During the summer of 1942, homeowners in the hamlet of Cape Rich and farmers in the surrounding countryside received news that would shatter their lives. It came in the form of offers for their properties from the Crown, followed quickly by an expropriation plan filed at the North Grey Registry Office. Settle or lose the homes you and your families had established and lived in for more than half a century, was the message.

As Hitler’s tanks rumbled across Europe, the Allies were scrambling to match his iron brigades. The push required suitable testing and training grounds, and the eyes of the military had fallen on the northern reaches of St. Vincent and Sydenham Townships, northwest of Meaford.

Within a month, many of these families had packed their belongings into trucks and carts, driving and transporting their livestock, and left their homes to become billets for soldiers. By the end of September, some hundred families had left their farms and homes behind. On many farms, crops swayed, unharvested, in the fields. Apples ripened unseen.

Nine tanks lie in wait in an abandoned orchard on Meaford’s Tank Range. Photo from Grey Roots.

While many felt they’d be able to return when the war was over, they were soon disabused of this notion. Unexploded munitions, the value of the now-Crown land, and the potential for a long-term training facility, meant the government had no interest in giving back the land. Farmers returned to harvest their apples, at times specified by the military, in the autumn of 1942 and for the following two years. But when two teenagers were killed by a live mortar in 1945, the Meaford Tank Range closed to civilians. Vines and trees advanced on the ruins of farms and homes.

In the years since, the Tank Range has had times quiet and busy. In the last two decades, the Land Forces Central Area Training Centre, as it’s now known, has expanded. It now handles all of Ontario’s regular and reserve staff training during the summer, and it’s one of Canada’s largest military training centres, employing up to 300 military and civilian staff.

While civilians are barred from much of the 17,000 acres, restricted to the roads and base proper, every once in awhile tours allow you to glimpse the history of these ghost farms and homes.

This long weekend, the Meaford Museum offers three tours of the Range, with an opportunity to see historic sites, hear tales of the past, and see rare views of breathtaking scenery. Tickets are $12 each, or $20 for two. Seats are limited, so call ahead to reserve for one of the tours.

Saturday August 3, 2013 : 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
Sunday August 4, 2013 : 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Sunday August 4, 2013 : 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Contact: Pamela Woolner, 519-538-5974

Read more about the history of the Tank Range here, and learn about the ghost of “Blue Eyes”.