Col (Ret’d) Peter Williams
Stag Special

While artillery training had taken place at Camp Shilo since its establishment, a level of activity which increased during two World Wars, it was not until 1946 when the Royal Canadian School of Artillery (RCSA), with responsibility for field, medium and anti-tank gunnery, was established in Camp Shilo.
This coincided with the move of 71st Field Regiment RCA — later re-designated 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1RCHA) from Petawawa, Ont., to Camp Shilo.
A separate RCSA for anti-aircraft gunnery was established in Picton, Ont., south of Belleville.
Post-war artillery establishments were greatly understrength, to the point where staff serving at the RCSA found themselves regular members of “coal fatigues” in order to keep heating systems operating. The original anti-tank range was built by Second World War German POWs.
In 1954, it saw the establishment of the Apprentice Training battery, in which young men aged 16 would complete a two-year course as the start of their career in the RCA.
In their first year, apprentices received normal recruit training, instruction in national survival and physical training, and tuition in high school academic subjects. Extra-curricular activities included voluntary service in the apprentice trumpet band and also against teams in the Manitoba Secondary School Athletic Association.
Apprentices were not permitted to wear such exotic clothing of the times as Levis jeans, so-called “jazzy” shirts and windbreakers nor could they consume alcoholic beverages or purchase cars.
During the first six weeks of training, they were not granted any passes out of camp, but after this time they may have been granted weekend passes to Brandon or Winnipeg.
This was partially made up for by a so-called “generous” leave of 10 days at Christmas, four days at Easter, and annual leave of 30 days, with up to four days travelling time.
The second year of training consisted of learning a Gunner trade, such as surveyor or technical assistant, with further academic upgrading. During this phase, the cadets were allowed more passes, and special social functions were arranged for their entertainment.
Two years later, the RCA Depot was formed at CFB Shilo, and given the task of training all recruits for the RCA. From across Canada, young men came to the Depot for an introduction to military life and the art of gunnery.
Having completed his training, and at the same time improved his academic standing, the potential Gunner would take a short non-tradesman driver course, qualifying him to drive light vehicles.
Then came the ceremonial passing out parade from the Depot — after which the young soldier was handed over to the school for training to the Group One level in one of the artillery trades. They would be trained as a gun number, technical assistant, an RCA signaller or a surveyor — before being posted to a regular unit.
As of 1965, the Depot had trained more than 3,000 recruits, including some for the Infantry and the Ordnance Corps.
With the graduation of Squad No. 164 in the early summer of 1968, the RCA Depot closed down, having trained several thousand recruits in the 12 years of its existence.
The RCSA was commanded by a Chief Instructor of Gunnery — a lieutenant-colonel — with senior instructors for gunnery, target acquisition, missiles, trials and evaluation and tactics. There was an Exchange Officer from the UK and a Liaison Officer from the United States. The Base Commander was a full colonel.
In carrying out its role in maintaining the efficiency of the RCA at the highest level, the RCSA was to devote a major part of its activities to instruction and training — particularly through the conduct of specialized courses for candidates selected from artillery units of the Regular Force and the Militia all across Canada.
The schedule for a typical year would include more than two dozen courses varying in duration from a short two weeks refresher for “I” staff, to the Artillery Staff course, which lasted a whole year.
It was the artillery staff course which trained the IGs, instructors in gunnery, who with the Assistant Instructors in Gunner (AIGs) and who were Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs), have long made a tremendously important contribution in maintaining the high state of individual training of artillery officers and NCOs, and the technical efficiency and operational standards of RCA units.
Subject matter in the differing courses would range from gunnery to survey, radar and other techniques for acquiring targets, signalling, artillery tactics, missilery and nuclear target analysis.
Classes were kept small, the candidates in each course generally numbering less than 30. The RCSA also played a role in administering promotion exams for officers.
In 1968, the RCSA conducted basic training for new Army and air environment officer candidates on behalf of the recently unified Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).
That same year, training was conducted on the 155mm M109 self-propelled howitzer, which had just come into RCA service.
In addition to giving instruction, the RCSA included among its activities an extensive program of testing military equipment and conducting a variety of trials to assess the value of new or improved artillery techniques.
It was not unusual for as many as a score of formal trials of one kind or another to be in progress during a single year.
One continuing series of projects which produced highly-developed skills and much more valuable data was in the locating — target acquisition — discipline. This included trails and instructions on drones and counter-mortar radars.
For many years, the school also published The Gunner Bulletin, the RCA’s professional journal, containing articles on doctrine, tactics and equipment.
The RCSA would remain at CFB Shilo until 1970, when it was relocated to CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick, together with the Infantry and Armour Schools, to becomes part of the Combat Arms School, and which is known today as the Combat Training Centre.
On July 11, 2007, the school was re-designated as the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery (RCA) School.

Bdr E.C. Master inspects the rifle of Gnr J. Noseworthy during training at the RCA Depot in the 1960s. Soldiers hone their firing skills (below) on the M109 during training at CFB Shilo in 1968. Photos RCA Museum archives