City of Toronto   *
HomeContact UsHow Do I...? Advanced search Go
Living in TorontoDoing businessVisiting TorontoAccessing City Hall *
*
*
 
Toronto Archives
   
Research
blue bullet Description of holdings
blue bullet Reference services
blue bullet Research guides
blue bullet Search database
blue bullet Online maps
   
blue bullet Forms
blue bullet Policies and procedures
   
Exhibits and Education
blue bullet Educational programming
blue bullet Recent additions
blue bullet Web exhibits
   
Conservation
blue bullet Preservation management
   
blue bullet Links
   
blue bullet Contact us
                      
*
*
* *

Toronto Remembers the Home Front, 1939-1945

 *
   


World War II affected every Canadian civilian, every day. For almost six years, the war touched every aspect of life, from the foods and consumer goods available, to the vehicles seen on the streets, to the work men and women did, to the advertisements in the newspapers. Though the fighting took place on another continent, the “Home Front” in Canada gave everyone opportunities to contribute what they could. In 2005, the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, we can look at these photographs, and remember.

 
   


Pages 1  2  3  4  5

 

  
   



Dorothy McCabe, Queenie Edward, and Edith Allen knitting in a Red Cross workroom
March 2, 1943
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 83771

Knitting was a popular way for civilians (including men and children as well as women) to directly and personally help the men and women overseas. Basic articles of clothing such as socks, scarves, and sweaters were always useful. The Red Cross also produced a booklet of patterns for specific uses, including mitts designed for those using rifles or radio equipment, caps to be worn under steel helmets, and amputation covers and bed socks for convalescents.

Bernice Coulter soldering airplane parts, DeHavilland factory
June 21, 1943
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 83188

Canada’s Governor General, the Earl of Athlone, visits Massey-Harris in Weston
December 10, 1942
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 82762
A woman works in front of a large pile of guns.

Violet Carlson,
Small Arms Manufacturing
October 13, 1943
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 87506
A man works on wiring while squatting in an airplane's oval cockpit

Ernest Johnson installing instruments, De Havilland factory
January 31, 1943
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 83181
The Toronto area was a centre for war industries, including the construction of ships and planes, weapons, and munitions. Factories supported the war effort in additional ways, by holding Victory Bond rallies, providing land for victory gardens, and holding morale-building events such as dances, visits by celebrities, and Miss War Worker contests.

Three women are gathered in a living room. They are all wearing skirts, but one wears a jacket draped over her shoulders, the second wears a suit with jacket fastened in front, and a third has a shawl over her dress.

Marjorie Porter, Margaret Taylor, and Marion Coulter model warm clothing
October 29, 1943
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 87718

Two women standing on a sidewalk bend over to hold their feet and legs, and make faces to show how much their feet hurt. Another woman laughs as she walks past them.

Women display poorly made shoes that make their feet hurt
July 31, 1944
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 91774
In 1943, Toronto experienced an extreme coal shortage. At the same time, Canada’s Fuel Controller requested that all Canadian homes be kept at 65º Fahrenheit (18.3º Celsius) to conserve fuel. The Globe and Mail ran a feature suggesting what to wear in a chilly house: woollen suits and dresses, trousers, jackets and shawls, and moccasins or knitted slippers. The shortage of wool and, particularly for children, shoes, was a further challenge.


A customer purchases something at a counter stacked with bags of coffee. The cashier is tearing a ticket out of a book of ration stamps.

Buying food at Eatons using ration stamps
March 30, 1943
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 84160

A man and a woman rake and dig a rough patch of soil. A baby carriage stands next to them.
Mr. And Mrs. Sandy Stefanik at their Victory Garden plot in the Fleet Street gardens
May 9, 1940
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 65863
A man sits on the dirt with a basket in his lap. He appears to be cutting potatoes in pieces to plant.

Augustine Di Tourneso at his Victory Garden plot in the Fleet Street gardens
May 9, 1940
Photographer: John H. Boyd
City of Toronto Archives
Fonds 1266, Item 65864
 
     
   


Pages 1  2  3  4  5      Next...
  
* *



 
*Toronto maps | Get involved | Toronto links | 311 | Comment | Subscribe | Privacy statement
*		 © City of Toronto 1998-2013