Experimental Station in Suffield Memorial Plaque

[left/gauche]

The Experimental Station,
Suffield

In the darkest days of the worldwide struggle against the Axis powers,
Canada took the lead in countering the potential use, by those enemy
countries, of chemical warfare agents. From 1941 to 1945, the battle to
provide effective defence against such weapons of mass destruction was
conducted at both the Experimental Station in Suffield, Alberta, and the
Chemical Warfare Laboratories in Ottawa, where military personnel
participated in many hazardous and secret trials. The results of their efforts
provided the foundation for the Allies' chemical agent countermeasures,
but, as a consequence of the secrecy required, the contributions made by
these members to the defence of Canada and the victory of the United
Nations could not be acknowledged. After 1945 Canada's national security
required continued, unheralded participation by volunteers in chemical
warfare agent tests. The collective service of all these participants was
significant, and while their efforts were unknown in the past, their duty
was, by every measure, exceptional, and was gratefully recognized by the
Government of Canada on 19 February 2004.

The Suffield Experimental Station was established by Order in Council
PC/16687 on 26 August 1941. Since that date, a number of National Defence
scientific institutions in southern Alberta, known by a variety of names
but with a common purpose, have advanced the protection capability of
Canadian Forces personnel through incomparable research and
development efforts. This tremendous body of work assembled over the
past 60 years could not have been accomplished without the active
participation of test subjects

[right/droit] (same as left, in French, needs further research/méme qu'à gauche, en français, recherche incomplète)