July 29, 2009:


To whom it may concern:
 
                                        
I am seeking information on a particular R.C.A.F Communications Site.  In 1956 my father was 
posted to R.C.A.F station Rockcliffe, Ottawa Ontario.  My father was an electronics 
technictian with the R.C.A.F.  He belonged to a Communications Squadron located at Rockcliffe 
Station. I believe he primarly worked on ( Recievers and Transmitters ).
  
My inquiry concerns a small ( off station site ) located near Manotick, Ontario. This 
Communications Site was approximately 20 miles from R.C.A.F Rockcliffe, just outside the 
small village of Manotick.  The exact location of this Communication Site is  at the 
intersection of (Century Road) and (3rd Line Road), North Gower Township. The main enterance being on 3rd line 
Road. The site occupied approximately 20 acres (guesstimate). I once visited this site with 
my father in the mid 1950's.  I can still in my minds eye see a brick building on a hill and 
the men at the site had a german shepard  dog named King.
 
On July 3, 2009 some 50 years later I revisited the location.  All that remains is the  
( Military Fence with Gate ) still standing although rusted surrounding the entire property.  
There is one small building just inside the gate which is now being used by a civilian 
company. This small building appears to have been where some of the electronic equipment the 
Site used was installed, the roof has several large vents indicating that there were large 
cooling fans in operation at one time.  There are no traces of any other buildings on the 
property.  I only came across one small square concrete block with four metal protrusions. 
This concrete block was once the mounting base for an antenna tower at the site. 

I am seeking information on when this site closed and if possible to obtain a photograph of 
the site during it's operational days. I am enclosing a photograph taken about 1956 at 
Manotick showing three personne.  The corporal on the right is my father, the other two 
gentlemen to his left I do not know.  I do thank you now for any and all time spent seeking 
informtion on my behalf. 
 
Sincerely: Mr. Carey Craig
_______________________________

Dear: Mr. Lewis
 
Thank you for your Reply to my inquiry on the old R.C.A.F Comm Site.  By all means YES!  do 
run what you would like on your website include the picture if you will, ( www.bytown.net.).  
I would very much be interested in any replies that you may recieve and in that regard I 
shall follow the web site closely. 

The following may be of interest to you in this matter.  I live in Nova Scotia just 12 miles
outside Halifax. Approximately 10 miles further away from me is the community of " Mount 
Uniake ".  The R.C.A.F operated large reciever and transmitter sites in this community. The 
two stations were seperated by about 5 miles.  The " Reciever Site"  closed in 1968 and the 
" Transmitter site closed about 1978.
  
I mention this because my father worked at both this Comm Sites just as he had at the 
Manotick Site.  By the way, my father appears in the photograph on the far right in a 
corporals uniform, you may note the " AG FLYING WING " on his uniform as he trained as an 
Air Craft Gunner during WWII under the British Commonwealth Training Program. 
  
As noted in my inquiry, I visited the Manotick Comm Site on July 2, 2009 for the first time 
in 50 years since my last visit. There is indeed very little of the site left.  There is only 
one building standing and it is just inside the entrance gate located on 3rd line road. The 
original fence is still up and intact also.  I am rather suprized of the good condition it 
appears to be in considering the length of time the Comm Site has been closed.  This building 
is familiar to me,  it is identical to a building still standing on the Mount Uniake transmitter
site.  One can tell the former use of this building by looking on the roof, you will note 
several large ventilator shafts. This indicates that very likely this was the location of the 
Transmitting Electronic Equipment which required much ventilation to keep from over heating!.  
However, there must have been other buildings on the property at one time. Likely,  there was 
a small barracks building for staff, also a building for doing repair work and an office of 
some type. This Comm Site was manned  24hrs a day when in operation. 

The Site is now being leased by a man whom is operating a " Paint Ball shooting"  business on 
the property.  I spoke briefly with this gentleman ( whom just happened to be from Nova Scotia )
originally.  He told me he leases the property from the owner whom aquired it apparently from 
the DND when it was sold off as surplus land.
 
I am not sure at this time but I may have another photograph taken at Manotick somewhere. I 
must have a good look around. I would be so glad if any one had a decent photograph of what 
the Comm Site looked like when it  was in operation that I might aquire. 
 
I can still recall the time I was out there in the mid 1950's and there was a building on a 
hill and the staff had a Geman Shepard dog named " King".  I have tried everything I know to 
find information out on the internet without much luck on this matter. Of course time is 
moving on and the staff and men that I would have met the time I visited out there would now 
be in there upper 80's and into their 90's in age.  So I wish you good luck in this quest and 
as I previously stated I will follow your web site with interest.  Take Care!
 
Sincerely: Mr. Carey Craig (careycraig@ns.sympatico.ca) 


 August 22, 2011:

Hello,
My name is Kevin West i lived just down the road from this station and remmeber it quite well. 
I remember when the staion was running in 1967 or was going to be shut down as i would hear at night the big diesel 
powered generators running.I went once after it closed and walked through the buliding. The basement was flooded and i 
could not go down there. Last time i was out that way just the security fence was standing. I was always interested in 
the purpose and thought it was a early detection station.I know they had powerful transformers as  my dad knew a 
man in the airforce station at rockcliffe who had gone to this station for whatever reason and told us of the equipment, 
but not much details.I have looked on the internet for a long time and never saw any mention of this station.

Do you have any other pictures you can send me of it?

Thanks 

Kevin West