Bomb Girls

by Barbara Dickson

  Scarboro’s employee safety record was rare and perhaps without equal in global munitions handling.3 GECO management attributed this success primarily to attentive care spent on eliminating the chance of fire and explosion and to minimizing the damage of such incidents if they did happen.4 Experts in munitions would likely attribute Scarboro’s stellar safety record — and they would face little if any opposition — to GECO’s dynamic duo, Bob and Phil, and their safety officer, George M. Thomson, for not only their exemplary vision but also their conscientious and fastidious operating procedures.

  The Hamiltons ultimately were responsible for the plant’s safety; Safety Officer Thomson reported directly to them.5 He managed all aspects of safety at the plant. His mandate included managing inspectors, maintaining safe limits in storing explosives, overseeing the entire Security Department, and ensuring proper ventilation, lighting, and humidity.6

  Safety, of course, was a dominant consideration in ammunition filling in general in the United Kingdom, and in fuse filling in particular. The finished “product” was only as perfect as the many steps to prepare and fill the fuse. It had to be free from filings, grit, or other superfluous material that might disturb the delicate mechanism or agitate the explosives in the weapon.7 Dirt could cause friction; static electricity might cause a spark. Both had the potential for catastrophic explosions that might not only disrupt production of critically needed war supplies, but could endanger the lives of thousands of employees. GECO did not want to repeat the tragic accidents experienced at other munitions plants during the Great War, where five fatal accidents occurred at Hayes, the plant from which GECO was patterned.8 In addition, there had been four deaths from toxic jaundice at that munitions plant, bringing the total death count to nine.9

  W.H. Pitcher wrote of Scarboro, “In designing this plant, safety has been the primary consideration — safety not only for its four to five thousand employees working on 8-hour shifts, but safety combined with efficiency to turn out the greatest number of completed fuses in the shortest possible time.”10

  From protecting the physical plant to building and workshops, from galleries and tunnels to the hazards of working with tetryl, safety and efficiency was foremost on everyone’s mind.

  Friend or Foe?

  All interested parties agreed — buildings at GECO were to have a low profile, built mostly as single-storey workshops.11 The plant was to remain as inconspicuous as possible from the ground and air. Of course, this mandate was not as easy to carry out when thousands of yards of eight-foot-high barbed-wire fence surrounded the complex, but for the most part, even from neighbouring farms, GECO could not be seen other than perhaps for its smokestack.

  In addition to the barbed-wire fencing, the site was heavily guarded, with access restricted to a handful of entry points.12 If, by some chance, a lost motorist came upon GECO unaware of what went on inside the intimidating military installation, he more than likely would have been quickly approached, challenged, and then escorted away by GECO’s armed security personnel.

  Older army men comprised 80 percent of the plant’s security force, and their mandate was simple: keep undesirables out.13 Successful applicants to the force had a background in police or military service, and had to clear an extensive background check.14 The Commissioner of Provincial Police swore in each guard as a Special Constable.15

  Armed guards patrolled the property continually, one guard responsible for between 350–500 yards of property.16 Special Fence Patrols traversed the entire perimeter of the plant, consisting of over 347 acres, one lap of which took about an hour to complete.17 The guards patrolled the plant, rain or shine, fair or foul weather, even during blizzards and bitterly cold blustery days.

  Each shift included a parade for duty, roll call, and uniform and area inspections.18 In addition to patrolling the site and keeping “a vigilant watch for possible sabotage,”19 guards were also responsible for fingerprinting, photographing, and checking letters of reference for all new employees, supervising loading and unloading of buses, being on hand at the bank on payday, and maintaining a “lost and found” area.20 Special Security Observers, both male and female, were present in change rooms to ensure no prohibited material was transported onto the clean side of the plant.21

  GECO commenced keeping guard statistics early, while still under construction. By July 1, 1941, twenty-three men walked the site twenty-four hours a day.22 When construction wound down and production ramped up, so did the number of men hired to protect the plant’s assets, interests, and employees. Eighty guards secured the site by the end of 1942, with a healthy aggregate of more than seventy men protecting GECO until the end of the war.23

