With so many men going overseas, the role of women at home changed dramatically.  Thousands of women went to work in factories making everything from munitions to parachutes.  Thousands more volunteered for the Red Cross Transport Corps, the Canadian Women’s Voluntary Services, the Farmettes and Canadian Women’s Army Corps.   

Women at work at McKinnons

At Work

St. Catharines experienced a boom in manufacturing during the war years and to fill the many needed positions, women donned overalls, covered up their hair with the required bandanas and got to work.  Across the city in factories, both large and small, women helped ensure the needed munitions supply orders were completed and that all the needed war supplies reached the troops.  At Thompson Products, employee numbers jumped from 200 pre-war to almost 1,400, with over half being women.  Its peak munitions output reached over 10,000 shells per day.  At McKinnon Industries, employee numbers jumped from 1,800 to 4,200 by 1942, with women making up 25% of the workforce.  Hayes Dana produced parts for trucks, tanks, guns and aircraft with mostly female employees.  At Canadian Brass Works, Esther Riffer became one of the first female company presidents in the country when her father died.  St. Catharines even got its first woman bus driver in 1943 and then, in 1944,  the first woman “motorman” was hired for the city street cars.   

The Canadian Women's Army Corps, 1941-1946

 Volunteering  

Women took on the more traditional roles, but here too, broke ground and pushed the boundaries to serve and help the war effort.  As volunteers, they drove ambulances both at home and overseas, raised money, ran blood clinics and worked at agricultural camps.   

Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC)   

The Canadian Women’s Army Corps, formed in August 1941, was a non-combatant  branch of the Canadian Army.  It was formed  partly as a response to the personnel shortage in the armed services, but it was also in response to the demand of many women who wanted to contribute to the war effort and be taken seriously.   

Most of the CWACs, as they came to be known, served at home, taking on the role of secretaries, clerks, canteen workers, vehicle drivers and many other non-combat military jobs.  Many regular army personel did not like the idea of women serving and their pay reflected that attitude.  CWACs were paid only 2/3 of what the men recieved.  This amount later rose to 4/5.   

Some CWACs served overseas in England and Italy and after VE Day, in Germany.  Aproximately 3000 CWACs served overseas, with a total of over 21,000 Canadian women serving from 1941 to 1946.  The CWACs were disbanded in September 1946.   

Red Cross Volunteers

Red Cross Corps    

During the war, Red Cross volunteers played an essential role in the war effort both at home and overseas.  The St.Catharines branch of the Transport Corps was established in 1941, and it’s group of 105 members was lead by Mary Burgoyne.  The jobs at home were numerous and varied.  They included transporting blood plasma to Toronto, notifying next of kin when servicemen were arriving home, and transporting wounded soldiers for home visits.  The Red Cross was also involved in collecting “Victory Bags”, raising money,  blood donation clinics, packed parcels for POWs and knitted.  In total, 231,000 articles weresent and 28,000 blood donations made.  The city’s Red Cross shop made $20,000 and collected 1.6 million pounds of salvage.  

 The Canadian Red Cross Corp eventually grew to 15,000 members.  From that membership, 641 volunteers served overseas.  Of the St.Catharines members, 20 went overseas as ambulance drivers and 20 left to join the CWACs.  

The Farmettes picking peaches at Buchanan's farm in Grantham in August 1942.

Canadian Women’s Voluntary Services  

Another organization that contributed to the war effort at home was the Canadian Women’s Voluntary Services.  The voluntary services helped to initate, coordinate and be active in all voluntary services.  Members provided first aid, home nursing and attended public functions.  It also had an overseas brigade.  Member Mary Kiddell attended Government House in Ottawa and received a medal and citation for her work.   

Farmettes  

A unique group of volunteers in St. Catharines were the Farmettes, who helped to keep our agriculture industry producing during the war years.  The Farmettes picked fruit at harvest time.  They were supervised by Dorthea Jackson, who was appointed the women’s employment advisor with the Department of Labour and Unemployment Commission in Ottawa in 1942.   

To learn more about Women during the War, click here to view several films from the National Film Board.   

Photo credit – St. Catharines – Canada’s Canal City –
reprinted April, 1993 – John N. Jackson/Sheila M. Wilson