TRANSCRIPT

At the end of the Great War in 1918, the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) was responsible for 8,000 of the 9,000 men in the Naval Service. In 1920 the entire Canadian Reserve Force was dismantled, leaving the country with a seriously limited regular-force navy. A budgetary cut of 40% in 1923 for the navy resulted in a proposal by the Director of Naval Services, Walter Hose, to create a Naval Reserve of 1,500 men, fashioned after that of the of the First World War. On January 31, 1923 the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve was re-established, with most half-companies operating with around 50 men. This development proved to be of long-term benefit for the training and recruitment necessary during the Second World War.

Within the first two years, fifteen "half-companies" were established across Canada. Enrolment standards required men to be physically fit British subjects aged 18-32, willing to sign a three-year term, to attend thirty drill nights per year, and to train with the Regular Navy for two weeks each summer. In order to separate the professional sailors of the merchant marine from the amateur sailors, some of whom had never even seen the ocean, a "double stream" arrangement was made. As such, the Royal Canadian Navy Reserve (RCNR) was intended for the former, and the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) was meant for the latter. This system continued to be in effect until after the Second World War. During these early years, there was no actual naval presence in the North-Western Ontario area. In fact, in 1937 the nearest RCNVR "half company" was located in Winnipeg.

In the 1920s and 1930s, a number of RCNVR Divisions were formed across Canada. On April 28, 1937 Rear Admiral P. Nelles and Commander E.R. Mainguy, Director of Naval Reserves, travelled to the Lakehead with the belief that the region had the potential to become a major Navy recruiting centre. The Lakehead was chosen for its ties to the shipping industry on the Great Lakes, the presence of the Port Arthur Shipbuilding Company, and fuelled by long association with the sea cadet program.

The speed at which the Port Arthur Naval Division was being organized stepped up considerably when the visit by Commander E.R. Mainguy, was announced. With the help of Colonel Harry A. Ruttan, former commander of the 1st Lake Superior Regiment and Major E.R. Tilley and other members of the community, the Commander's visit from April 28 to May 4, was a success. The organizational meeting had a turnout of fifty young men, forty-five of whom applied for enrolment at the conclusion of the commander's address. Formal approval for the formation of a Division was given in June of that year, with the commencement of training and the attestation taking place in 1938.