Memories of L'Ouvrage de Jury
Legere, Ed
– (1961-1966)Following the closure of 61 AC&W Squadron on 31 Dec 62, the facilities which had operated at L'Ouvrage de Jury were closed and moved to L'Ouvrage d'Ars.
Atkinson, Bob
– (1957-1960)I remember climbing up a ladder one day to reach one of the gun turrets which was located on the top of the fort. When I was close to the top, I heard a very loud "Whoo" which just about made me fall when I realized that there was an owl perched by the turret.
Manarin, Rino
– (1955-1959)When I arrived in 1955, there was nothing at Fort Jury except for the bunker. Comm Techs eventually organized what would become the Transmitter site which came in a number of vans. The Receiver site was in a different location and rumours indicated that if you tried, you could go from the Transmitter site at Fort Jury to the Receiver site making use of the underground bunker system. This was quite dangerous because you could easily get lost after being underground for a long period of time. Fort Jury had the remains of large domes that raised to expose gun turrets for firing at the enemy. Apparently these were bomb proof – except perhaps for a direct hit. They did raise up and down at one time. According to the locals, the L’Ovrage de Jury had a large pile of explosives placed inside of it by the Americans at the end of World War II. The Americans wanted to test the capabilities of the bunkers. It appears that the explosion managed to lift the roof a few inches and it also pushed the walls out a bit, but in the whole, the bunker remained intact. I also recall a Cpl. Dick Chapman who went into the bunker on one occasion and eventually came out carrying a German helmet from World War II.
Fowers, Frank
– (1955-1958)A group of trucks were parked at Fort Jury and these served as the Transmitter site for 61 AC&W Squadron.
Updated: December 17, 2000