Women’s Work in the Second World War, as told through the handwritten account of the Oshawa Fire Department

By Kes Murray, Registrar

With the start of the Second World War, women from all over Canada joined various volunteer groups. The best known is the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) which was formed in 1941 and aimed at replacing men in non-combat duties, freeing up men to serve at the front. However, many other volunteer women’s groups existed before the official formation of the CWAC. Reading through the handwritten account of the history of the Oshawa Fire Department, I came across some these women’s volunteer organizations.

With the war clouds ever darkening and the possibility of aerial bombing of our own land becoming more acute, organization of the Civilian Defense Committee A.R.P. began in Oshawa in April of this year [1941], however during April and May only the organization and selecting of a proper Executive was accomplished, but during which time speakers were present each week to assist in the ground work. In June of this year with an enrolment of 25 Members the auxiliary fire Services came into being under the direction of the newly named Controller of Fire Services, Chief Elliot. Classes were held once weekly and included lectures, hose and ladder evolutions, chemical and their various uses, and fire department tools and their uses. A class in First Aid and artificial resuscitation was also started and this class was largely attended by the members of the C.A.T.S. an newlyformed volunteer Womans Organization. The membership of the auxiliary fire service increased to some 80 members in 1942, with ten members of the C.A.T.S. being attached to the fire services, and participating in every phase of the work.

A019.2.7 Pg. 175

In this excerpt from 1941, we are introduced to two organizations. The Civilian Defense Committee A.R.P., or the Air Raid Precautionary, was a civilian defense organization created by the federal government to prepare civilians for an attack. Roles for volunteers included auxiliary fire fighters, fire-aid roles like driving ambulances and general care for casualties, and auxiliary police. The efforts of this organization were to train civilians for any situation.

What stood out to me in this passage was C.A.T.S., described as a newly formed volunteer women’s organization. C.A.T.S., or the Canadian Auxiliary for Territorial Service, was based off the British Auxiliary Territorial Service (A.T.S.). A Globe and Mail article from May 18, 1945 states that C.A.T.S. serve in any useful capacity to any branch of the Service anywhere. It went on to list the work these women participated in: transport, A.R.P., food administration, welfare, and clerical activities. Through this 1941 passage, some of the C.A.T.S. members were auxiliary fire fighters.

Civilian Defense Firefighters 1942. Four women are standing in the front row. Oshawa Fire Department Collection, Oshawa Museum archival collection (A019.2.275).

The excerpt from the fire department shows us a snapshot of what home life was like for civilians during the war and the incredible volunteer legacy that women had.

Profiling: George Kenneth Lancaster

By Sara H., Summer Student

As my summer at the museum is wrapping up, it has been the perfect time to reflect on my time at the museum and how much I have learned about museums and Oshawa’s history.  My last blog post talked about past industries in Oshawa that were featured on the  Discover Historic Oshawa website.  When looking through the website to find places to talk about, I came across the entry for the Lancaster Hotel.       

Commercial Hotel, c. 1915; Oshawa Museum archival collection (A982.46.4)

Lancaster Hotel, c. 1978; Miles Digital Collection, Oshawa Museum archival collection

Last summer, I was the Heritage Engagement Intern at the McLaughlin Library.  When I was learning about the Oshawa City Directories, Nicole, the awesome Local History Librarian, gave me the name “Lancaster” to look up. The directories collection covers many years, but it was not until 1936 that I came across “Lancaster.”  Charles Lancaster was listed as the president of the Commercial Hotel, located at 27-29 King St. W.; his wife, Ellen was also listed, as well as Kenneth and Reginald G. who lived at the same address.  In 1941, Kathleen N. was listed as a stenographer at General Motors and as living at the same address.  Kenneth’s name disappeared between 1937-1943, but I didn’t think much of it as I assumed he moved away.  In 1944 however, his name was listed with a new title, RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force).  In 1945, Kenneth’s name was gone but a new name was added, another Charles.  In 1946, Kenneth was still missing, but Charles had married M. Joyce, and Reginald had married Gertrude.  I kept looking through the rest of the directories and noticed other changes with the family, but Kenneth never reappeared.        

