In 1939, construction began in Sydney Harbour to house components of the Royal Navy, if the German Invasion of Britain was successful.

It was construction at a hectic and feverish pace. Also in 1939-40 construction began on a series of fortificatios to defend Sydney Harbour against a German attack. At that time, German surface raiders roamed the Atlantic Ocean.

A port full of merchant ships would have been a prime target for German pocket battleships such as the Admiral Scheer or the Graf Spee.

The building of the shore batteries in Sydney Harbour insured as safe anchorage for the thousands of merchantmen that would sail in great convoys to Great Britain. Sydney, was also a major producer of steel and a center for the distribution and production of coal; both very important war-time commodities.

A series of gun emplacements, searchlight stations, antisubmarine nets, and fire control points were situated around Sydney Harbour. These were constructed in record time.

The Fort Petrie battery was constructed by E.G.M. Cape and Company in 1939-40 at a cost of $105,000 dollars. Fort Petrie was the latest battery manned. It was decommissioned and distmantled in October 1956 more than fifteen years after it saw its first convoy depart.

The convoys which left Sydney were code-named SC, Sydney-Clyde, and on August 15, 1940. SC-1 composed of 40 ships set out to cross the Atlantic. This was the beginning of one of the most prolonged and dangerous battles of World War II The Battle of the Atlantic. Sydney Harbour, was to play a major and most significant role, in this crucial theatre of war.

James Lamb, author of the Covette Navy stated that the Sydney convoys were the convoys most often attacked, because they were as slow as the reduced speed of the U-boats when they were submerged. Subsequently, the last landfall many sailors in these convoys saw was Sydney.

On October 5, 1940, SC-7 was the first convoy to be attacked by a submarine wolf-pack. Twenty of thirty-four ships were lost to enemy action. January 2, 1941 was the end of the first convoy season.

In three months of operation, 967 ships had sailed in 48 convoys out of Sydney Harbour.

Sydney averaged 9 convoy sailings per month, with about 60 ships in each convoy being the rule.

On November 10, 1941 the largest convoy ever to leave Sydney Harbour consisted of 72 ships.

The port of Sydney reached its high-water mark during the middle of the Battle of the Atlantic. It has been said that a Sydney convoy battling numerous U-boats broke that back of the U-boat arm in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The last convoy, SC-77 left on May 26, 1945, with its lights on.

Fort Petrie was used to protect the Sydney Harbour, and thousands of ships that convoyed millions of tons of supplies to Europe. Fort Petrie is a reminder of these efforts.

There were just over 3000 men in the permanent component, and 1000 in auxilary squadrons stationed at Fort Petrie.

There were 7 builings on sire, all housed underground, except for the Battery Observation Post

and the CDX Tower.

Presently, the B.O.P. is the only existing building. This building housed the power engine. The CDX Tower was the direction and range finder radar equipment building (also above ground) now non-existant.

The Underground consisted of the Officer's Mess, magazine, gun watch and artillery stores, bathroom and showers, educational and recreation room. These were all heated by electric heaters.

The water was supplied by an artesisan well. Minor ailments were treated by a Fort orderly. A medical officer visited the Fort on a daily basis. A dental officer visited the Fort periodically.

The 6th Heavy Battery and the 16th Coastal Brigade served at Fort Petrie. The supplies werer from the regimental food depot at Sydney and were delivered to the Fort by battery or fort truck.

Fort Petrie and the other fortifications are on intrinsic histoical interest. It would prove to be a special attraction because it is not only a monument to Canada's role in the Naval aspects of both World Wars, but to Cape Breton's very direct and immediate participation. More specifically, Sydney's role as a convoying gathering port would be highlighted, as would the antisubmarine campaign waged by the Royal Canadian Navy in both wars.

The Fort Petrie Site also played an important role in the local area. The war effort boosted the production of coal and steel on the Island mostly because of the amount of plate steel for ships and shell steel for manufacturing ammunition.

In 1990, a group of citizens formed the Sydney Harbour Fortification Society Inc. to protect and preserve our history and heritage related to the coastal defences in Cape Breton. The Fort Petrie Site is being established as a Military Museum and will serve as an educational tool, interpretation centre, for tourists, schools, and the general public. The Fort Petrie Site will represent and depict the history of the coastal fortifications.

In the Battery Observation Post, on display are pictures, paintings, informational binders, and artifacts; all related to the war-time ear.

Fort Petrie he recieved National Historic Recognition and was awarded the Atlantic Canada Bulward Plaque from the Historical Monuments Board of Canada. This award represents the significance of all the Cape Breton defenses.

Sydney Harbour Fortification Society
P.O. Box 55
New Victoria, NS
B0A 1R0

The Fort Petrie Historic Site

© 1998