During World War II Fort McNutt was part of a string of North American coastal defence stations. German submarines were a real threat and coastal defence was essential, if little remembered today. Frederic W. Cross of Ontario was stationed here during the war and remembers that his 104th Coast Artillery Battery was composed chiefly of gunners from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Mr. Cross adds that there were also a company of infantry from Regiment de Quebec and Navy and RCAF signallers, and that living conditions on the island were isolated and primitive.
Last summer some new friends from Halifax stopped by on their way to the lighthouse. They brought us a present: a CD of photographs taken at Fort McNutt in 1942. Augustine (Gus) Gough of the Irish Regiment sent the pictures home to Ontario while he was stationed here. He died in 1984 and his daughter Anne Philpot the family genealogist found them years later while she was sorting through boxes of papers and photos. She had them scanned and copied to a CD to share with others. The photographs showed the army barracks, some heavy guns, a lighthouse --- and, romantically, Gus Gough’s initials and those of his wife-to-be carved into a large rock.
The photographs were a puzzle – a mysterious piece of her father’s history that she wanted to solve. Through family stories Anne knew that her father had been stationed in
These images belong to the family of A. J. Gough and are used here by permission. Thanks to Terry Deveau and Ashley Lohnes for making the connections.
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