Bomb Girls

by Barbara Dickson

  It is a privilege and honour to help Mr. Hamilton’s desire come to fruition. GECO’s enduring spirit so aptly emulates the Canadians who tirelessly worked there. GECO’s ranks — the girls behind the guns — are quickly dwindling. Unless their stories are told, how will future generations learn of their sacrifice, of their patriotism, of their resolve? This book is part of GECO’s one last song.

  1

  In the Beginning

  The story of “Scarboro” begins as the curtain rises … on a world teetering at the edge of war.

  Canada Declares War

  On September 10, 1939, Canada entered into a state of war with Germany, a week after Britain declared its own war on the Third Reich. Canada’s prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, did not see the need to conscript men for military service. King knew men were killed in war — men who would have to be replaced, drawing deeply from his country’s workforce. Yet sixty-four thousand brave men immediately and voluntarily signed up in the first weeks after Canada’s declaration. On December 17, Canada’s first shipment of troops landed in the United Kingdom. Fifty thousand of the country’s finest men were ready to fight, to offer their very lives, if necessary, to stop Hitler. With tens of thousands of souls now committed to the war, Canada had pledged its heart to the cause. As they say in the game of poker, the Commonwealth nation of Canada was “all in.” There would be victory, or total annihilation.

  With a strong majority Liberal government backing him, Prime Minister King appointed Member of Parliament Clarence Decatur Howe minister of the newly founded Department of Munitions and Supply. During the war years he earned the nickname the “Minister of Everything” responsible for all aspects of mustering Canada’s resources — raw materials and manpower — to support the massive war effort.1

  Wanted: One Mining Company, No War Experience Necessary

  While Canada waited for Germany’s next move, it quietly began building the infrastructure needed for a country at war by placing a moratorium on base metal mining and instead focusing all steel production on manufacturing instruments of war.

  In February 1940, the Canadian government hired mining firm General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited — or “GECO” (pronounced GEE-KO) — to build No. 1 Elementary Flying Training School in Malton, Ontario, which would train young men to take to the skies over Europe.2 The facility included hangars, barracks, mess halls, schools, a hospital, and other buildings. The government chose GECO for the project because, as a mining and metallurgical enterprise, it possessed the skill and experience to quickly erect temporary wooden buildings, similar to those used in mining endeavours.

  Founded in 1906 in the United States by John Callow and Ernest Gayford, GECO had matured quickly, building an impressive reputation within the mining industry, opening a New York office in 1914 and a London, England, office in 1928.3 In 1933, two GECO employees — brothers Philip Dawson Prior Hamilton and Robert McLean Prior Hamilton — launched a Canadian subsidiary in Toronto.4 During the 1930s, the company expanded. Its main business involved designing and installing equipment to extract ore from the ground and process it enough to be shipped.5

  GECO started construction of RCAF No. 1 Elementary Flying Training School on February 2, 1940, despite wintry conditions.6 There was a shortage of steel, and constructing hangars large enough to house planes without steel support beams challenged GECO engineers. Hangar ceilings had to be freestanding, with no interior column support. Undaunted, the brilliant minds of GECO came up with an innovative solution. They created “wood trusses” — laminated two-by-eight-inch spruce planks stacked, glued, and nailed together side by side.7 Government inspectors were wary of GECO’s new “super structures,” however. So, with inspectors present, engineers set the new laminated beam upon two concrete blocks and loaded it with cement blocks. The beam easily supported its expected “proof load,” greatest “snow load,” and “compression load.”8 Curious to know how much the beam could support, GECO engineers continued to load the beam. When the beam finally failed, it was well beyond government standards. Remarkably, while the wood fractured, the nails and glue held. More remarkable, engineers suggested these beams could sustain free spans of “at least” two hundred feet.9 These super structures became well known within engineering circles as a good substitute for steel beams.

