Thanks for asking!
Canadian women during World War II, like their counterparts around the
world, assumed new roles in the home, the community, the workplace, as
well as in the European and Pacific theaters, as civilians and members
of the military.
At Home
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"Much of the female population of Canada did not sign up for military
duty. These women stayed home to continue raising their families,
farming the land, and filling the jobs left unoccupied by servicemen.
Being a young, unattached woman at that time meant unprecedented
opportunities for jobs. Following the depression, this was very
positive; however, for many women, the war meant several years of hard
work. The stress of raising a family alone was just the beginning for
these women."
Valour and Horror
Canadian Women on the Home Front
http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/ISSUE/Women/Women_at_Home.htm
Canadian women simply took over whatever jobs needed to be done when
their men went to war. Whether in a city apaprtment, or a rural farm,
there were meals to be cooked, daily chores, church or community
activities, bills to be paid, and a living to earn. In those days of
slower communication, awaiting letters or news from friends and loved
ones added to the strain brought on by the filling of those men's
shoes. Many of these stay-at-home wives and mothers also found the
time to knit sweaters, scarves, and balaclavas for servicemen
overseas, volunteer in veteran's hospitals, and provide a temporary
home for European war refugees.
Canadian women conserved, saved and salvaged. "In response to the push
from the Women’s Voluntary Services Division(WVS) and National War
Services women collected fats, paper, glass, metals, rubber, rags and
bones to contribute for recycling in the effort to make war supplies .
The government even got women to save old toothpaste tubes, shaving
cream tubes, old socks and other seemingly useless things, the turned
out to be priceless for the war effort . Women were unimaginably
important in this effort. Women were told to “Dig In and Dig Out the
Scrap.” Women were encouraged to save all that was useful, such as
some of the items listed previously, for use in the war effort . Women
and children would often search the junk yards for metal and
batteries, and take all elastics out of old stockings. Women at home
learned that old clothes could be remade, old oil could be used in
munition, and much more.
Planet Papers
Far From Dormant
http://www.planetpapers.com/Assets/4578.php
At Work
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Canadian women contributed to the war effort in a wide variety of
occupations and locales.
Jean Bruce writes about top secret employment with the British
Security Coordination:
"The personnel manager was a Torontonian, a man called Herb Roland,
and he emphasised that the work was very secret, very important to the
war effort. There was a typing test, but it was pretty simple. If you
could recognise a typewriter, you got in. There was a security
check-up, though. You had to give a detailed family background, and
list the schools you'd been to. The names you gave as references were
checked out by the Mounties, I found out later."
Valour and Horror
Women in the War - Top Secret Employment
http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/ISSUE/Women/TopSecret.htm
Elizabeth Muriel Gregory MacGill, or Elsie, was the first woman to
receive an Electrical Engineering degree in Canada. She was the the
first woman aircraft designer in the world.
"She was perhaps best known for her work on the Hawker Hurricane
fighter airplanes during World War II. These airplanes were
instrumental in the Battle of Britain. She was in charge of all
engineering work, adapting the Hurricane to fly in cold weather.
Between 1939 and 1943, Can-Car built 1,451 Hawker Hurricanes under her
leadership. A National Film Board of Canada film called "Rosies of the
North" was about the women involved in the production of the Hawker
Hurricane at the Canadian Car and Foundry Company. Dr. MacGill was
also in charge of all engineering work on the Curtiss-Wright Helldiver
fighters for the United States Navy."
National Library of Canada
Elizabeth Muriel Gregory MacGill
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/2/12/h12-409-e.html
Gladys Arnold held the distinction of being the only accredited
Canadian woman journalist France in the early days of WWII. "Ms.
Arnold, who died in Regina on Sept. 29, 2002, three days short of her
97th birthday, wasn't officially a war correspondent, but still
managed to witness and write about some of the most momentous events
of her age."
Workopolis.com
One Woman's War Reporter
Special to The Globe and Mail
http://www.workopolis.com/servlet/Content/fasttrack/20021011/OBARNO?section=Student-Jobs
"Gladys Arnold's experiences are artfully conveyed using news reels,
her letters home, her news articles as well as through an interview
done recently.