• 

• 

1944 Directory (Lancaster entries from 1944 Vernon’s City of Oshawa Directory, Internet Archive) and 1946 Directory (Lancaster entries from 1946 Vernon’s City of Oshawa Directory)

George Kenneth Lancaster was born on May 29, 1918 in Birmingham, England.  His parents were Charles and Ellen Lancaster, and he had two brothers, Reginald Graham and Charles George, and one sister, Kathleen.  The family owned and operated the Commercial Hotel from 1936-1975, and changed the name to Lancaster Hotel in 1957.  Kenneth Lancaster attended Oshawa Collegiate & Vocational Institute from 1932-1937 for Junior Matriculation (high school diploma), and from 1937-1938 for a 1-year special commercial certificate. Kenneth was a professional magician and a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. His hobbies included skiing, swimming and photography.  He worked as a commercial traveller (travelling salesman) for Carlton Cards in Toronto from 1938 until October 1941 when he was called up to the R.C.A.F.

G.K. Lancaster photo (Photo of George Kenneth Lancaster, submitted by Operation Picture Me on Canadian Virtual War Memorial)

I figured that Kenneth was probably in his early 20s and enlisted to fight in the Second World War.  I assumed he studied and maybe worked at the Lancaster Hotel for a bit before going off on his own and working at Carlton Cards.  His temporary absence from 1937-1943 worried me, but it made sense that he moved or started his training during that time.  Seeing his name again in 1943-1944 was a relief, but I did have a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that something else caused his disappearance. Once I searched his name, “George Kenneth Lancaster,” the first search result I was met with was a page from Canadian Virtual War Memorial.  Flying Officer George Kenneth Lancaster, son of Charles and Ellen Lancaster, was killed in action on June 13, 1944 at the age of 26.  Kenneth is buried at the Poix-de-Picardie Churchyard in France with the rest of the crew.  Their names are Flying Officer John Frederick Wyllie, Flying Officer John Samuel Ritchie, Flying Officer George Kenneth Lancaster, Pilot Officer Douglas Idris Davies, Pilot Officer James Edward Byers, Pilot Officer Mungo William Couper, and Sergeant William Duncan. 

I found a copy of Kenneth’s World War II Record and Service File on Ancestry, and through these I was able to create a more complete picture of his life.  I saw the forms he had filled out, complete with his signature, and one where he listed his hobbies useful to the R.C.A.F. as “professional magician and photography.”  I saw the forms where he listed his father as who to contact in case of causality and his mother as the sole beneficiary of his will.  I saw the forms that confirmed who his siblings were, who his parents were, where he attended school and where he lived.  And finally, I saw the report created concerning his death and the letters sent to his parents notifying them of the renumbering of Kenneth’s grave and awarding their son the Operational Wings and Certificate in recognition of the gallant services rendered by Kenneth. 

I found out that we both attended the same high school, albeit 81 years apart, and lived in Oshawa.  Kenneth was 26 when he died, and many of his crew members were around the same age, which is close to the age of my friends and I.  Even though I did the majority of my research last summer, reviewing it and finding out more information about Kenneth, the crew and his family made me think more about what life was like during the Second World War and how families, like mine and Kenneth’s, would have had to deal with it and the constant stream of loss.  Even though I have no connection to the Lancaster family, I still felt a great deal of sadness upon learning about Kenneth’s death and I cannot imagine what his family must have felt when they learned.  This experience made me realize that you can make connections with individuals even with the barrier of history in between; and even though the hotel is no longer standing, the lives and stories of the people who lived and worked there are still available to us.    

Lancaster Book of Remembrance Page (George Kenneth Lancaster’s page in Oshawa’s Book of Remembrance, Oshawa Public Libraries Heritage Collection)

---

Resources consulted:

Ancestry.com. Canada, World War II Records and Service Files of War Dead, 1939-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Service Files of the Second World War―War Dead, 1939–1947. Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Canada. George Lancaster file, pages 153-210. Accessed from: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9145/images/44485_83024005549_0573-00153?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=17b1eb71bc87746257e717e899cac81f&usePUB=true&_phsrc=kIK8&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_gl=1*16ykklw*_ga*MjAwMjk3NTQ2Ny4xNjU5NDQyOTM1*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY1OTQ0MjkzNS4xLjEuMTY1OTQ0MzMwNC4w&_ga=2.22429499.1230264848.1659442937-2002975467.1659442935&pId=202

Canadian Virtual War Memorial – https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2847022

Commonwealth War Graves – https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2847022/george-kenneth-lancaster/

Discover Historic Oshawa: Lancaster Hotel – http://discoverhistoricoshawa.com/listings/lancaster-hotel/

Find a Grave –
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56199788/george-kenneth-lancaster
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/233697106/charles-lancaster
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/231977253/reginald-g-lancaster

Graves Registration Report, Commonwealth War Graves – https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2847022/george-kenneth-lancaster/#&gid=1&pid=1

Oshawa’s Book of Remembrance, Oshawa Public Libraries Heritage Collection – https://images.ourontario.ca/oshawa/details.asp?ID=3688171&n=1 