  As for employees, guards demanded they present valid ID pass cards before entering the compound.24 All employees were subject to a physical search of their belongings and person.25

  In addition, all employees understood anti-sabotage procedures and participated in air-raid drills,26 and air-raid alarms were installed on all buildings.27

  In Case of Explosion …

  Running a top secret munitions plant with thousands of workers who handled high explosives meant incorporating extraordinary fire and explosion prevention strategies and emergency processes into its design, construction, and operation. A considerable water supply was imperative, including a regular supply from Scarboro Township’s water main, two domestic water storage tanks of 250,000 gallons each, and an open water reservoir with a capacity of 2.5 million gallons.28 More than five hundred fire extinguishers were placed strategically throughout the compound, including the extensive gallery and tunnel systems.29 Indoor hoses — totalling more than two-and-a-half miles — were installed in all buildings and galleries.30 Fifty-five outdoor hydrants were installed at regular intervals around the plant, including four-and-a-half miles of hose.31 Twenty-six guards’ stations were set up within the tunnel system.32 Fire safety guidelines were taught to and enforced by all employees, and fire drills were held weekly at first, then bi-monthly throughout the duration of the war.33 Smoking was allowed only on the dirty side of the plant because of the inherent fire hazard associated with matches and smouldering cigarette butts.

  “Scarboro” possessed two fully functioning fire halls.34 The larger hall in Building No. 90 was located on the dirty side of the plant close to the medical building, situated in the northwest area of the complex.35 An auxiliary hall was housed in Building No. 145 at the southern end near the Proof Yard.36 Fire Chief T. Benson was in charge of all auxiliary fire areas.37 Before the Second World War there was only one fire hall in Scarboro Township, located on Birchmount Avenue north of Kingston Road.38 The plant boasted the largest industrial fire department in the country, and the largest of any kind in Ontario, yet the only fires the brigade handled were doused with a bucket of sand before firefighters could arrive.39

  Unique to its civilian counterparts, GECO sported blue fire trucks with flowers, perhaps as a salute to its predominantly female workforce, stencilled on the fenders.40 One, a converted Chevrolet, included a pump with a capacity of almost two cubic yards per minute, 460 yards of hose, six chemical extinguishers, and a ladder.41 The other, built onsite on a converted Ford chassis, contained a water pump that could pump two and one half cubic yards per minute, 351 yards of hose, six chemical extinguishers, and a twelve-yard extension ladder.42 Of almost thirty firemen on site — mostly retired Toronto firefighters — any man without thirty years of experience was considered a rookie.43 GECO’s fire detachment also comprised about one hundred volunteer firefighters who had other regular occupations in the plant.44

  Neither hoses nor water were allowed in GECO’s expansive service tunnel system since the plant’s electrical infrastructure was located within its confines.45 Instead, Pyrene or carbon dioxide extinguishers were placed within the underground labyrinth.46 Should a fire occur in a branch off the main tunnels running north/south, in an underground switch room, or in a transformer vault, fire doors were closed to keep the fire contained bel
owground.47

  In addition to keeping GECO structures to one storey, buildings were staggered and arranged with the hope that in case of explosion, damage and injury would be contained to one building.48 Structures, especially those that stored explosives, were constructed in a more scattered fashion toward the southern end of the plant.49 Vestibules running directly above the tunnel system and spanning the length of most buildings on the clean side alternated between the north and south sides of workshops.50 As for safe distancing between munitions buildings, the United States recommended a distance of six hundred feet.51 This was quite different from Britain’s recommendation of 100 feet between buildings.52 The plant’s First World War British counterpart, Hayes, built buildings only seventy-five feet apart.53 GECO management decided two hundred feet was reasonable to leave between factory buildings.54 A minimum of six hundred feet was maintained between plant buildings and main roads outside the plant.55

