As Signal Hill’s stony numbers near their first century, a local artist and a city councillor are determined to keep the site’s history alive.
“It’s one of the most authentic sites of First World War history in Western Canada,” said Coun. Richard Pootmans, who has put forward a motion that would designate the numbers a municipal historic resource.
The numbers were assembled on what’s now called Battalion Park as a symbolic exercise, before thousands of local soldiers went off to the trenches. But not everyone knows that.
Article content
Article content
“About 15 years ago, when I saw the stones, I thought ‘Wow, what are they?’ And I asked some people, and some said they were real estate numbers; someone said they were put there to help the planes land,” said local artist Phyllis Wheaton, who has even heard theories the numbers are hockey-related.
Wheaton is leading 20 people in a concert tribute this month to commemorate the little-known history of the park.
Camp Sarcee was set up in December 1915 on land leased from Tsuu T’ina Nation. The military expanded from a summer-only camp to prepare soldiers for trench warfare, housing 45,000 troops — the second largest military site in the country — through 20 battalions.
Those battalions would be marked within the camp by vehicle-sized stone assemblies, following British military tradition. But the large numbers seen today are part of symbolic, oversized markers assembled to practise troop logistics and reinforce battalion pride before the men left in the summer of 1916. Many never returned home.
Most of the roughly 20 oversized markers were destroyed in the 1950s when the military constructed a mess hall nearby at Harvey Barracks. Today, roughly 16,000 to 20,000 whitewashed field and river stones remain, with 11 digits forming four battalion numbers that can be seen from miles away.
Article content
Article content
Originally called Cairn Hill, the city renamed the site Signal Hill in 1982, stoking public confusion over the numbers’ purpose. And while the “113” geoglyph at the top of the hill was declared a protected Alberta Heritage Site, the other numbers were once moved.
The sloping hill needed to be upgraded, and a developer had plans to bulldoze the stones for new houses. Instead, in 1988, the city had the stones painstakingly moved 200 metres east through a string-grid method, and moved back three years later when the hill was corrected.
“The stones almost had a mind of their own, it’s almost spiritual. Because they weren’t gong to be destroyed; it was all in their time,” Wheaton said.
Local military legions then put a cenotaph and storyboards on the 39,199 square-metre field. They dedicated it as Battalion Park in 1991, and the developer set up walking paths and stairs in the surrounding park.
There are commemorations held at the park every Remembrance Day, but Wheaton is taking a creative approach to keeping the camp’s memory alive.
Alongside other local musicians, Wheaton is organizing a July 26 concert tribute called Take A Pilgrimage, through music, stories and archival photos. It’s part of the annual Herald-sponsored Historic Calgary Week, run by the Chinook Country Historical Society.
Article content
“We’re not glorifying war; we’re simply commemorating the hundredth anniversary of Sarcee Camp, which is no longer there,” said Wheaton, who has had 20 volunteers come forward through word of mouth. “I’ve been very moved by everyone’s support.”
Meanwhile, Pootmans’ proposal for municipal designation would protect the stones, ensuring repair and upkeep follow national guidelines.
“I really look at this site as also an important nation-building exercise. The country was still pretty new in these days, and for Western Canada to contribute the number of soldiers it did to Camp Sarcee is important,” said Pootmans, who is also looking at seeking a national designation, to improve the site’s recognition and help secure funding for upkeep.
“I credit those soldiers with allowing us to live in this society with the freedoms that we do today, and I firmly believe those freedoms were earned for us by their lives.”
The remaining numbers, from the top
113: Lethbridge Highlanders, only parcel designated an Alberta Heritage Site
51: Edmonton battalion
137: Calgary battalion, featuring the largest digits
151: Central Alberta battalion
[email protected]
Twitter.com/dcrHerald