Unfortunately, by June 1952, the Anglican Synod charged that “intolerable conditions exist[ed] at the Toronto Emergency Housing Unit at GECO.”18
The Scarboro Police Force set up a precinct on the premises of GECO and ushered in each New Year’s Eve rounding up rowdy and quarrelsome GECO men who’d toasted one too many. One year in particular, 1951, brought out more than just happy revelers. One man ended up in hospital with knife wounds, while many others suffered bloodied noses and black eyes. Scarboro police were kept on duty all night with “a continual series of near riots.”19 According to Acting Chief Wilfred McLellan, brawls were yearly events at GECO.20 The police station at GECO was staffed by one regular officer but the entire Scarboro force showed up New Year’s Eve.21 Former Baptist minister turned politician Oliver Crockford called the riot a disgrace. “They are just running wild,” he said. “Children by the hundreds are growing up there in deplorable conditions.”22
Today, surviving residents who lived there as children, vehemently disagree with the unflattering reputation their housing complex earned. They fondly recall a unique time in their young lives when, due to unfortunate circumstances caused by the fallout of a world at war, they lived in unique conditions never to be repeated in their lifetimes, perhaps never again in the history of Canada.
After the war, from 1946 to 1954, several GECO buildings were acquired by the city and refitted to provide emergency housing to needy families. Conservatively, upward of two thousand men, women, and children lived at the complex. Rent, on average, ranged between $37 and $40 per month for over three hundred, mostly tiny, four-room apartments. Washrooms were communal. Courtesy of Scarborough Historical Society.
Scarborough’s “Golden Mile” of Industry
The Canadian government’s decision not to raze GECO’s 173 buildings after the Second World War set the wheels of progress in motion. Less than five years after the war ended industry was setting up shop in and around GECO, partly due to cheap land and low taxes.23 In 1948 Reeve Crockford said, upon the township’s purchase of the GECO property, “This is our golden opportunity. Unless Scarboro steps ahead, we will not make progress.”24 Scarborough’s “Golden Mile” was well underway.25 This notable stretch of formerly quiet countryside transformed into a bustling centre of large-scale manufacturing, and represented hope and prosperity after the war. New housing sprung up to accommodate the need for residences near places of employment like Thermos and Frigidaire.26 Past GECO women who wanted to stay in the workforce made Scarborough their home to raise their families in the post Second World War housing boom. The Golden Mile even merited a visit from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II in June 1959.27
If you build it, they will come. In a sense, GECO’s wartime presence among the gently rolling hills of southern rural Scarboro became a catalyst in a time of peace, stimulating growth and urban expansion and helping Scarborough to become the vibrant, multi-cultural city it is today.
Veil of Secrecy Lifted
More than seventy years have passed since King George expropriated farmland in Scarboro to build a top-secret munitions plant, yet remnants of GECO still stand today, a testament to the incredible workmanship of her builders. Little could the Hamilton brothers or their twenty-one thousand employees have fathomed GECO’s enduring presence in Scarborough.28 Intended to be temporary wooden sheds with an anticipated five years of useful service, twenty-one original buildings still stand today.29 A walk or drive around the area bordered by Warden and Eglinton Avenues and Sinnott and Hymus Roads will reveal, with a discerning eye, the low silhouettes of original GECO buildings, some remarkably unchanged from their former heyday. The quality of the building construction speaks to the high standards that the entire GECO endeavour strived to not only meet but also surpass. In an odd twist of fate, GECO’s buildings have survived longer than most of the men and women who once worked behind the quasi-military compound’s eight-foot-high barbed-wire fence.
Some GECO properties are easy to recognize; others take some sleuthing and keen deduction skills to find. Windows, colourful clapboard, aluminum siding, and façades have been added. These historic buildings house restaurants, car repair shops, small businesses, and are used for storage and warehousing. Some owners use the tunnels under their feet as cellars, storing inventory such as beer and car parts. While several GECO buildings are still well-maintained, others are dilapidated and dingy, armed with the latest in security deterrents. Guard dogs, barbed-wire fencing, surveillance cameras, intimidating signage, and iron gates serve to warn trespassers to enter at their own peril. Ironically, some GECO buildings are better protected today than when sabotage was a real threat.
One might argue GECO today is just an empty shell of its former self; ruins really, and a mere shadow of the glory days when it was used for round-the-clock war work. However, almost everyone who has had the unique experience of walking through GECO’s tunnels will agree that its ruins both captivate and humble, not only because of the vital job carried out at “Scarboro,” but also because of the plant’s sheer tenacity in surviving. GECO was and still is a historical treasure trove, not only in its physical ruins but also in its legacy to the future generations of Scarborough and Canada. Its extensive tunnel system remains one of Scarborough’s best-kept secrets, sparking puzzled looks on the faces of seasoned citizens at their mention.
In 1967, Reeve Albert Campbell did not think the old (GECO) buildings were worth keeping.30 He would have liked to have seen most of them torn down. In time, he suspected — and perhaps secretly wished — that even the name “GECO” would be forgotten.31
Several miles of tunnels ran beneath the GECO plant at Scarboro, connecting most of its buildings in the Danger Zone. Today, most of the tunnels have been filled in, or have been destroyed by age or neglect. However, there are still some sections of tunnel intact, used as cellars and storage, or, perhaps unknowingly, to shelter feral animals. This tunnel sat under Building No. 67 before it was demolished for commercial expansion. Courtesy of Rebeccah Beaulieu.
