Fort Edward (Nova Scotia) - World War I

World War I

During World War I, it was utilized as a training depot for Canadian and British soldiers. The site became known locally (but not officially) as "Camp Fort Edward" for the duration of the war. Among the recruits passing through the camp was the ill-fated Hollywood film director William Desmond Taylor.

During World War I the British Army used the fort to establish a training depot for Jewish men training to liberate Palestine from Turkish rule and ultimately help Great Britain, France and America defeat Germany. Known as The Jewish Legion, this unit, was "stood up" for service in 1917 manned by Jews from around the world who came to Windsor for training on the slopes of the fort under Major W.F.D Bremner. Bremner lived in Castle Fredericks and is an ancestor of Falmouth’s James Bremner (See Halifax Provisional Battalion). Pictures and first-hand accounts of the time indicate that the men lived in tents on the hillside below the blockhouse.

Many of these recruits came with Zionist ideals and dreams of a restored Palestinian homeland for the Jews. 1,100 Non-commissioned officers were trained in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Founders of the League included David Ben-Gurion, who became the first prime minister of Israel, and Ze'ev Jabotinsky, both men were trained at Fort Edward. At age 70, David Ben-Gurion reported on his time at Fort Edward: "I will never forget Windsor where I received my first training as a soldier and where I became a corporal."