The war brought a change
in the daily routine of the Reserve Division. It now became a recruiting center
for the area. The recruits were introduced to navy life through training
courses before they proceeded to the coasts for their basic training. All this
manpower coming in required bigger and better accommodations, so early in 1940
a new headquarters was established at Prince William Street. It required a lot
of repairs which were not done until May 1941.
Saint John was one of the few divisions in Canada in which messing and sleeping accommodations were not provided for. Men had to be put up in whatever space was available at the time.
Even though there were
difficulties under which Saint John Division operated during the war, there
were some bright spots. The Division was greatly aided by use of a classroom in
Saint John High School. Also the Naval Base in Saint John, HMCS Captor II
provided men and facilities to help train the recruits. Added to this was the
good fortune of being able to obtain training in ships of war as they underwent
repair or refit in the Saint John Shipyard.
During the war, the division had other responsibilities as well as recruiting of men. In 1942 recruiting was begun for the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service and the division also took over the care and administration of the Sea Cadet Company, RCSCC Rodney who are still with us today. They also looked after the recruits from other divisions coming into Saint John on their way to Cornwallis.
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College - Saint John.