On March 9th, one Pathfinder and one Guider joined other Pathfinders and Rangers at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope for an event called "We Can Do It!". Throughout the day, we explored life and the roles and experiences of women during World War II.
Girl Guiding and the War Effort
Activity #1 Upon arrival, each person had to assemble a box (which would have held a gas mask) and a name tag to wear throughout the day. We also picked up a National Identity Card and Ration Booklet.
We started the day learning a bit about what Guides and Rangers did for the War Effort, including Guide Gift Week in 1940. For Guide Gift Week, Guiding members throughout the British Empire (including Canada) were asked to contribute half a day's salary or income, or raise money doing odd jobs. The goal was to raise enough to purchase two air ambulances. Not only was this goal reached, but enough funds were raised to also buy a lifeboat (later named the Guide of Dunkirk for its roll in rescuing troops from Dunkirk), two mobile canteens for the YMCA, equipment for rest huts for the British Army, furnishing and equipment for the Trefoil Hut in Iceland for use of the Merchant Navy, and 20 motor ambulances for the Royal Navy. Guiding training allowed girls to be seen as very important and capable as they took on roles as nurses, munition workers, aircraft workers, pilots, ambulance drivers and mechanics.
Activity #2 We learned how to tie a 1940s-style Guide tie and then how to use the tie as a sling.
Life on the Home Front
Life changed drastically during the war, especially in Britain. Once war was declared, everyone carried a gas mask and National ID card.
Food Rationing
In 1939, Britain imported 60% of their food, which meant rationing quickly came into effect to make the most of what food they had. Booklets were produced and demonstrations held to help people use rations healthily and effectively. Families had to register with their suppliers (butcher, grocer, market, etc.) for each item and could then only shop at that location as each supplier received sufficient amounts for those registered with them. Rations had to be collected each week as uncollected amounts did not carry over.
Examples of typical rations:
- Bacon or Ham - 4 oz per week for adults, 2 oz for children
- Butter - 2 oz per week for adults, 1 oz for children
- Cheese - 2 oz per week for adults, 1 oz for children
- Eggs - 1 per week for adults, 1 every other week for children
- Powdered Eggs - 2 per week for adults, 1 per week for children
- Milk - 3 1/2 pints per child under 18 (later replaced by powdered milk)
- Sugar - 2 oz per week for adults, 1 oz for children
- Tea - 1 1/2 oz per week for adults (loose leaf)
- Meat - 1s 2d worth, if available [about $5 worth today]
Food Production
The "Dig For Victory" campaign turned empty land over to vegetable production. Vegetables that grow well and can be stored, such as brussel sprouts, potatoes, turnips, cabbage and carrots, were planted across the country. Families also took to raising hens, rabbits and pigs, picking and canning fruits and vegetables, and boiling rose-hips to make a syrup to supplement their Vitamin C intake. Bread became denser as flour is less refined.
Clothing
Clothing styles changed to use less fabric - rising hemlines, narrow lapels, no pockets or cuffs, narrow pant legs. Items such as nylons were simply no longer available. Communities would get together to swap items such as coats that were not being made any more. Everyone was encouraged to "Make Do and Mend", by cutting down adult clothing for children, unraveling sweaters and knitting new garments from the wool, and re-purposing everything they could.
Daily Life
Gasoline is also rationed, so people walk or cycle to get where they need to go, and forego unnecessary travel. Guiding members worked on the War Service Badge, awarded for 96 hours of war-related service. Guides and Rangers helped in many ways, including running creches, entertaining children, collecting sphagnum moss, planting gardens, manning first aid posts and assisting officials.
Evacuation!
With the threat of attack looming, families wanted to get their children to safety. Children from cities were evacuated to the countryside or even by ship to Canada. Some children went on their own, while others went with their entire school, relocating to a different location for the duration of the war. When they reached their destination, evacuees were often met by Guides and Scouts who welcomed them and helped them reach their new home. Each evacuee carried a suitcase or brown paper package of their clothing, ID tags, National Registration Card, and Ration Book.