  By June 1940, only four months after breaking ground, Malton’s flying school opened.10 With one outstanding military success to the mining company’s credit, the Canadian government quickly hired GECO again, this time to build a larger enterprise, No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School near Fingal, Ontario. Incredibly, by September, GECO had completed the school with top notch workmanship.11 The Hamiltons were immediately asked to build an ordnance depot in London, Ontario, consisting of twenty-two large storage buildings. Under their leadership, the London project was finished in just 120 days.12

  The Dynamic Duo

  The Canadian government knew exactly who they needed to manage Project No. 24, a new, vitally important war project. Bob and Phil Hamilton had proven themselves in the past nine months. With GECO’s amazing success to date, and with the Hamilton brothers’ extraordinary reputation preceding them, C.D. Howe requested the dynamic duo design, build, and oversee the proposed munitions plant to be built in the area outside of Toronto.

  Anticipation Swells

  Speculation, curiosity, and press coverage seem to go hand in hand when a large “top-secret” wartime project is involved. Discussions between the Hamilton brothers at GECO, and the Allied War Supplies Corporation were ongoing during the fall of 1940 as construction on the ordnance depot in London, Ontario, continued.13 The Toronto Daily Star reported on a rumour that an explosives plant was going to be built near the city. “Most of the 4,000 employees required to man the new government shell-filling plant being built east of Toronto, will be drawn from the city and suburbs,” said T. Holmes Bartley, Toronto Industrial Commission’s general manager, in the article.14 Production would begin early in 1941. “The plant,” Bartley said, “will cost between $5,000,000 and $8,000,000 and will be used to fill and fit fuses and shells produced in other Canadian factories. It will be one of the largest plants of its kind in the empire.”15 The article went on to say war work had “boosted employment in Toronto to an all-time high.”16 Companies within the city had employed 25,000 more men and women than they had on the same day a year ago.17 Bartley said, “About 167,000 persons are now on the payrolls of Toronto Industrial companies.”18

  A.W.S.C. Project No. 24: Birth of a War Factory

  On December 10, 1940, the Story of “Scarboro” — “Sc/C” as respectfully recognized by the Allied forces, and as “Project No. 24” within Allied War Supplies Corporation — began in earnest.19 A.W.S.C. drew up a Document of Understanding (DOU) with GECO,20 asking the mining company to take on the responsibility for design and construction of the plant, with the Canadian government retaining ownership.21 The factory needed the capacity to produce top-quality artillery ammunition in perhaps unlimited quantities as the fortunes — or misfortunes — of war changed. If Britain had any chance of beating Germany, especially with its munitions supply already sluggish and ineffectual from Hitler’s blitzkrieg against plants like Woolwich, GECO had to start immediately.

  A tall order.

  While Bartley speculated the cost to design, construct, and equip such a plant stood at between $5 million and $8 million, GECO’s management team estimated construction would cost only $2.25 million, with an anticipated production capacity of 1.5 million units per month of seven different “natures” or types of fuses.22

  A Few Good Men

  Though exceptional design and superior construction were paramount to the GECO munitions plant’s success, during its early days these responsibilities were only part of what was undertaken by Bob and Phil Hamilton and General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited. The plant also had to be tooled, prepared for production, and staffed with specially trained personnel, more than likely before construc
tion of the plant was finished. Bob and Phil sought men of high calibre, and, in some instances, personally hand-selected individual candidates to fill engineering and administrative positions, choosing men specifically experienced in British munitions.23 Finding such men was not easy.

