CFB Griesbach (Griesbach Barracks) was an

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

base that was located in the north end of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. The site was named after Major-General

William Antrobus Griesbach Major General William Antrobus Griesbach, (January 3, 1878 – January 21, 1945) was a Canadian politician, decorated soldier, mayor of Edmonton, and member of the House of Commons and of the Senate. Early life Griesbach was born in Fort Qu' ...

(1878–1945), a veteran of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Griesbach was also an Edmonton alderman and mayor, and served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

History

The base was established in 1950 as Griesbach Barracks. In 1958, No. 14 Service Prison and Detention Barracks opened at the base and the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was relocated to Griesbach from Currie Barracks in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Alberta. On 1 April 1966 Griesbach Barracks and RCAF Station Namao were designated

CFB Edmonton CFB Edmonton (also called 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton) is a Canadian Forces base located in Sturgeon County adjacent to the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as Edmonton Garrison or "Steele Barracks". His ...

. In 1970 the Canadian Parachute Training Center was moved to CFB Greisbach from RCAF Station Rivers,

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

and the First Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry was relocated to Griesbach from Work Point Barracks in

Esquimalt The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The site is no longer administered by the Department of National Defence, but was transferred to the

Canada Lands Company Canada Lands Company Limited (french: La Société immobilière du Canada) is a self-financing federal Crown corporation reporting to the Parliament of Canada through Public Services and Procurement Canada. The company is responsible for managi ...

in 2001 for $17.5 million, considered fair market value at the time. Former lodger units located here included the Canadian Airborne Centre and the Canadian Forces Parachute Maintenance Depot, both of which were moved to CFB Trenton in the mid 1990s, as plans to close the runway at Namao (

) accelerated. Much of the former Griesbach Barracks site underwent major redevelopment, with the entire fully re-developed in 2018. Part of the land was purchased from Canada Lands in 2003 by the Capital Care Group, and is now used as a long-term care centre - the Kipnes Centre for Veterans, which was opened in November 2005.

References

Bruce Forsyth's Canadian Military History Page - Canadian Forces Base Edmonton (Griesbach Barracks)
Retrieved: 2018-11-30

External sources

DND Site for CFB Edmonton
Canadian Forces bases in Alberta History of Edmonton Canadian Forces bases in Canada (closed) 1950 establishments in Alberta 2002 disestablishments in Alberta Military history of Alberta {{Canada-mil-hist-stub

History

See also

References

External sources