Rivers, Manitoba, Canada

Rivers, Manitoba, population 1200, is a town located 40 km northwest of Brandon. It was named for Sir Charles Rivers-Wilson, president of the Grand Trunk Railway. During WWII the area was used as a training facility for army pilots, parachutists, and flying instructors for the army, the navy, and the air force. After the war it became a parachute-training centre. A Joint Air Photo Interpretaion School opened in 1948, and a Helicopter Training Unit was established in 1953. Canadian Forces Base Rivers closed in 1971, and the area became an industrial training centre for Manitoban First Nations, which was closed in 1980. Today the area is the site of a hog farm operation.

Kindly written and contributed by Mrs M J Ujimoto © 2009