Oshawa City Directories –
https://archive.org/details/vernonscityofoshawadirectory1944/page/n145/mode/2up
https://archive.org/details/vernonscityofoshawadirectory1946/page/n171/mode/2up

The Red Cross and Knitting for the War Effort

By Lisa Terech, Community Engagement

In May, our Registrar, Kes, wrote about a donation of materials from the Red Cross Society, Durham Branch. Along with the artefacts she highlighted in her blog post, the donation also contained several booklets produced by the Red Cross containing knitting patterns. As many might know, I am an avid knitter and love any mention of historic knitting (I’ll leave links at the end of other blogs I’ve written). I was very excited when Kes let me know that the booklets were scanned and digitized, eager to look at the patterns from decades ago. 

Four booklets were included in this donation: 

• The Canadian Red Cross Society Selected Civilian Knitting Instructions for Women and Children (Compliments of The Yellow Pages of your Telephone Directory) (A022.23.10)
• The Canadian Red Cross Society Knitting Instructions for the Armed Forces (Compliments of The Yellow Pages of your Telephone Directory) (A022.23.11)
• Red Cross Knitting Instructions for War Work, Number 1 For the Services, Issued by The Canadian Red Cross Society, Revised Edition, November 1940 (A022.23.12)
• Red Cross Knitting Instructions for War Work, Number 2 Knitted Comforts for Women, Issued by The Canadian Red Cross Society, November 1940 (A022.23.13)

These booklets were made available by the Red Cross, free of charge, to those who wanted copies. 

For those on the Homefront during the two world wars, there were many ways they contributed to the war effort. Knitting was one such way to contribute. During World War I, patterns from the Red Cross or other sources appeared in local newspapers; a pattern from the Red Cross, for example, was published in the Port Perry Star, while the pattern which appeared in the Ontario Reformer did not list a particular source. The pamphlets in our collection, which included directions for women and children – civilians – reflected a change in the nature of World War II. As stated by the Red Cross, “By the time of the Second World War… warfare had changed: battlefront and Homefront blurred, and civilian lives were routinely endangered.”¹ These booklets for civilians reflect the change in the Red Cross’s mandate, expanding beyond attending to the needs of soldiers and military personnel exclusively.

The quality of the knitted goods had to reach high standards, and pieces might have been rejected or, more often, fixed by other Red Cross volunteers had it not been up to the standards. This might sound harsh, but think about it. When you have a pebble in your shoe, or maybe the seam of your sock isn’t sitting where you want it to, it can be irritating. Imagine wearing knit socks, and there were knots along the sock’s sole, or the toes haven’t been seamed correctly. Soldiers foot health was of great importance, which is why the Red Cross set out such high standards. Novice knitters, fear not. As the Globe and Mail reported in 1941, “The weaving (grafting) of the tip of the toe is a pitfall into which so many kindhearted, anxious-to-do-their bit, loyal knitters stumble; but the Red Cross workers have told me to tell you that if, when you come to the place which invariably trips you up, you will slip the twenty stitches remaining you’re your two needles onto a strand of wool, take the socks to the Red Cross – they will be delighted to finish them for you.”² 

Knitters would send their finished pieces to the Red Cross’s offices on Jarvis Street in Toronto. Here, volunteers would inspect the pieces, such as socks, mittens, scarfs, and sweaters, before sending them to the soldiers overseas. If pieces didn’t reach the high quality standard the Red Cross needed, volunteers could set about fixing the items. One volunteer, Mrs. Gibbett, was interviewed about the work of re-knitting items, and about socks, she commented “I hate to think of the poor boy’s feet after wearing a pair of those [socks with knots along the bottom under the heel and toes]. I rip them back and knit it up again.” Her job was described as ‘Unexciting,’ and even Mrs. Gibbett herself said “It’s not a very attractive job, but it’s got to be done. We can’t let all that wool go to waste, you know.”³

The Whitby Gazette & Chronicle reported in 1940 that the Whitby Red Cross branch was well into their knitting initiatives, and that between October 1939 and March 1940, they had knitted over 1000 pairs of socks for the active services.⁴ Whitby also boasted an instructions committee, headed by Mrs. E Bowman “who gave daily instructions in the making of all knitted garments and correct any mistakes which will not pass instruction.”

