The Westmount War Effort: A Hospital at the Athletic Grounds
Written by Donald V. Macdougall [1]. Don is a retired lawyer who enjoys researching the social and employment circumstances of his ancestors. Additional footnotes and details are available upon request: donvmac@gmail.com. This article has been adapted from the original publication in the Westmount Independent, November 2, 2021. Minor edits by Valour Canada.
Once the Second World War began in September 1939, it was not long before Westmount, a separate municipality on Montreal Island, became the site of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (R.C.A.M.C.) No. 14 Canadian General Hospital. The 1,200-bed unit was activated in June 1940 at the Westmount Barracks.
The athletic grounds adjacent to present-day Westmount High School were turned over to the military for use as a training centre. The field and clubhouse were used for reviewing areas, offices, and long rows of wooden barracks to house troops. Another 600 bunks were stacked inside the clubhouse. Extra kitchens and toilet facilities were added, and the area was declared off limits to all but authorised personnel. At the armoury, preparations for active duty had been quietly going forward after a secret mobilization order, dated July 18, 1939, was given. Despite the early and thorough preparations, it wasn’t until June 1941 that the unit left Montreal – first to Halifax by train and then across the Atlantic to England aboard Stirling Castle.
On June 19, 1941, No. 14 Canadian General Hospital mobilized at Montreal’s Bonaventure Station for departure to Europe. (Credit: Hardy family collection)
Before No. 14 Canadian General Hospital returned to Canada from Italy at the end of the war, the unit had a commemorative plate made in Perugia, their last posting. Illustrated by artist Major Jules Gosselin, it depicts the unit’s journey from Westmount to Perugia and four of the major battles they supported. One of the plates survives in the family of Richard Ernest (Dick) Hardy, who was a Quarter Master Sergeant with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and was posted to No. 14 Canadian General Hospital in Westmount. Dick was later promoted to Regimental Sergeant Major in England. After a few more decades passed, his two great-granddaughters became students at nearby Roslyn Elementary School in Westmount.
No. 14 Canadian General Hospital Commemorative Plate illustrates the unit’s journey from Westmount to Perugia, Italy, and four of the major battles the unit supported (Artist: Major Jules Gosselin). (Credit: D. Macdougall)
Main photo: R.C.A.M.C. No. 14 Canadian General Hospital poses on the Westmount Athletic Grounds viewing stands in 1941; the stands were demolished in 1961 when the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal constructed the new Westmount High School. The two men in light uniforms are Sergeant Majors Richard Hardy (left) and Wally Plumpton (right). (Credit: Hardy family collection)
[1] Mr. Macdougall is Richard Hardy’s son-in-law.