of the "British Block" (or Suffield Block) was transferred from the province to the federal government in exchange for a large number of army and air camps and buildings from the Dominion government (War Assets Corporation).
The community of Bingville was the largest village effected by the creation of the Block. The name of the community was drawn from a hat which resulted in naming the village after the comic strip Bingville Bugle. The Bingville Bugle was written by humorist Clyde Newton Newkirk (born August 29, 1870), was a parody of a hillbilly newsletter complete with gossipy tidbits, minstrel quips, creative spelling, and mock ads. In 1941, a Mountie appeared in Bingville, which was not quite an oasis in the desert, but it was a pocket of better land and was graced with a little more rain. Under orders from the federal government, by arrangement with Alberta, the Mountie bade the settlers to decamp within 30 days. William Alfred Pratt, a trustee of the Bingville School, was one of the local farmers who had their property expropriated in the creation of the Block.
Brutus and Tripole were other communities within the Suffield Block. Learmouth, Bemister and Kalbeck are place names along the Hanna
– Medicine Hat Canadian Northern Railway
grade within the Suffield Block that was never completed.
Two national historic sites of Canada are located on the Suffield Block. The British Block Cairn National Historic Site is one of the best examples of a large boulder cairn and an important example of Niitsitapi cultural heritage. The Suffield Tipi Rings National Historical Site preserves a dense concentration of tipi rings.
Additional names not associated with a military event: AEC Oil Access Area, Owl, Eagle, Lark, Hawk and Falcon.
On 19 June 2003, the Suffield National Wildlife Area
(SNWA) was created and comprises the Amiens, Ypres, Casa Berardi and Fish Creek regions of the Suffield Block.
Cypress County, Alberta
Cypress County is a municipal district located in southeastern Alberta, Canada. The County completely surrounds the City of Medicine Hat and the Town of Redcliff.The municipality is part of Census Division 1, Alberta.- Geography :...
, southern Alberta
Southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of the year 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
approximately bounded by Highway 884 on the west, Highway 555 on the north,
the South Saskatchewan River
South Saskatchewan River
The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan....
on the east and the Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
on the south. The Suffield Block is managed by CFB Suffield
CFB Suffield
Canadian Forces Base Suffield , is the largest Canadian Forces Base and the largest Commonwealth military training base in the world...
.
History
The 2960 km2 area of the Suffield Block was expropriated by the Province of Alberta during the Second World War on behalf of the Canadian federal government. The land was leased to the federal government for 99 years at a cost of one dollar per year to support the operation of the Experimental Station SuffieldExperimental Station Suffield
The military research facility located north of Suffield, Alberta, operated under the name of the Experimental Station Suffield from its inception into 1941 to its renaming to the Suffield Experimental Station in 1950....
. Upon the termination of the Second World War, ownership of the "British Block" (or Suffield Block) was transferred from the province to the federal government in exchange for a large number of army and air camps and buildings from the Dominion government (War Assets Corporation).
The community of Bingville was the largest village effected by the creation of the Block. The name of the community was drawn from a hat which resulted in naming the village after the comic strip Bingville Bugle. The Bingville Bugle was written by humorist Clyde Newton Newkirk (born August 29, 1870), was a parody of a hillbilly newsletter complete with gossipy tidbits, minstrel quips, creative spelling, and mock ads. In 1941, a Mountie appeared in Bingville, which was not quite an oasis in the desert, but it was a pocket of better land and was graced with a little more rain. Under orders from the federal government, by arrangement with Alberta, the Mountie bade the settlers to decamp within 30 days. William Alfred Pratt, a trustee of the Bingville School, was one of the local farmers who had their property expropriated in the creation of the Block.
Brutus and Tripole were other communities within the Suffield Block. Learmouth, Bemister and Kalbeck are place names along the Hanna
Hanna, Alberta
Hanna is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada.The town's main industries are agriculture, oil production, tourism, and coal mining. It is the centre of a large trading area called Short Grass County and is the home of approximately 200 businesses...
– Medicine Hat Canadian Northern Railway
Canadian Northern Railway
The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...
grade within the Suffield Block that was never completed.
Two national historic sites of Canada are located on the Suffield Block. The British Block Cairn National Historic Site is one of the best examples of a large boulder cairn and an important example of Niitsitapi cultural heritage. The Suffield Tipi Rings National Historical Site preserves a dense concentration of tipi rings.