  Ever fire-conscious, GECO engineers recommended weatherproof, fire-resistant “weatherboard” plywood to cover the outside of all buildings.56 It was available, cheap, and could be applied quickly.57

  Buildings in the Danger Zone, where workers handled explosives, were divided into “shops” and separated by reinforced concrete or masonry firewalls three feet tall.58 Side walls were constructed from “flimsy wallboard,” as GECOnian Ernie Pickles recalls.59 “If an explosion occured [sic] it would not affect the next room down the hall,” he states, “but the explosion would knock down the side walls and dissipate to the outdoors.”60 In addition, heavy explosion/fire doors, operated via a robust pulley system, separated all buildings from “cleanways.”61 Escape doors in each fuse-filling shop to the outside offered a way out in an emergency.62 In total, over four hundred fire doors were installed throughout GECO’s buildings on the clean side.63

  For easy manoeuvrability of munitions, machinery, and operators alike, fuse-filling shops enjoyed an almost forty-six-foot-wide free-span frame with no internal support beams.64 Buildings with no internal support could withstand an explosion that took out a large part of a wall or the roof without complete collapse.65 GECO’s ingenious solution to a scant or practically non-existent steel supply was to use their newly invented “super structure” or “timber beam.”66

  Life Expectancy

  GECO’s buildings were built with an estimated five years of useful life.67 It was felt that a global conflict of the Second World War’s magnitude could not possibly last more than a few years. Ironically, because GECO was a munitions factory, building construction and materials were often of a superior, stronger quality than normally would be expected in a temporary endeavour. In a short-term industrial undertaking, a rough and simple interior finish to inside walls typically would have been adequate. However, in GECO’s case, interior finishes had to be clean and smooth with no crevices that could collect dust.68 As well, maintaining a precise degree of heat and humidity in clean-side buildings was an absolute necessity and demanded extra care in construction.69 With a scarcity of steel during the war, GECO employed their “super structure” technology in shops, which expanded to tunnel ceilings, providing superior workmanship and longevity.70 As a testament to quality workmanship, almost seventy years past their end-of-use date several original GECO buildings remain today.

  Special buildings called “magazines,” where a substantial quantity of explosives were stored, such as Building Nos. 48–55 or Building Nos. 81–85, were isolated from other structures.71 In some cases these magazines, nicknamed “igloos,” were partially or completely buried by dirt conveniently made available from excavating the tunnel system. This provided some additional protection to surrounding buildings should an explosion occur.72 Igloos were reinforced with concrete and steel as they were constructed.73 Later, when steel became scarce as construction continued, igloos were supported with “super structures.”74 Berms built from excavated tunnel dirt surrounded some clean-side buildings, to minimize potential damage of surrounding structures in case of explosion.75

  In Spotless Air-Conditioned Shops

  GECO engineers had to consider many things when building fuse-filling workshops in the Danger Zone, from heating and cooling to controlling humidity, from preventing dust accumulation to avoiding static electricity, as well as anticipating the potential devastation of worker error, carelessness, and neglect. GECO, as an arsenal, was expected to incorporate many safety fuse-filling procedures based on British experience that never before had been used in Canadian industrial practice.76 Conditions in Canada were quite different from those found in England, especially in coping with Canada’s northern climate.

  Each fuse-filling building was separated into several “workshops,” each approximately 55 by 105 feet, and with each workshop having an “annex” measuring about 16.5 by 55 feet.77 Walls were painted ivory and the floors were covered with resilient and easily cleaned brown linoleum.78 Cleaners wiped down floors in some workshops every four hours. Walls, ceilings, and light fixtures in workshops were cleaned weekly.79

