Community in Transition: Red Deer in the Second World War
Michael Dawe
Reprinted with permission of the author and publisher of For King and Country: Alberta in the Second World War;)
While the Board of Trade was voicing its concerns and opinions, the Federal Government passed the National Resources Mobilization Act which authorized compulsory selective service for home defence and civil employment. With the adoption of these new measures, the Board of Trade's mass meeting was changed into a "Stop Hitler" rally which sought to marshal public support for the war effort rather than to express grievances against the government.
The rally was an outstanding success and reflected the enormous readiness of the townspeople to "do their bit" for the war effort. A special appeal for funds to buy an ambulance for the Red Cross had a strong response, and nearly $2,000 was soon raised for the project. Service clubs such as the Kinsmen undertook to promote the sale of war-savings certificates, while the Rotary Club decided to raise funds for refugee relief.
One special community endeavour began in early July 1940, when Red Deer welcomed the first of its "war guests." These were usually young children, sometimes accompanied by their mothers, who were being evacuated from England as the great Battle of Britain was about to erupt. On one occasion, a ship carrying some children bound for central Alberta was torpedoed by a German submarine. Fortunately, all of the young passengers were rescued.
As the summer progressed, the 78th Battery was reorganized as a unit of the Non-Permanent Active Militia and another round of recruitment began. A decision also was made to form a Red Deer Battalion of the Veterans Volunteer Reserve. Within a brief period of time, a number of First World War veterans joined this home guard unit.
On 7 August 1940 the Federal Government announced the construction of a militia training centre in Red Deer. For the 2500 residents of the city, the scope of this facility was staggering. More than 30 buildings were to be constructed on a 20-hectare site northeast of 55th Street and Waskasoo [45th] Avenue. Thirty-two officers and another 150 non-commissioned officers and men were to be stationed at the camp. As well, up to one thousand men were to be accommodated during a four-week training period.
Work on the camp began almost immediately. Soon nearly two hundred tradesmen were employed on the site. With an even larger number of men working on the Penhold airport, and others employed on such civilian projects as the new wing of the Municipal Hospital and the new public Intermediate School, a critical shortage of labour developed.
Moreover, the new militia centre meant that the city had to provide extensive sewer, water and electrical-power hookups. With the cost of these utility installations exceeding $15,000, the city was forced to borrow money from the banks to meet current expenses for the first time since 1924.
Throughout the fall, the community hastily prepared for the imminent onslaught of soldiers. A coordinating committee of fifteen organizations was formed to arrange for the soldiers' entertainment. The Citizens' Band was resurrected after being dormant for over two years. The Public School Board, after some debate, agreed to let the soldiers use the gymnasium in the Intermediate School on one night a week. A member of the Board of Trade suggested that with the large numbers of newcomers expected in Red Deer shortly, perhaps the time had come to have all the streets and avenues clearly marked and the houses numbered. The aldermen decided, however, that with all the extraordinary expenses they were currently facing, this would be one extra project that they could not afford.
Despite all the activity engendered by the new militia-training centre, the community continued to busy itself with such home-front efforts as the National Victory Loan campaign. The city and military officials decided that with the new reports of the bombing raids on England, Red Deer should be "bombed" with leaflets promoting the bond drive. Unfortunately, the scheme was not a great success. Most of the pamphlets were blown well north of the city by the wind and only a few fell on their intended targets.
In early October 1940, the militia-training centre was finally ready to be opened. However, as often happens with well planned and rehearsed events, there was chaos when 200 men showed up one day earlier than expected. The military authorities spent a frantic evening trying to find bunks for all of the men and enough rations to feed them supper. Eventually, all of the snags were straightened out. The next day, the first group of 900 men received their medical examinations and began their one-month period of training.3
As the militia camp became fully operational, its impact was felt throughout the City and the Village of North Red Deer. Restaurants found it necessary to expand their premises and the local hotels enlarged their beer parlours. A number of the officers and permanent staff at the camp decided to bring their families to Red Deer to live. As a result, although several new residences were built, there was a growing shortage of housing. School enrolment also rose sharply, and the Public School Board found itself with full classrooms despite the opening of the new Intermediate School.
In the second week of November, the first class of soldiers at the militia centre finished their prescribed period of training with an air raid drill. A few days later the next group of 1000 trainees started their stint at the camp. Their arrival in Red Deer coincided with the sudden appearance of winter; several centimetres of snow fell and temperatures plunged to -300 C. While the cold weather allowed the City's staff to flood three open-air skating rinks, it also made life miserable for many of the soldiers. A round of 'flu swept through the camp and several dozen men were laid up in the camp hospital, which did not yet have all of its furnaces hooked up.
Disease was not the only unsettling occurrence at the camp. In December 1940, four men were charged under the Criminal Code with pilfering $5 worth of "regimental necessities" from the camp kitchen. Their haul included two kilograms of halibut, a five-kilogram pail of drippings and a hard old piece of cheese. The defence lawyer agreed that the food was unfit for human consumption, but the prosecutor contended that the cheese at least could have been used with macaroni. The men were convicted and given heavy fines.4
In retrospect, the Second World War was a major turning point in Red Deer's history. While the First Great War had been the benchmark between the pioneer boom years and the troubles of the inter-war era, the Second World War marked the transition from a small, quiet parkland community to a burgeoning modern centre. Old Red Deer was fading into the past, and a new city was taking its place.
Notes
3. Red Deer Advocate, 23 October 1940.
4. Red Deer Advocate, 18 December 1940.