Her transformation from pacifist to activist followed her exposure to
the horrors of war. Eventually forced to flee Paris with the thousands
of people advancing ahead of the German army, she arrived in England
at about the same time as Charles de Gaulle who was being largely
ignored in his struggle to garner support for the French Resistance.
Arnold returned to Canada to rally support both here and in the U.S.A.
for the Free French. Her press connections enabled her to have access
to influential people which helped turn the tides of opinion about who
really represented the people in France. In 1945 she returned and
followed the army into Germany to document that terrible phase of the
war.
Briarpatch Magazine
CBC Series: Canadian Women of Courage
Eyewitness to War - Reviewed by Debra Brin
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0JQV/7_30/78359656/p1/article.jhtml?term=%2B%22Canadian+women%22+%2BWWII
In the Factories:
"During the war, Canadian women on the homefront were determined to
help to contribute to the war effort. Thousands of women traded in
their dresses for trousers as they went off to work to fill the
factory and farm jobs that were left behind by men who went off to
war. Working women during the Second World War became known as
“Rosies”.
Marymount University
Women at War
http://marymount.scdsb.edu.on.ca/projects/WorldWarII/womenathome.htm
Muriel Kitagawa was a Canadian woman of Japanese descent. During WWII,
she was displaced from her home in the west coast of Canada, British
Columbia. She chronicled her experiences in letters to her brother,
published as a book This is my Own : Letters to Wes & Other Writings
on Japanese Canadians, 1941-1948. Vancouver, B.C. In 1942 she wrote:
"Like moles we burrow within after dark, and only dare to peek out of
the window or else be thrown into the hoosegow with long term
sentences and hard labour. Confiscation of radios, cameras, cars and
trucks. Shut down of all business. No one will buy. No agency yet set
up to evaluate. When you get a notice to report to RCMP for orders to
move, you report or be interned."
University of Washington Libraries
Japanese Canadian Internment
http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/Canada/internment/excerpts/kitagawa.html
In the War...
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During WWII, more than 45,000 Canadian women volunteered for military
service. Of those, approximately 5,000 served overseas.
The Canadian Women's Army Corps
"In September 1939, Canada went to war. Within months, dozens of
unofficial women’s corps, with thousands of members, organized across
the country. These keenly patriotic women joined such groups as the
Women’s Volunteer Reserve Corps, which operated in Québec, Ontario and
the Maritimes, or the Canadian Auxiliary Territorial Service, which
operated in Ontario and the western provinces. On their own time and
at their own expense, these volunteers enrolled in military-related
courses like Morse code signalling and map reading. Joan Kennedy’s
group in British Columbia learned "regulation infantry drill" in
militia armouries, while in Montreal members of the Black Watch (Royal
Highland Regiment) of Canada trained the Women’s Volunteer Reserve
Corps in arms drill and physical conditioning."
"On 13 August 1941, the government authorized the formation of the
Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) to enlist several thousand women in
support roles for the armed forces. Segregation by gender remained
overt: the Corps was not formally part of the army nor subject to
military discipline. Even rank designations and insignias did not
follow army practice. Still, it was a step forward. Women trained as
drivers, cooks, clerks, typists, stenographers, telephone operators,
messengers, and quartermasters. Many had gained useful experience with
one of the unofficial women’s para-military organizations formed
between 1938 and 1941."
War Museum CA
The Canadian Women's Army Corps 1941 - 1946
By Barbara Dundas and Serge Durflinger
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/disp/dis005_e.html
Royal Canadian Air Force - Women's Division
The Order-in-Council, in July, 1941, formed the Canadian Women's
Auxiliary Air Force. After much petitioning, and because air and
ground crews were desperately needed, the RCAF WD was formed on July
2, 1941.
"On July 2, 1941, the government of Canada granted the Royal Canadian
Air Force (RCAF) permission to enlist women after the British Air
Ministry requested permission to send a large number of British
airwomen to work on the British Commonwealth Air Training Stations. In
February 1942, airwomen were integrated with RCAF and were called the
RCAF Women's Division. The motto of the Women's Division was "They
Serve That Men May Fly".
