While training at Niagara Camp, soldiers practiced digging trenches. There were newspaper reports of intact trenches being maintained on the Mississauga Commons.

The training site was equipped with sandbags, barbed wire, support trenches and more to simulate the experiences of trench warfare.

The men trained here day and night to prepare them for what came next in Europe. Although real bombs and ammunition were not used, they could still be surprised by ambushes and hand-to-hand combat in the trench.

The original owner of this photograph captioned it as an “up-to-date trench” which may be a play on the fact that some of the first trenches created at the camp were in great shape and unrealistic compared to those in Europe.

Although we don’t know who the people featured in the photo are, we can assume that it is an officer touring his visiting child through the training camp.

Earthworks of these trenches can still be seen today on the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Course.