For the Oshawa Museum’s Stories from the Homefront project, many shared memories of life in Oshawa during WWII and how they contributed, including participating in salvaging drives, growing their own food in Victory Gardens, donating blood at Red Cross blood donor clinics, and knitting for the forces. Murray McKay remembered “We took up knitting in school. We used to make scarves. Each class would spend one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon,” and Jeannette Mark Nugent recalled, “It was mostly socks that I would knit, perhaps mitts. They were for the servicemen overseas. Sometimes we would put a note in the socks to the servicemen along with our name and address. Although I never received any letters, some friends I knew did hear from servicemen thanking them for the socks.” 

It was estimated that some 750,000 people on the homefront (the majority of which were likely women) produced more than 50 million garments during the Second World War.⁵ Locally, sewing and knitting groups had 1200 women who made nearly 50,000 articles towards the war effort.⁶ There were likely knitters of every skill level pitching in to do their bit. Knitting for the forces was just one way that those on the homefront supported the war efforts during the First and Second World Wars.

---

Here are a few other posts I have written, for those wanting more info on historic knitting:

What’s in a Sock? The World War I Sock

By Lisa Terech, Community Engagement  Those who know me know that I’m an avid knitter.  I started the hobby three years ago, am largely self-taught (thank you YouTube!), and I absolutely adore it.  There is something so satisfying about creating something with a piece of string and two needles. Knowing my affinity for the craft,…

Early Woolen Enterprises in Oshawa

By Lisa Terech, Community Engagement When I’m not sharing the history of Oshawa or giving tours of the site, I can usually be found with knitting needles and yarn in my hands. A voracious knitter with a dangerous yarn shopping habit, I’m rarely cold as I’m usually covered in wool.  Naturally, my interest is piqued…

Street Name Stories – the ‘Knitting’ Streets

By Lisa Terech, Community Engagement Those who know me know that I’m an avid knitter. In fact, in the past I’ve written a blog post about a WWI Sock knitting pattern, I’ve examined some of Oshawa’s early woolen industries, and I’ve done a deep dive into one of those industries, the Empire Woolen Mills, available…

---

References

1. Canadian Red Cross WWII Civilian Knitting Instructions, https://www.redcross.ca/history/artifacts/wwii-civilian-knitting-instructions
2. IR McK,”This and That,” The Globe and Mail, Oct 3, 1940, pg. 9
3. “Reknits Others’ Knitting, Woman’s Job Is Unexciting,” The Globe and Mail, Aug 1, 1944, pg. 10.
4. “Thousand Pairs of Socks Knitted by Whitby Red Cross,” The Gazette and Chronicle, March 6, 1940, page 1.
5. That stat came from the Canadian War Museum: https://www.warmuseum.ca/blog/an-army-of-knitters-in-support-of-the-war-effort/
6. Oshawa Historical Society, Stories from the Homefront, 2004, page ####

Additional Research:

https://www.redcross.ca/blog/2021/4/knitting-through-covid-19-and-through-red-cross-history

https://thediscoverblog.com/tag/canadian-red-cross/

The 1940s One Egg Cake

Since early 2020, grocery store shelves haven’t been as well stocked. During the first COVID-19 lockdown, people were in short supply of toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels and antibacterial cleaning supplies. But this isn’t the first time the world has experienced shortages like this. In the 1970s, due to tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices, there was a gas shortage throughout North America and other countries around the world. The era of rationing that people most remember though, is that during and after World War II.

In 1942, The Government of Canada rationed everyday grocery items and gasoline for civilians. This system of rationing managed with small coupon books distributed to families. By 1943, the Canadian Bankers Association had a system in place whereby shopkeepers deposited ration coupons into the banks that then issued cheques to the shopkeepers.

During the War, the government issued over 11 million ration books throughout the country. Families needed to keep these ration books very safe because if they were lost, it meant going without until they could replace it.

Even though the War had ended, rationing still continued while the world got back on its feet.

For Family Day 2021, the OM took to social media and encouraged our followers to spend some family time together in the kitchen. We shared a cake recipe which is heavily influenced by wartime rationing. The ingredients needed are all things that women would typically have had in their home, regardless of rationing. There are other recipes that are made with much less in terms of what is needed, a true mark of the creativity and ingenuity of the people during the time of rationing.

The recipe served as an advertisement for Swans Down cake flour and Calumet baking powder, but use whatever you have in your kitchen.

---

And here is the recipe, typed out:

One Egg Cake

This recipe appeared in the Toronto Daily Star, 19 Oct 1944, page 18, as an advertisement for Swans Down Cake Flour.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sifted Swans Down Cake Flour (1:1 substitute with all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Calumet baking Powder
• 1/3 cup butter or other shortening (2.5 ounces)
• 1 cup sugar (8 ounces)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, unbeaten
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

• Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt, and sift together three times.
• Cream butter, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy.
• Add egg and beat very thoroughly.
• Add flour, alternately with milk, a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth.
• Add vanilla. Bake in two greased 8-inch layer pans, in moderate oven (375°) for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cover with Sugarless Chocolate Frosting—you’ll find the recipe on the Baker’s Choice package—or with your own favourite Chocolate Frosting.

