Swanley Village in Kent: Canadian troops WW1

[Michael Dobbs]

Can anyone provide any further details about Canadian troops camped near Swanley Village in Kent in WW1 please:

[color=maroon]Can you tell me anything about Canada Heights, off Button Street, near Swanley Village in Kent. Apparently "...Canada Heights, acquired its name during the 1914-18 War when a large contingent of Canadian troops were camped there on the high ground..."

See for location:[url=http://www.sidcupmotorcycleclub.co.uk/old/misc/venues/venues_canada_heights_directions.htm] http://www.sidcupmotorcycleclub.co.uk/old/misc/venues/venues_canada_heights_directions.htm[/url][/color]

Thanks, Mike

[Peter Harvey]

Hi Mike,

I can not find anything, but I do wonder why the name Canada Heights. I can see that Canadians went to Parkwood Hospital in Swanley (I think this was used by the military from late 1917 onwards, which would fit with the Canadians arriving), also there are a number of Canadian graves there now (Parkwood Hospital), including Maj.-Gen. Cameron Ware.

Most of the Canadian Divisions were in Surrey or down at Folkestone and I assume went back to the Surrey camps for rest and recuperation, where withdrawn from the front. However, you would assume Canadians from Folkestone also travelled into London and Swanley would be a logical place to camp.

I will keep a watch on this post and see what else appears.

Regards

[Michael Dobbs]

Many thanks for your response Peter.

Mike

[Alan Baker]

I have found online an O/S map of the area from 1945. There is no trace of the name Canada Heights on this, so it was presumably just a local nickname for the area

[Alan Baker]

I have heard back from a member of the CMMSG who advises (from a reference book)

During June 1915 the Division (still incomplete in artillery) completed its
concentration in the Shorncliffe area. Divisional Headquarters, the 4th and 5th Infantry
Brigades and the 4th Brigade C.F.A. found accommodation in hutments at St. Martin's
Plain, East and West Sandling and Westenhanger. The remaining units were distributed
under canvas at Dibgate, Otterpool and New Inn Green. It was a dry summer, and life
under canvas presented no hardship. The open fields beside Shorncliffe and the rolling
Kentish countryside beyond provided ideal conditions for company and battalion training,
and the ranges at Lydd and Hythe were convenient for musketry.

It seems possible that the camp at Swanley was part of this training programme, although no specific reference to the area is mentioned and those places which are listed are around the Folkestone area. In addition, there was a Canadian Military Hospital at Orpington and convalescent homes in and around Swanley itself