Today, GECO properties continue to change hands, with new owners ignorant of the rich, poignant stories that linger in the air, as they raze, renovate, or reduce to rubble what is left of GECO. What’s more, with time and progress’s unrelenting drive for new and more, owners are sealing up and filling in the old maze of tunnels, a treasured artifact literally beneath their feet. It seems that Reeve Campbell, posthumously, might just get his wish.
What does the future hold for GECO? Oddly, the same relentless drive for change and progress for which the old war plant was a catalyst, will erase this munitions plant from history, as aging citizens of Scarborough, the generation touched by a world war, eventually pass away.
Is GECO worth saving? Perhaps Reeve Campbell was right — wipe the blight from the city’s landscape. Pave the way for new growth and development, for revitalization. But then we are left with a troubling prick of conscience: how do we honour the memory of countless men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, paid with their lives so that the city of Scarborough and the country of Canada could live in freedom? Who will pay tribute to the dedication and the toil of the countless on the home front, supporting not only fellow Canadians in the theatres of war, but the Allied forces around the world?
In September 2014, the City of Toronto, through its Underpass Revitalization Program, sponsored the creation of a mural to honour the women of GECO. The mural is located on St. Clair Avenue East, just east of Warden Avenue in Scarborough, within walking distance of the wartime plant. Courtesy of Lawrence Hicks.
In September 2014 the City of Toronto commissioned urban muralist Mitchell Lanecki to capture the essence of GECO, creating a fitting tribute to the women of the plant and their magnificent contribution to the Allied war effort.
It will take a nation to teach each man, woman, and child the terrible human toll that war brings. Every child who lives today, as well as every child to come, must not only learn about the colossal human struggle their brave Canad
ian forebearers undertook on their behalf — both abroad and at home — but they must also pause to remember.
Lest we forget.
GECO arranged group workshop photographs as a memento of their employees’ time at the plant after the war ended. Because the Canadian government wrapped up operations quickly, the first round of layoffs took place only three weeks after Germany surrendered. Many shops did not get the opportunity to have their picture taken. In this historic picture, happy smiles tell the story: peace has returned to Canada. Grandmother to June Button and Ivy Faubel, GECOite Ivy Harris is sitting in the front row, far left. Courtesy of June Button.
Long Live Scarboro!
It is fitting to salute the critical work carried out by General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited during the Second World War, using their own words to capture their patriotism, perseverance, and passion for Scarboro’s Bomb Girls:
Now we can turn back to thoughts and plans for ultimate peace. Those of us who will continue to work can help make or do things that are constructive rather than destructive — things that make for people’s comfort and happiness. There is a staggering amount of constructive work to be done both in a material and spiritual sense. Perhaps if all of us who formed Scarboro’s proud company take with us into our new spheres of endeavor the same spirit of loyalty, the same determination to safeguard the things we worked so hard for in the Plant and the same benevolence toward one another — Scarboro will never die. The tradition, outgrowth of the tragedy of war, will live on, a vibrant, shining thing through the happier years of peace to come.
Long live Scarboro!32
Appendix A
Layout of GECO: An Engineer’s Sketch of GECO1
A map of GECO running from Eglinton Avenue (at the bottom of the sketch) to present-day Hymus Road, bordered by Warden Avenue and Birchmount Road. At the Eglinton end of the plant sat the “dirty” side of the facility, where operations that did not involve explosive components were carried out. The “clean” side, where all operations involving explosives were performed, was located south of present-day Civic Road. No object that could cause static electricity or a spark, such as silk, rayon, metal, or chewing gum, could be brought onto the clean side. Courtesy of Archives of Ontario.
Appendix B
GECO Management Chart1
A-2: Organization Chart of GECO at “Scarboro.” Courtesy of Archives of Ontario.
Appendix C
Typical Workshop Layout:Fuse 251, Shop 67C
Operators at GECO filled 13,426,587 No. 251 fuses in Building No. 67 over its tenure — the largest producer of any single fuse in Canada’s history. In this diagram, the layout of Building No. 67, Shop “C,” where 251 fuses were filled, is depicted. Building No. 67 consisted of three main shops — “A,” “B,” and “C” — with an annex attached to each shop. During the summer of 1943, staff switched Shop “C” over from English production methods to a bulk assembly production line. Each operator performed a single step in filling the fuse. The new assembly line consisted of worktables, extending almost the entire length of the shop. Courtesy of Archives of Ontario.
Acknowledgements
The book you are holding is a labour of love that took over a decade to research and write. A book humbly offered from a fiercely proud Canadian’s heart, its pages seek to commemorate the daring determination of countless thousands of women who fought on the home front doffing aprons for ammo during the Second World War. A book such as this takes a huge amount of work, research and devotion. Its publication would not have been possible without the support of many individuals and organizations. The following tributes are not listed in order of importance. Everyone mentioned here helped bring Bomb Girls to fruition.
