Camp Perry in Ohio

I wrote about this camp in my Not So Forgotten:  War of 1812 blog earlier today.  Camp Perry is named after War of 1812 naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry and has received a $271,000 federal funding to redo its historical lighting system.

From the September 21, 2021, Sandusky (Ohio) Register "Camp Perry receives federal funds" by Andy Ouriel.

**********************

HISTORY:

**  Camp Perry was the primary training center for the Ohio National Guard for much of the 20th century.

**  It is located close to Port Clinton, Ohio, and consists of 640 acres.

**  Established in 1907, it is named for Oliver Hazard Perry.  The main reason it is located where it is is to allow the Ohio National Guard to practice rifle and artillery firing into Lake Erie.

**  The camp has the largest outdoor rifle range in the world.

**  While originally intended for use by the Ohio National Guard, during World War I to train officers and marksmen.  During World War II, Italian and German  prisoners were held at the camp.

**  Beginning in the 1960s, use of Camp Perry began to decline.

**  Today, several units continue to be housed at the camp.  They include the  213th Ordnance Company, the 200th Civil Engineering  Squadron, the 372nd  Missile Maintenance Company (DS) and the Ohio Naval reserve.

**  In addition to military usage, Camp Perry has also been  the site of the World Series of the Shooting Sports since 1907.  This event is sponsored by the National Rifle Association, and marksmen and women from around the world participate in the competition.

--Cooter

First World War Trench Training Camp to Be Excavated in England

From the Feb. 1, 2013, Birmingham (Britain) Post by Ben Hurst.

During the First World War, Cannock Chase became a huge depot (camp) for training soldiers destined for the trenches along the front lines. 

Two depots were built, each of which could hold 20,000 troops, the size of a British infantry division back then.  On the site, the Messinaa Ridge trenches, a battlefield near Ypres, had been recreated.  It cost 80,000 pounds to reconstruct it.

Work started on it  and it was built with permission of Lord Litchfield who owned the land.  The camps were known as Brocton and Rugeley and they were used to train soldiers for trench warfare until 1918.  Generally they would train for two months there.

It is thought that German POWs built them.

Practice Makes Better.  --Cooter