Named regions
| Name | Event | Conflict |
|---|---|---|
| Amiens | Battle of Amiens | First World War |
| Batoche | Battle of Batoche Battle of Batoche The Battle of Batoche was the decisive battle of the North-West Rebellion. Fought from 9 May to 12 May 1885 at the ad hoc Provisional Government of Saskatchewan capital of Batoche, the greater numbers and superior firepower of Middleton's force could not be successfully countered by the Métis ,... |
North-West Rebellion North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada... |
| Caen | Battle for Caen Battle for Caen The Battle for Caen from June-August 1944 was a battle between Allied and German forces during the Battle of Normandy.... |
Second World War |
| Cambrai | The 2nd Battle of Cambrai Battle of Cambrai (1918) The Battle of Cambrai was a battle between troops of the British First, Third and Fourth Armies and German Empire forces during the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War. The battle took place in and around the French city of Cambrai, between 8 and 10 October 1918... |
First World War |
| Casa Berardi | Assault at Casa Berardi, part of the Moro River Campaign | Second World War |
| Coriano | The battle for Coriano Ridge | Second World War |
| Dieppe | Dieppe Raid Dieppe Raid The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied... |
Second World War |
| Fish Creek | Battle of Fish Creek Battle of Fish Creek The Battle of Fish Creek , fought April 24, 1885 at Fish Creek, Saskatchewan, was a major Métis victory over the Dominion forces attempting to quell Louis Riel's North-West Rebellion... |
North-West Rebellion North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion of 1885 was a brief and unsuccessful uprising by the Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel against the Dominion of Canada... |
| Hochwald | The battle of the Hochwald | Second World War |
| Kap Yong | Battle of Kapyong Battle of Kapyong The Battle of Kapyong , also known as the Battle of Jiaping , was fought during the Korean War between United Nations forces—primarily Australian and Canadian—and the Chinese communist People's Volunteer Army... |
Korean War Korean War The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union... |
| Koomati | Part of the Battle of Leliefontein Battle of Leliefontein The Battle of Leliefontein was an engagement between Canadian/British and Boer forces during the Second Boer War on 7 November 1900, at the Komati River south of Belfast at the present day Nooitgedacht Dam.... |
Second Anglo-Boer War |
| Liri | The battle in the Liri Valley | Second World War |
| Lundy's Lane | Battle of Lundy's Lane Battle of Lundy's Lane The Battle of Lundy's Lane was a battle of the Anglo-American War of 1812, which took place on 25 July 1814, in present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario... |
War of 1812 War of 1812 The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant... |
| Mons | Liberation of Mons | First World War |
| Moreuilwood | Battle of Moreuil Wood Battle of Moreuil Wood The Battle of Moreuil Wood was an engagement of World War I that took place on the banks of the Arve River in France, where the Canadian Cavalry Brigade attacked and forced the German 23rd Saxon Division to withdraw from Moreuil Wood, a commanding position on the river bank... |
First World War |
| Ortona | Battle of Ortona Battle of Ortona The Battle of Ortona was a small, yet extremely fierce, battle fought between a battalion of German Fallschirmjäger from the German 1st Parachute Division under Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich, and assaulting Canadian forces from the 1st Canadian Infantry Division under Major General Chris Vokes... |
Second World War |
| Paardeberg | Battle of Paardeberg Battle of Paardeberg The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley.... |
Second Anglo-Boer War |
| Queenston | Battle of Queenston Heights Battle of Queenston Heights The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812 and resulted in a British victory. It took place on 13 October 1812, near Queenston, in the present-day province of Ontario... |
War of 1812 War of 1812 The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant... |
| Ypres | Second Battle of Ypres Second Battle of Ypres The Second Battle of Ypres was the first time Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front in the First World War and the first time a former colonial force pushed back a major European power on European soil, which occurred in the battle of St... |
First World War |
Additional names not associated with a military event: AEC Oil Access Area, Owl, Eagle, Lark, Hawk and Falcon.
On 19 June 2003, the Suffield National Wildlife Area
Suffield National Wildlife Area
Suffield National Wildlife Area is a National Wildlife Area located within the boundaries of CFB Suffield in Alberta, Canada.SNWA was formally created on the 19th of June, 2003 when it was officially gazetted under Canada Wildlife Act Regulations. The Department of National Defence was delegated...
(SNWA) was created and comprises the Amiens, Ypres, Casa Berardi and Fish Creek regions of the Suffield Block.
Alberta Homestead maps (circa 1918)
External links
- The Glenbow Museum contains photographs and other material concerning the Suffield Block.