Where The Streets Get Their Names – Chadburn Street

By Lisa Terech, Community Engagement

A number of streets in Oshawa are named for significant war battles or for Oshawa’s veterans, denoted with a poppy on the street sign. Chadburn Street is one such street. Lloyd Vernon Chadburn was one of Canada’s most decorated pilots of the Second World War.  Chadburn, or “Chad” as he was known to his friends, was only 22 years old when he commanded his first squadron into battle, becoming the youngest flight leader in the history of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Born in Montreal in 1919, Chadburn moved with his parents to Oshawa as an infant, residing on Masson Street.  His father, Thomas, was the owner of Chadburn Motor Company, located at King and Prince Streets in Oshawa. The family later resided in Aurora.

As a teenager, Chadburn worked as a clerk for the Bank of Toronto and as a salesman for the Red Rose Tea Company.  After completing high school, he twice applied to the RCAF but was turned down both times.  By the time the Second World War broke out in 1939, Chadburn was employed by General Motors, driving cars off the assembly line.

In 1940, Chadburn was finally accepted into the RCAF, only a few months before his 21st birthday.  After basic flight training in Toronto and Windsor, he graduated as a pilot officer from the Number 2 Flight Training School in Ottawa.

Chadburn went overseas on October 2, 1940 to join Number 2 RCAF squadron in England.  He made his first operational flight in March 1941, flying the Hawker Hurricane fighter.  A year later he took command of Number 416 squadron in Scotland, becoming the first graduate of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to command a flight squadron.  Chadburn’s leadership won him the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and made his squadron the most successful RCAF fighter group.  One of the squadron’s more daring escapades was providing cover for the Dieppe Raid in 1942, saving hundreds of Allied lives.

Image from: RCAF Memories by 420 Wing RCAF Association, Oshawa Public Library Collection.

In the winter of 1942-43, Chadburn returned to Oshawa, where he received a civic reception and a tour of General Motors during war production.  During this visit, Chadburn gave permission for the Oshawa Air Cadet Squadron to use his name which it still retains today, the only such squadron to be named after an individual.¹

Upon returning to service in Europe, Chadburn commanded the 402 (Winnipeg), 416 (Oshawa), and 118 (RAF) squadrons, flying escort for American bombers.  The bomber crews came to know Chadburn as “The Angel.”  In 60 sorties escorting the bombers, only one of them was ever lost to enemy fire.  To honour his achievements, Chadburn became the first of only four RCAF officers to be decorated with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

In early 1944, following another visit to Canada, this time to promote war bonds on CBC, Chadburn was appointed Wing Commander of Fighter Operations.  At 24 years old, he was the youngest officer to hold that position.  Working behind a desk made Chadburn restless, yearning to be back in the skies.

In June 1944, he was back in the cockpit of a Spitfire warplane, leading the first air assault on D-Day.  The following week however, his fighting came to an end as he was tragically killed in a mid-air collision with another Spitfire.  His body was laid to rest Ranville War Cemetery near Caen, France. He was posthumously awarded the French Croix de Guerre and made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion d’Honneur.

The name Chadburn was not only given to a street in Oshawa, but also given to a lake in Yukon.  It is said that the pilots who served with Chadburn during the war wrote to his mother every Mother’s Day until her death in 1968.

We first see Chadburn Street in Oshawa City Directories in 1950 – there is a simple notation saying 12 new houses, indicating that it is newly named and constructed upon. It is located amongst streets named for World War I battle sites, such as Verdun Road and Vimy Avenue.

---

References:

1. “Chadburn Squadron History” 151 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron website, https://www.chadburn.org/squadron-history/chadburn-squadron; accessed 11/02/20.

Additional References

Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2847750, accessed 11/02/20.

Historical Oshawa Information Sheet, Oshawa Historical Society.

Oshawa Times, Saturday October 10, 1992.

Oshawa Times, March 27, 1987.

“Flying Ace was ‘Real Regular’ Oshawa Boy,” East6; “Aurora Remembers Ideal Fighter Pilot,”Peason Bowerman, North32; Toronto Star, February 28, 1984.

RCAF Memories Scrapbook, from the Local History Collection at the OPL, accessed on 11/02/20 from https://archive.org/details/fta082rcafmemoires/page/n43/mode/2up.