  This reliance on workers with foreign experience was due to the fact that there was an utter lack of expert personnel with technical experience in ammunition work in Canada.24 Also, the machinery and tools required to fill munitions were virtually non-existent. These critical needs posed a serious problem, and called for ingenuity and improvisation of men skilled in mechanics. Mr. E.H. (Ted) Smith, originally from the Woolwich Arsenal in England, was helping at Defence Industries Limited — D.I.L. — in the Beloeil, Quebec, plant, which was about to go into production.25 At the personal request of Bob Hamilton, Mr. Smith transferred from the Department of National Defence to GECO.26

  Ted Smith’s contribution to GECO was of incalculable value. He provided process specifications, several fuses, an old box of tools used in filling, and technical knowledge and experience that Canadians lacked.27

  Bob and Phil Hamilton had the vital responsibility of selecting competent key GECO personnel, including department heads and supervisors, and establishing a complete organization that would enable the plant to go into production as soon as a sufficient number of workshops were completed. Whoever was to manage the munitions plant — the Hamilton brothers were not assured they would be retained as management — they would take over the plant’s operation for the duration of the war.28 These chosen supervisors, affectionately referred to as the “NCOs” of the fuse-filling production lines, would be responsible for training thousands of “operators,” who, more than likely, would be women, to undertake tasks that had not previously been attempted in Canada.29

  GECO’s engineers worked tirelessly to plan and design Project No. 24. The site’s plans had to be ready to go as soon as a suitable physical site was found. They examined plants, proposed sites, planned for foundations, site grading, drainage, roads, and established standards for water, fuel, steam, power, and sewage. They also helped determine suitable locations for plant railway sidings. Two groups of men, mostly trainees with engineering experience, sailed for England in December 1940 and February 1941, expecting to learn as much as humanly possible in eight weeks by gathering knowledge and experience of British arsenals in the manufacture of explosive munitions.30

  Scarboro, Ontario, Canada: Farms, Fillies, and Fuses

  By the time 1941’s New Year rolled in, Canada had been at war with Germany for nearly a year and a half. Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France had fallen. The evacuation at Dunkirk had been carried out, and the Battle of Britain was underway.

  Time was precious. Like well-stacked dominoes, world governments were teetering and tumbling under the Axis’s iron will. Hitler and his Huns were on a tear across Europe, and North America was in the crosshairs of their guns, too. If Canada and her allies hoped for victory, something needed to be done — and done fast. On January 9, 1941, members of GECO — including R.M.P. Hamilton and H.L. Tamplin — and the A.W.S.C. met in Montreal to decide on the plant’s general layout, type of construction, and spacing of buildings, among myriad other macro and micro details.31

  GECO’s Executive Staff, as of June 1943, taken in front of the administration building. Front Row from left to right: Miss Grace Hyndman, D.A. Duff, E.N. Martin, H.L. Tamplin, R.M.P. Hamilton, P.D.P. Hamilton, E. Flexman, E.H. Smith, G.M. Thomson, Mrs. Florence Ignatieff. Second Row from left to right: J.P. Todd, J.H. MacLean, A.B. Taylor, E. Littlejohn, Dr. A.H. Jeffrey, A.E. Johnston, T.B. Little, H.W. Little, D.E. Cumberland, C.R. Avery, R.S. Segsworth, E.A. Williams, John Christo, J.C. Craig, A.J. Williams. Courtesy of Archives of Ontario.

  Bob and Phil Hamilton looked to history — the Great War in particular — to save time re-inventing the wheel. They chose National Filling Factory No. 7, situated at Hayes, Middlesex, England, built in 1915, as their model.32 While twenty-five years had passed since that plant had been built, Hayes had done a lot of things right. General Engineering Company (Canada) Ltd. wanted to build on their successes and learn from their mistakes. Nine people died at Hayes due to explosions and tetryl poisoning33 (a highly explosive powder used to manufacture fuses, tetryl is also extremely poisonous). The team at GECO were determined not to repeat such tragic accidents.

