Bomb Girls

by Barbara Dickson

  F2082-1-1-21. Review of Industrial Relations. July 1943.

  F2082-1-1-25. Plant Review Appendices. 1945.

  F2082-1-1-26. Department of Munitions and Supply, Defense Projects Construction Branch, The General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited, A.W.S.C. Project No. 24, Scarboro, Ontario.

  F2082-1-1-30. Wage and Salary Rates — 1942, 1943, 1944. 1944.

  F2082-1-1-32. Hamilton, R.M.P. Letter to John H. Fox, Esq., April 1981.

  F2082-1-1-32. Kennedy, J. de N. Extracts from Official History of the Department of — Munitions and Supply — Canada in the Second World War.

  F2082-1-2-10. Mary Pickford with GECO workers. Photograph. Circa June 1943. AO 648.

  F2082-1-3. Hamilton, R.M.P. Interview with Hartley McVicar. Let’s Visit. Radio recording. Toronto, c. 1945.

  F2802-1-1-10. Disposition of Records — 1946. 1946.

  F2802-1-1-18. 1945 Final Summary, History of Scarboro, Canada, 1941–1945. 1945.

  F2802-1-1-32. Employee’s Guidebook. Toronto: General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited, 1943.

  F2802-1-1-32. Employment Booklet for Prospective Employees. Toronto: General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited, February 15, 1943.

  Scarborough Historical Society. GECO Collection

  Brimicombe, F.G. “To Those Women of All Ages.” January 30, 1943.

  Davis, Ross. “Lively Interest Aroused by MWA Rep. Nominations.” January 30, 1943.

  city of Toronto Archives.

  “Laminated Beam Construction.” Textual Records of GECO — 1941–1945. Fonds 2, Series 1243, Subseries 5, File 1.

  Nordstrand, Sylvia. “Letters from Sylvia Nordstrand about Geco.” Fonds 594142-9, Series 89, File 87, 1988–1989.

  Skuce, Lou. Lou Skuce Cartoons for Wartime Posters. Fonds 70, Series 858, File 83.

  Photographs

  Captioned photo: “Almost eighty percent of our security guards are old Army men.” GECO Fusilier, April 10, 1943.

  Captioned photo: “During its relatively brief span of life Scarboro has had many visitors…” GECO Fusilier, July 31, 1945.

  Captioned photo: “Every day somewhere in the neighbourhood of eighteen thousand dishes go through the process…” GECO Fusilier, April 24, 1943.

  Captioned photo: “From the outside looking in — any day of the working week around 5.30 p.m.” GECO Fusilier, April 10, 1943.

  Uncaptioned photo. GECO Fusilier, April 16, 1945.

  Uncaptioned workshop photographs, GECO Fusilier, June 11, 1945.

  Photo of Mary Pickford, actress with GECO workers, circa June 1943.

  Captioned photo: “Parading the guards, a daily institution at the Plant.” GECO Fusilier, April 10, 1943.

  Captioned photo: “Since Mrs. Richards of Change House 17…” GECO Fusilier, November 28, 1943.

  Captioned photo: “Views from the ‘Miss War Worker’ contest at Exhibition Park…” GECO Fusilier, July 31, 1944.

  Websites

  www.ancestry.ca.

  “Bofors 40 mm gun.” Wikipedia.org. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bofors_40_mm_gun (accessed August 2014).

  “George VI — An Act Respecting Official Secrets.” History of Rights. www.historyofrights.com/statutes/federal/Official_Sec.pdf (accessed August 2014).

  “History, The Salvation Army International.” salvationarmy.org. www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/history (accessed September 2014).

  “Introduction, Annual Review 2013–2014.” salvationarmy.ca. www.salvationarmy.ca/annualreview2013-2014/ (accessed September 2014).

  “The Official Site of the Hockey Hall of Fame.” Legends of Hockey.net. www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=1445 (accessed August 2014).

  “Tetryl — Frequently Asked Questions: Delaware Health and Social Sciences.” http://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/files/tetrylfaq.pdf (accessed August 2014).

  Tobias, Conan. “The Art of Sport.” Taddle Creek. www.taddlecreekmag.com/the-art-of-sport (accessed August 2014).

  “US Inflation Calculator.” www.usinflationcalculator.com (accessed September 2014).

  Other Sources

  Display. Barracks Sector, Parc De-L’Artillerie, National Parks and Historic Sites of Canada, Old Quebec City, Quebec.

  Engineer’s sketch. General Engineering Co. (Canada) Ltd. Scarboro Campus. 1942.

  GECO matchbook. Eddy Match Co. Limited Canada. Courtesy David Carr.

  Hamilton, R.M.P. “A Short History of the General Engineering Company Inc.” (June 1976).

  Identification card for R.M.P. Hamilton. GECO Fonds. Archives of Ontario. F2802-1-1-32.

  Identification card, issued from the Inspection Board of the United Kingdom and Canada, to GECOite Roxaline Wood. Courtesy Mary Elstone.

  Insurance Plan of the City of Toronto (Underwriters’ Survey Bureau Limited, January 1956). Vol. 9, Sheets 948-1 to 978.

  Keast, Hilda. “Ping Pones.” Written note on reverse of a collage of GECO employee photos with names, circa 1944.

  Keast, Hilda. Written note on reverse of a GECO shop photo. Courtesy of her son, John, and Alan Harris, circa 1944.

  Minister of Finance. Letter to Canadians. “Canada Must Borrow for Victory — A Statement.”

  Poster. “The Minister of Everything.” W.W.II exhibit, Canada War Museum Ottawa, Ontario.

  Poster. “Canada’s Other Army.” W.W.II exhibit, Canada War Museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

  The General Engineering Company Canada Ltd. Scarboro Munitions Plan A.W.S.C. Project 24, 1941–1945. DVD. Ontario: Arrow Films, 1945.

  Van Iterson, Bill. “Biographical Summaries of Bob and Betty Hamilton.” (November 20, 2010).

  Copyright © Barbara Dickson, 2015

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

  Editor: Dominic Farrell

  Copy editor: Britanie Wilson

  Design: BJ Weckerle

  Cover Design: Sarah Beaudin

  Cover Image: Female GECO war workers prepare fuses for shipping (AO1593, fonds F2082-1-2-24). Courtesy of Archives of Ontario.

  Epub Design: Carmen Giraudy

  Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

  Dickson, Barbara, 1961-, author

  Bomb girls : trading aprons for ammo / Barbara Dickson.

  Includes bibliographical references and index.

  Issued in print and electronic formats.

  ISBN 978-1-4597-3116-5 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-4597-3117-2 (pdf.).--

  ISBN 978-1-4597-3118-9 (epub)

  1. World War, 1939-1945--Women--Canada. 2. World War,

  1939-1945--War work--Canada. 3. Women in war--Canada--History--

  20th century. 4. Weapons industry--Canada--History--20th century.

  I. Title.

  D810.W7D52 2015 940.53082’0971 C2015-902081-6

  C2015-902082-4

  We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and Livres Canada Books, and the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.

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  J. Kirk Howard, President

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