Billy Bishop Heritage Museum
History of Military Aviation from WWII to Present
http://www.billybishop.org/flight.html
"After receiving basic training in Ontario, airwomen were posted to
stations across Canada. Early recruits usually came with a trade: the
minimum age requirement was 21, and recruits also had to have
completed a year of post-secondary education. Later, when these
restrictions were lowered, trade school became a routine stop after
basic training. In 1941, 11 trades in the RCAF were open to women.
This number increased to 65 by the end of the war. Airwomen packed
parachutes, took aerial surveys, did meteorological surveys, performed
aircraft maintenance and operated a variety of communications
equipment..."
The Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division:
The Entry of Women in the Military in the Second World War
http://www.grimsby-festival-arts.com/backgrounder.html
Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA)
"Female pilots taught flying navigation to Royal Canadian Air Force
(RCAF) recruits until the military had enough trained instructor's to
do this themselves. A few highly skilled female pilots were admitted
to the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), a British civilian organization
that supported the military by ferrying aircraft to squadrons,
factories and storage units around Britain as well as the European
mainland in 1944-1945. Violet Milstead, Marion Orr, and Helen Harrison
were three of the five Canadian women chosen for this work."
The Second World War
They Serve That Men May Fly
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/high_flyers/wwii.htm
Pilot Biographies
High Flyers - Canadian Women in Aviation
Violet Milstead: http://collections.ic.gc.ca/high_flyers/milstead.htm
Marion Orr: http://collections.ic.gc.ca/high_flyers/orr.htm
Helen Harrison: http://collections.ic.gc.ca/high_flyers/harrison.htm
Molly Reilly: http://collections.ic.gc.ca/high_flyers/reilly.htm
Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRENS)
"The WRCNS (Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service), more familiarly
known as the WRENS was founded in 1942, challenging the traditional
all male armed forces. Between 1942 and 1946 close to 7,000 volunteers
enlisted in the WRCNS and served in 39 so-called 'non-combatant'
occupations on Canadian and allied naval bases at home and abroad."
TheWRENS.com
History of the Women's Royal Navy Service
http://www.thewrens.com/history/canada/
"The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS or Wrens) was
approved on July 31, 1942. "I had heard that it was a little more
difficult to get into the Navy and I thought the uniform was
beautiful...Whenever you saw "Wrens" out on the street, they always
looked so smart. And you had to have really good references or they
wouldn't look at you. They got the cream of the crop." (Former member,
WRCNS. Greatcoats and Glamour Boots Carolyn Gossage)"
Valour and Horror
Women Overseas
http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/ISSUE/Women/Women_overseas.htm
"There were 22 different job categories open to women in the WRCNS,
depending on their background and experience. The Naval Service drew
up specific guidelines to measure a job candidate's ability and
aptitude." Job categories included: Stewards Plotters, Sick berth
attendants, and coders. Sample qualifications are shown.
CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum
The WRCNS
http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/resource/Resources_Frame.html?WRCNS.html&1
Nursing Sisters
"The active role of women in war was not utterly new at the time of
the Second World War; nursing sisters and volunteers were a presence
in the "war to end all wars" as well.
In May, 1942, Canadian nurses became the first in any Allied country
to have official officer status with equivalent power of command. In
the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (RCAMC), nurses had the closest
contact with Canadian military operations overseas. Over two-thirds of
them served abroad."
Valour and Horror
Women in the War - Nursing Sisters
http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/ISSUE/Women/nursing_sisters.htm
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Additional Resources
Bibliography
Canadian Women in WWII
http://members.home.nl/hoevenberg.bosman/CANADA.htm
Wars, Battles and Batallions
Heritage Gallery Photographs WWII, Abroad
http://www.valourandhorror.com/DB/ISSUE/Women/Women_overseas.htm
Women's History at About.com:
Canadian Women in WWII
http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/warwwiicanada/
Canadian Women and the Military
http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/canadamilitary/
Women in WWII
http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/warwwii/
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Google Search Terms
"canadian women" wwII
"canadian military" wwII women
Rosies
"Canadian Women's Army Corps"
"Royal Canadian Air Force" "Women's Division"
"Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service" OR WRENS OR WRCNS
I hope you find this information helpful. Should you have any
questions about the material or links provided, please, feel free to
ask.
Best regards,
larre-ga |