Activity #3: We split up into smaller groups, each with a set of cards with the names of items that children might bring with them. Our challenge was to choose 20 items, including 6 mandatory items, for a child evacuee to pack.
Activity #4 We all worked together to prepare our lunch, consisting of foods that would have been available with rations - home-made bread, cheese (grated to make it go further), butter, jam, SPAM, canned corned beef, apples, tea (loose leaf), powdered milk, and home-made war cake.
The Battle of Britain
"Never before have so many owed so much to so few" (Winston Churchill)
Operation Sea Lion was launched by the Nazis in July 1940 with the goal of destroying England's airbases in preparation for invasion. Troops were massed in France, across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel, and German aircraft outnumbered Allied forces 4 to 1. Concentrated aerial attacks began in August and continued through September. Britain succeeded in repelling attacks and inflicting damage to enemy planes because they used centralized coordination to determine where each of their fighter squadrons would go, making the best use of their scant resources. Fighter Command was located at Bentley Prior and received intelligence about position of troops, incoming squadrons, and other information and then relayed it onward. Basic radar was used, but could only track planes over the sea. Once plans reached land, radar could no longer be used. 95% of the staff at Bentley Prior were female. Staff used table-sized maps and wooden blocks with information about each allied and enemy squadron, including its identifying number, number of planes and altitude in thousands of feet, to plot the location and movements of aircraft.
Activity #5: We gathered around a plotting map and worked in pairs to read information about aircraft movements. As part of the activity, we had to label and move our plotting blocks around the map and place coloured arrows to indicate sightings and direction of flight. We then discussed how plotters would use the information to determine which squadron to send up against incoming enemy planes.
Communications
A variety of different communication methods and codes were used to send messages and relay information during the war. The Enigma Machine was invented by the Germans and had a code that changed daily. Alan Turing designed an electromechanical machine that could break the Enigma code faster than humans. Before this device came into use, the Admiralty was losing 33 ships per day due to an internal spy who was sending fleet movements and information to the enemy. Codes were used to encrypt messages and Guides and Rangers often acted as messengers as their training including carrying a message in their head and delivering it accurately and they could be trusted to keep what they heard a secret.
Activity #6: Semaphore was part of the Guiding program in the 1930s and 1940s, and was useful for sending messages across distances, from ship to ship, and from ship to shore. We all had a go at signalling different letters and trying to position our arms correctly.
Activity #7: Morse Code was also part of the Guiding program and widely used for telegraph communications. We were able to use buzzers and try to send words between partners.
Activity #8: Many women were employed as code breakers to decipher incoming messages. They would also encrypt outgoing messages so that they would be incomprehensible to anyone without the key! We got to try to decipher numeric codes and shifted alpha-numeric codes.
Activity #9: Our final communications task was to dial a rotary phone - a task that was new to most if not all of the Pathfinders and Rangers! Undaunted, they were shown how to dial the phone and then competed to see who could complete a call the fastest - 16 seconds is the record to beat.
Wartime Employment
During the war women took on non-traditional jobs in order to free men to join the forces fighting in Europe. Women worked became munitions workers, built aircraft, trained as drivers and mechanics, and made other supplies vital to the war effort.
Activity #10: Aircraft, and other metal vehicles and machines, are held together with rivets. Women became expert riveters, with one person putting in Clecos (temporary rivets) to hold the pieces in place while another person came behind removing the Clecos ahead of the riveter. We raced to see which teams could put complete a line of temporary rivets the fastest, and then who could take them out again!
The wings of aircraft are made of several layers, making them both lightweight and durable. Starting with a wood frame, a cover of canvas is attached. The canvas is painted with a substance called ope to make it stronger and waterproof. A layer of aluminum is added, and finally a coat of paint.
Activity #11: To see what the process to build aircraft wings would have been like, we worked in teams to assemble rib wings in the fashion they would have been during World War II.
Women Pilots
The final part of the day was spent learning a bit more about the role of women pilots. Women would ferry planes between bases in Canada and to Newfoundland. One of the Rangers was dressed in the many layers worn by pilots at this time - uniform shirt and jacket, gauntlet gloves, leather fleece-lined hood, goggles, life vest and parachute.
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