Qualla: Yorke Island

Yorke Island: Introduction

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The soldiers called it "Going Yorkie." Stationed on a small rock in Johnstone Strait with no enemy to fight, no town to visit, and no fresh water of their own, the garrison of Yorke Island developed a particular brand of stir-craziness that became its own unofficial diagnosis. Men who served on the island at the same time never met each other -- the fort's layout and the segregation of duties created invisible walls within an already tiny world. It was only at reunions, decades after the war, that some of these soldiers first shook hands.

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Yorke Island: The Back Door to Vancouver

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Yorke Island occupies one of the most strategically significant positions on the British Columbia coast. The islet sits at the north end of Hardwicke Island, where Johnstone Strait splits around the island and Sunderland Channel branches off to the east. Every vessel traveling th...

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Yorke Island: Guns, Searchlights, and the Gumboot Navy

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The fort was armed with two 4.7-inch quick-firing guns, later upgraded to two 6-inch Mk7 guns transferred from the Stanley Park Battery in Vancouver. A 6-pounder Hotchkiss served as an examination gun for stopping and inspecting passing vessels. Anti-aircraft defense came from tw...

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Yorke Island: The Water Problem

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Yorke Island had no drinking water. This single fact shaped daily life more than any tactical consideration. Initially, Union Steamships delivered water along with construction materials, but this proved wildly inefficient. A scow with a large tank was eventually brought in to fi...

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Yorke Island: Concrete and Barbed Wire

Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The garrison was decommissioned by early 1946, and the fort was abandoned. Today Yorke Island is a BC Parks Conservancy, and volunteer groups have cut and marked trails to the fort's remaining structures. The remnants are extensive: bunkers, gun emplacements, and the foundations ...

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