  Static electricity was a munitions factory’s worst nightmare. In a closed environment where high explosives were in use, a buildup of accumulated electrons within a person’s body or metal-containing object could suddenly release and cause a “spark.” A single spark could ignite highly explosive or inflammable materials, causing a catastrophic chain reaction.80 GECO took extraordinary measures to prevent static electricity. Every piece of machinery on the clean side was grounded, and ground plates were placed at the door of each filling shop.81 “You had to touch it every time you went through,” GECOite Peter Cranston recalled. “It was a firing offence to forget.”82 The use of “super structures” in ceilings allowed for “tight” construction, minimizing dust.83 All cracks and joints in walls were filled and taped before applying an interior finish.84 Small dust-proof, explosion-proof push-button electric lighting was installed.85 Bronze and brass were used in place of other metals.86 Lightning rods were installed in all buildings.87 Electrical fixtures in GECO workshops were not to exceed a surface temperature greater than 60 degrees Celsius to eliminate the chance of explosion.88 Lighting in GECO’s workshops provided fifteen foot-candles intensity.89 Workshops were inspected at least once every shift.90

  GECO’s gallery system was connected to corridors that ran alongside filling shops on the clean side. These vestibules conveyed both workers and ammunition and were kept rigorously clean. Ground plates, situated outside the doors to each workshop, were touched by every employee before they entered to minimize the risk of static electricity. A small tool crib sat in various vestibules to ensure quick repairs when appropriate. Courtesy of Archives of Ontario.

  To minimize the chance of static electricity and sparks, work could only be carried out in filling shops where air humidity was kept within certain limits.91 GECO engineers and management mandated that humidity in workshops should be maintained at a constant 55 percent using an air conditioning system.92 Uniform humidity in workshops resulted in a higher quality final product — fuses that would execute perfectly when it mattered most.

  “Early in the plant’s construction, the decision was made to erect buildings on the clean side without windows. This decision extended to the extensive gallery system. Windowless workshops sped up construction time; workers didn’t have to fuss over preparing walls for the installation of windows and sills, and there would be no interruption in construction should glass or materials be delayed or not be available.93 Fortuitously, windowless shops helped control humidity in hot, muggy weather and minimize condensation in damp winter months.”94

  Keeping thousands of operators, predominately female, comfortable was a huge challenge. A central heating/cooling unit in each workshop maintained a comfortable twenty-two degrees Celsius.97 Fresh air was filtered in to each workshop every twelve minutes during summer months.98

  W.H. Pitcher had this to say about GECO’s cleanliness: “Of perhaps equal importance in maintaining safe working conditions about the plant is good
housekeeping. Every bench, every workshop, all the corridors and the working personnel are scrupulously clean.”99

  Jack Be Nimble

  GECO management used every opportunity to instill safety awareness in their employees, including communicating via their employee newspaper. Humour, poetry, and cartoons were often used to teach and remind employees of their responsibilities and the potentially deadly consequences should they lack diligence. One poem with its accompanying cartoon read:

  Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,

  Jack made eyes at a passing chick,

  He teetered and tottered and finally fell,

  Now we’re all waiting for Jack to get well.100

  Transporting detonators, the most unpredictable of all munitions, required specially marked red boxes, carried by hand by a seasoned GECOite, his red cap a warning to all to give him lots of room to pass. The July 4, 1942 issue of the plant’s paper offered this reminder: “All the men wearing the dark red caps need the right of way — especially those with the scarlet wooden satchels. These satchels aren’t filled with cough drops …”101

  Galleries, Tunnels, and More Tunnels, Oh My!

  The expansive Scarboro site included an elaborate aboveground gallery network spanning more than three miles, and an extensive labyrinth of tunnels connecting most of the munitions facility’s buildings on the clean side.102

  The First World War’s Hayes munitions plant in England, upon which GECO’s design was patterned, linked clean-side buildings with boardwalks — wood planks — laid out along the ground.103 Both walkways and workers were exposed to all weather conditions. Depending on the daily weather, women brought dirt, mud, soggy hair, and damp clothing into their workshops. The Hamilton brothers knew they needed a safer, cleaner way for GECO’s workers to travel to and from their shops. They decided to cover the plant’s “cleanways,” heat and air-condition them depending on the weather, keep them fastidiously clean, and attach them to the shift houses so workers would always be in an “All Clear!” state of mind.104