  GECO’s previous mining experience would come in handy, as well. For instance, the fire hall at the new munitions plant would include a tower, similar to a mine’s “head frame” — a structure erected over the mineshaft to hoist men and supplies in and out of the mine, like an elevator. GECO’s head frame would be used to hoist, hang, and dry fire hoses.34

  Based on the criteria used to build Filling Factory No. 7, the site selected for Project No. 24 had to be within twenty miles of a large metropolis to access hundreds of construction workers and thousands of munitions operators who would be mostly women. A large city could meet the plant’s other requirements as well, like providing transportation, having an available water supply and sewage disposal and hydro-electric power, and offering access to rail. Building on the outskirts of the city afforded access to large expanses of suitable, inexpensive acreage, as well as being far enough from nearby buildings or settlements to minimize damage or death due to explosion. Finally, the site had to be available immediately.35

  The Hamilton brothers wanted to avoid building hostels, although this happened at other plants in both Britain and Canada, like at Defence Industries Limited in Pickering, Ontario.36 Constructing housing for thousands of women would have delayed the start of production, in addition to adding significantly to government costs for materials and labour. As well, GECO wanted to avoid, if possible, taking women away from their homes, and incurring the moral responsibility of controlling a large number of women after working hours. Although war plants in Canada wanted to avoid importing labour from other provinces, as the war progressed many expanded their hiring radius to include women from as far away as British Columbia.37

  Scarboro,38 Ontario, Canada was a quiet rural community with gently undulating farmland when Canada entered the Second World War. Remarkably, the town, with its unsophisticated charm and a population of just over twenty-three thousand,39 met Project No. 24’s critical requirements. The township was only eight miles (ten miles by road from Union Station) northeast of Toronto, which provided easy access to a large labour force, including many men looking for work and thousands of women who were eager to work when their men enlisted and went off to war.40 Toronto had an established public commuting service that could be expanded to accommodate GECO’s workforce. Inexpensive farmland, sloping gradually toward the Scarboro Bluffs three miles to the south, was available in the Wardin [sic] and Eglinton Avenue area.41 A small, local population minimized any risk due to explosion.42

  The King’s Speech

  On January 27, 1941, His Majesty King George VI of Great Britain issued an expropriation decree for Lots 31, 32, and 33, Concession C, Scarboro Township, affecting seven proprietors.43 King George’s expropriation included “Hough’s Corners,” located at the southeast corner of Eglinton and Birchmount Avenues.44 The Hough family had settled in Scarboro in 1804 and owned a substantial farming operation and blacksmithing business.45 Other expropriated land included the W.T. Harris estate, along with Alexander S. Crichton and Elizabeth Jane Burke’s land.46

  In its final form, the future munitions plant comprised:

  226.97 — Acres in Lots 32, 33, Concession C, south of Eglinton Avenue between Birchmount Road and Wardin Avenue (Now spelled “Warden,” with an “e,” this road was spelled “Wardin” at the time.)

  43.47 — Acres in Concession D, Lot 32

  77.20 — Acres restricted in Lot 33, Concession C

  347.64 (Total acres taken)47

  GECO workers in Building No. 45 pack filled Primer 12 into containers for shipping. Courtesy of Archives of Ontario.

 
Only forty-eight hours after King George issued his decree, a survey of the future GECO plant was undertaken, despite knee-deep snow.48 By the end of January 1941, there were ten men on GECO’s employment rolls.49 In just over a week workmen would break ground and start excavation.

  With a DOU signed, GECO engineers across “the pond” learning everything they could about filling munitions, and with about 350 acres of Scarboro farmland appropriated, the story of “Scarboro” was not only in motion, it was picking up speed.

  2

  A Frozen Field of Dreams

  If Bob and Phil Hamilton had felt any pressure to deliver their earlier Canadian wartime projects with haste, they would need to muster every bit of their collective experience and emotional vigour to manage the pace at which the Scarboro facility was expected to be up and running. With the land expropriation plan filed in the township’s registry office at the end of January 1941, the month of February stormed in without reprieve. Construction had to start immediately. Workmen would have to find a way — and fast — to dig through one and a half to two feet of permafrost and snow. However, as problematic as the pending excavation was, breaking ground would not be the Hamilton brothers’ biggest challenge that February. The war was about to hit a little closer to home — Bob and Phil found themselves having to handle a situation that had the potential to cripple not only Canada’s fledging munitions industry but that of Great Britain as well.