On the east shore of Kalamalka Lake across from Kekuli Park is Cosens Bay which was once owned by Cornelius Cosens c. 1893. This land was used for military training during WW2 and “A trench was blasted out of steep rock face near Cosens Bay” (Coldstream Nulli Secundus, Page 80).
Kal Lake and its parks were also used for combat practice during WW2. “During the war amphibious assaults were practiced on Kalamalka Lake, with the ships launching from Kekuli Bay. Guns would be firing as they approached Cosens Bay” (Know Your Park, www.kalamalkapark.ca). Many UXOs (Unexploded Explosive Ordnances) have been found in this area since but military sweeps have cleared most if not all of them.
In the 1983 edition of the Okanagan Historical Society Report (OHSR), Walker Macneil writes firsthand as a soldier who experienced some of these military activities:
“I helped the army here search for bombs after the war, and we found some in the Cosens Bay area. We used to do a lot of firing to the south and I knew there were a lot of duds there... At one place in the Coldstream we had a simulation of a mother ship for practicing what we did on D-Day. There were ladders to climb up and the men would come down the net and get into the boat or landing craft. This gave them an idea of what they had to do. The poles were greased, and this was where we were allowed a certain percentage of injuries to people. If they slipped off they could break a rib. There was a wall to be scaled, creeks to be waded, fire pits to be climbed over and other hazards, and we were pushing them all the time, with a Bren gun firing over their heads. One of the assault courses was located on the Coldstream Ranch, on the north side of Highway 6, in the field where the ranch kept its bulls” (OHSR 1983 p.23).
On the south end of the lake there is some WW1 history. Annie Trask lived on what is now Kaloya Regional Park and was one of the founding members of the Kalamalka Women’s Institute and its chairperson. The KWI was a community organization that would prove especially helpful during the Great War when “convalescent soldiers were entertained by members of the Institute at the President‟s home,—“Iris Point”.” (Tweedsmuir’s History of Lake Country p.7)
"This cairn honours Mrs. Annie L. Trask.
Outstanding pioneer woman who founded the Kalamalka Women's Institute in Oyama B.C., February 26th, 1914. The cairn rests on the footings of the original Trask home built in 1908. It also commemorates the 75th anniversary of the K.W.I. , 1914-1989, and recognizes their continued service for "Home and Country".

Another military note regarding the lake is that the Canadian Navy launched a mine-
sweeping vessel and named it the HMCS Kalamalka in July of 1944. She was a wooden-
hulled Llewellyn Class minesweeper and operated out of Prince Rupert as a patrol vessel
looking for possible mines during WW2. (https://www.canada.ca/en/navy/services/history/ships-histories/kalamalka.html)
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| The HMCS Kalamalka |