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to John McLean Parsons Hamilton, son of Robert McLean Prior Hamilton, and Judy Patton Hamilton, daughter-in-law to Philip Dawson Prior Hamilton, for affording me the honour in telling the incredible story of the Hamilton brothers’ tenure at GECO in Scarborough, Ontario, during the war years. You have enriched GECO’s story through your generous support and endorsement. I especially wish to express my sincere thanks to the late Philip Henry Banfill Hamilton, son of P.D.P. Hamilton, who wrote the Foreword to Bomb Girls. May his written words be a loving legacy to his father’s tangible contribution to the war effort.
A special note of appreciation is extended to Florence Ignatieff’s children, Paul and Mika, for bringing an intimate, human perspective to their mother’s noteworthy GECO story.
Nancy Haines, throughout my many years of research, helped track down information on my behalf. Nancy was always responsive, thorough, and happy to accommodate every seemingly small request, and I offer her my grateful thanks. Thanks also go to Rick Schofield, archivist for the Scarborough Historical Society, for his time, patience, and helpfulness. The folks at the Archives of Ontario, the City of Toronto Archives, the Toronto Reference Library, the Canadian War Museum, and the Imperial War Museum helped me in numerous ways, particularly to my countless archival requests. In every instance, the staff was professional, efficient, and understanding.
To the many professional associations who invited me to share GECO’s amazing story, I offer my sincere thanks. You graciously granted me the opportunity to share Scarborough’s story in helping to win the war.
I am especially indebted to Dr. J. Patrick Boyer, Q.C. who shared my passion for Bomb Girls, and pursued its publication with his colleagues at Dundurn.
To Colin D’Mello of CTV News, who arranged for the production of a GECO TV vignette, sparking public interest in Scarborough’s tunnels and its war days. Your interest in our city’s history helped spread the word, opening doors towards the publication of Bomb Girls.
To Sam and Peter, who kindly welcomed me and granted me access to the old tunnels that run beneath their car repair shop on Manville Road. With a smile and a kind word, they received me – sometimes with fifteen or twenty eager GECO enthusiasts in tow. And to Sheila Crowe, who in the early days of exploration, graciously allowed me to tour the well-preserved tunnels under her property.
A special thank you is offered to Trace Hill and Tony Aus of Prologix on Sinnott Road, for granting me the incredible opportunity to not only tour their GECO tunnels, but to document the demolition of one of GECO’s largest fuse-filling workshops, Building No. 67.
I am deeply thankful to Councillor Michelle Berardinetti, Ward 35, Scarborough Southwest, who immediately recognized the value in celebrating the tireless, dedicated work of the women at GECO. With an enthusiastic heart for her community, Michelle and her team helped make a mural for GECO possible: a lovely, lasting tribute for decades to come. Thank you, Michelle.
I must also say thank you to Ryan Hicks, my technical assistant, who came through for me when time was critical.
To the hundreds of GECO enthusiasts who I’ve met along the way — too many to mention but you know who you are (shout-outs to Mike, Mike, and Peter.) Your enthusiasm and curiosity and generosity in sharing treasured artifacts of Scarborough’s wartime history pushed me ever onwards to completing the book.
I extend my deepest heartfelt gratitude to the many war workers I met and interviewed, who, even in their golden years, graciously shared their experiences at GECO, and of life during the Second World War. To the families of GECO employees who have passed away, I thank you for sharing your loved one’s stories and pictures, and for wanting to help capture a unique time, not only in your family’s history, but in Canada’s history too. I would like to make special mention of several cherished GECOites who have passed away since they were initially interviewed for this book: Molly Danniels, Carol Knight, Bill Howe, Philip Henry Banfill Hamilton, Peter Cranston, and Rena O’Hagan. May this book be a lasting tribute to their memory.
Finally, I wish to thank my family: to David for his love and steadfast support; to Kathleen, Rebeccah, and Emily for their love and encouragement, for being proud of their mom; and to Joshua, Jacob, and Noah for their infectious
joy — for no matter how mired in citations or editing I became, a simple, chocolate-covered smile instantly grounded me, reminding me of what truly is to be treasured.
Notes
To keep this book to a manageable size the Notes have not been included in the print edition. They are included in the electronic version, and may also be accessed at the author’s website at www.barbaradickson.ca/geco/ or at the publisher’s website www.dundurn.com.
Bibliography
Books and Booklets
Ammunition Saves Lives. Toronto: Employment and Selective Service, April 1, 1944.
Bagnell, Kenneth. The Little Immigrants: The Orphans Who Came to Canada. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1980.
Bonis, Robert R. A History of Scarborough. Scarborough: Scarborough Public Library, 1968.
Craig, John. The Noronic Is Burning! Don Mills: General Publishing, 1976.
Employee’s Guidebook. Toronto: General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited, 1943.
Employment Booklet for Prospective Employees. Toronto: General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited, February 15, 1943.
The General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited — British Counterpart to Sc/C. circa 1919.
Hibbert, Joyce. Fragments of War: Stories of Survival of World War II. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1985.
Bomb Girls Page 24
