Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Camp Plunkett, Enfield rifle lecture, circa 1918

Description

"Camp Plunkett, now the site of Camp Curtis Guild, served as the United States Navy rifle range during World War I. Prior to that, the site was used as the rifle range for the Bay State Military Rifle Association. The sailors at Camp Plunkett received training on the 'new' Enfield rifles which were used extensively during World War I. Because the government could not keep up with the demand for the Springfield M1903, the M1914 Enfield .30-'06 caliber rifle was produced. The rifle weighed 9.5 pounds, with a barrel length of 26 inches and an overall length of 46.3 inches. By mid-1918, eight barracks had been erected to house the sailors and several acres of timber had been cleared to make room for a wall of 100 targets. The YMCA, one of the first civic or social welfare organizations to offer its services during World War I, had also set up its 'hut' at the Camp in 1918. At Camp Plunkett, as well as at other training camps, the huts acted as substitute homes, theatres, schools and churches for the men before they headed off to war. The huts were staffed by local volunteers who were the support of the Y's mission to attend to the needs of the sailors and soldiers away from home." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2006

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

ca. 1918

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

[Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Camp Plunkett (Wakefield, Mass.)

Rifle ranges

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

15 x 30 cm.