Wainwright Internment Camp 135
Administration
Adjutants
Capt. R. G. Ashbury: January 1945 - January 1946
Capt. S. F. Dunlop: January 1946 - June 1946
Commandants
Lt. Col. C. G. Bradshaw: January 1945 - December 1945
Major W. R. Shanks: December 1945 - April 1946
Lt. Col. W. Storm: April 1946 - July 1946
Headquarters staff also included: a quarter master, a works officer, a company staff and transport officer, an accounts officer, a medical officer, and an intelligence officer.
Guard
The Victoria Guard of Canada (VGC) guarded Internment Camp 135. There were four separate companies throughout the eighteen months of its operation. They are as follows:
Coy. No. 36: January 1945 - April 1945
Coy. No. 30: April 1945 - August 1945
Coy. No. 26: August 1945 - November 1945
Coy. No. 27: November 1945 - June 1946
Preparations
The first members of staff to arrive in early January 1945 were Adjutant Capt. Ashbury, Commandant Lt. Col. Bradshaw and Quarter Master Capt. Sgt. G. D. Clarke. As accomodation was still pending, they roomed at the Wainwright Hotel.
The first two weeks demanded organization of the camp, requisition of supplies and preparation of buildings to house personnel, guards, and prisoners.
By January 10th, 150 engineers and 40 civilians were working on enclosure wire and lights. Five feet of frost made post hole digging extremely difficult. Watch towers were erected in strategic positions. By the 15th quarters were available for the officers but no cook. Moving pictures were shown three times weekly, first noted films being: “The Great Moment,” “The Heavenly Body,” and “Charlie Chan in the Secret Service.” Sunday church services were held for both Roman Catholic and Protestant worshippers.
In the first weeks of preparation, one HQ staff member died as a result of an accident, Pte. W. J. Flamand.
On Monday morning January 29, 1945, the first 523 POWs arrived by train escorted by No. 36 Coy. VGC to begin an eighteen month segment of Camp Wainwright’s history.
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Some buildings from within the POW enclosure still exist, one being the theatre, Bldg 27, Additional pictures of the grounds are displayed in the Camp History Scrapbooks at Camp HQ.