Highlights of the Collection
Themes
Private/Public Lives
Veronica Foster, an employee of the John Inglis Co. Ltd. Bren gun plant, known as "The Bren Gun Girl" poses with a finished Bren gun at the John Inglis Co. plant
e000760403 Source
Veronica (Ronnie) Foster, employee of the John Inglis Co. and known as "The Bren Gun Girl" having a beer at the Glen Eagle Country Club
e000760447 Source
Veronica Foster, an employee of John Inglis Co., known as "The Bren Gun Girl", inspects a lathe at the John Inglis Co. Bren gun plant
e000760409 Source
Two female Dominion Arsenals Ltd. munitions plant workers cross the river to Qu ébec by ferry
e000760779 Source
The Perry Sisters, employed at the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. plant, armed with rake, watering can and pitchfork, help look after the vegetable garden where they are working
e000760773 Source
French-Canadian women Dominion Arsenals Ltd. munitions workers enjoying a leisurely day sun-tanning
e000760769 Source
The War changed many aspects of social and work life for Canadians, and perhaps most significantly for women. The diversity of roles women had during the War are highlighted by a number of series.
The series named "Mrs. Jack Wright" illustrates the life of a mother who also works in a factory. In some instances, the photo caption depicts her as a wife and mother, she is shown tucking her children into bed, enjoying a day at the beach with them, purchasing groceries or visiting with a neighbour. In other photographs, she is unnamed and is attributed as simply a "factory worker" or a "Canadian mother" leaving her children at a daycare while she goes to work. The fact that one person is depicted in different roles with different captions raises interesting questions. For instance, what was the purpose of these photographs? Where were they distributed? Why was there a subject title of "Canadian Families" - was Mrs. Wright's role typical for many married women in the War?
Another interesting series features Veronica Foster, or "The Bren Gun Girl" whose after-work activities are documented, including going to a factory-sponsored dance. Here she models a hat and evening clothes in preparation for the evening out, to jitterbug with a male colleague.
A series of images taken by photographer Harry Rowed provide a personal and intimate view of the day-to-day routine of the Perry sisters, Céline, Hélène and Roberte, all employed at the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. munitions plant in Quebec. They include a trip home to Sainte-Foy, and a romantic date that Céline and Roberte have with their boyfriends, Private Leopold Desjardins and Corporal Pierre Levasseur. Rowed provided a wartime snapshot into the lives of these women, as well of some of their friends and associates. Further, he showed some of the workplace cultural values and differences between these workers in Quebec and those only a few hundred miles away in Toronto.
... Mrs. Jack Wright
Mrs. Jack Wright relaxes with a book in her living room at the end of the day
e000761757 Source
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... wife and mother
Mrs. Jack Wright and her sons Ralph and David eating breakfast at the table
e000761766 Source
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... tucking her children into bed
Mrs. Jack Wright reads her two sons Ralph and David a bed-time story
e000761765 Source
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... day at the beach
Mrs. Jack Wright and her two sons Ralph Wright and David Wright enjoying a day at the beach
e000761749 Source
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... purchasing groceries
Mrs. Jack Wright and her two sons Ralph Wright and David Wright assist her with her shopping
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... neighbour
Mrs. Jack Wright and her two sons Ralph and David visit with a neighbour in the front of their house
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... "factory worker"
Mrs. Jack Wright boards a bus on her way to work at a munitions factory
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... "Canadian mother"
A Canadian mother, Mrs. Jack Wright says goodbye to her two sons Ralph Wright and David Wright whom she leaves at a Day Nursery while she works at a part-time job
e000761742 Source
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... "The Bren Gun Girl"
Veronica Foster, an employee of John Inglis Co. Ltd. known as "The Bren Gun Girl", preparing to go to a party at the Glen Eagle Country Club
e000760402 Source
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... she models a hat and evening clothes
Veronica Foster, an employee of John Inglis Co. Ltd. known as "The Bren Gun Girl", preparing to go to a party at the Glen Eagle Country Club
e000760421 Source
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... jitterbug
Veronica Foster, an employee of John Inglis Co. Ltd. known as "The Bren Gun Girl", jitterbugging with plant foreman Bill Ward during a party at the Glen Eagle Country Club
e000760450 Source
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... a trip home
The Perry sisters, French-Canadian women workers of the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. plant, enjoy a day off in their home town
e000760784 Source
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... a romantic date
Woman worker for the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. munitions plant has a date with her boyfriend
e000760788 Source
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... cultural values and differences
Woman worker operates a machine at the Dominion Arsenals Ltd. plant in front of a statue of the Sacred Heart
e000760782 Source
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