CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum - Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada - War and Military Museums on Waymarking.com

The CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum has gone through several moves, expansions and reconfigurations through the years. The first version of the museum opened in 1955 and was located in the Signal Hill section of CFB Esquimalt. That museum eventually changed both its name and primary focus, changing its name to the Maritime Museum of British Columbia and moving to its current location in Bastion Square. The base was without its own museum for the next few decades. In the late 1970s, the entire collection consisted of one cabinet in the base library. In an effort to reinstate a base museum, the CFB Esquimalt Museum and Archives Society was founded in 1981 with the purpose to collect, preserve and display the history of the Esquimalt naval base. The fledgling museum moved into building 20 in February of 1985. After a larger and more meaningful collection was acquired, the museum was opened to the public in 1987. The museum further expanded in 1994, and in 1999 moved into its present location in buildings 37 and 39. Building 20 is now the home of the administration office for the museum. The complex of museum buildings was originally built in the 1890s as a hospital for the Royal Navy.

The museum has exhibits mainly focusing on four topics: Canada's Navy on the West Coast, The Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC), The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) and The West Coast Defences. The collection covers the entire history of military activity in the region, from its beginnings with the British Royal Navy in 1842 to the present day Royal Canadian Navy.

To get to the museum, visitors must enter the base at the Naden Way entrance. Visitors were once required to sign in at the gate, but the gate is no longer manned and the general public does not need to sign in to enter Naden. Once inside, blue lines painted on the road and signs indicate the way to the museum. Admission is by donation.

Opening hours: 10:00 am - 3:30 pm Open all year: Except for some holidays Related web-page: [Web Link] Wikipedia link:: [Web Link]

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