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;)
During the fall of 1943 Red Deer began to take measures to avoid repeating the previous winter's fuel crisis. More than 100 cords of firewood and 150 tons of coal were purchased as emergency supplies. The community also began to plan for the eventual end of the war; in November, the Central Alberta Post-War Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Committee was formed. There was a proposal to build a special housing development for veterans, and the idea of constructing a memorial community hall was also discussed and debated.
While people were looking forward to a future of peace, there were continual reminders that the war was far from over. The RCAF was conducting massive nighttime bombing raids over Germany, and the Canadian Army was embroiled in the invasion of Italy. The Red Deer Advocate reported that six more local residents had lost their lives in the service of their country, and a number of others had been wounded. On the home front, Tuesdays and Fridays were designated as meatless days. The newspaper had to suspend all new subscriptions because of a scarcity of newsprint.
As the year drew to a close, politics again became a burning issue in the community. Red Deer's Independent Member of the Legislative Assembly, Alfred Speakman, died suddenly and a by-election was called for 16 December 1943. In contrast to the bitter contest of 1940, Social Credit had become somewhat more popular during the following war years. Fewer people viewed it as a radical and dangerous movement. Moreover, Premier Aberhart had died earlier in the year and had been replaced by the young Ernest Manning. The by-election results confirmed that the partisan tides had turned; the Social Credit candidate, David Ure, was elected by a margin of 185 votes.
There was also a major change in the realm of municipal government. On 31 December 1943, the five rural municipalities in central Alberta were amalgamated into a new, larger district known as the Municipal District of Penhold. Early in 1944, the new councillors decided that the MD of Red Deer was a more appropriate name and voted to locate their administrative offices in the city. A problem of finding affordable office space was sol ved when Red Deer City Council agreed to turn a corner of the building into a public women's washroom and to pay the MD's Council $40 a month rent for the convenience.
In the early spring of 1944, the community was caught up in the excitement of some of the best hockey in the history of central Alberta. Red Deer's A-20 Wheelers included two former members of the National Hockey League and others from national championship teams. The opposing clubs in the Central Alberta Garrison Hockey League were of equal calibre, and the playoff games in March 1944 were closely contested and superbly played matches. Unfortunately, the Wheelers lost their last game to the Calgary Currie team by a score of only 2¬I. The men were still local heroes, and the Red Deer Board of Trade subsequently held a lavish banquet to honour them.9
In the late spring, the Federal Government decided that the need for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan had diminished. It announced that 28 flying training schools, including the one at Penhold, would be closed by December 1944. However, for the residents of central Alberta the toll of war continued to rise. Six young airmen from the district were killed in action as were two others serving in the artillery and the navy. Eight RAF trainees from Penhold also lost their lives in crashes during the first five months of the year.
The financial costs of the war remained high, and in May 1944 the Sixth Victory loan appeal commenced. As in the five earlier efforts, Red Deer's contributions greatly surpassed expectations, and a record $365,000 was raised.
On 6 June 1944, a date now remembered as D-Day, the Allied Forces launched the long awaited assault on the coast of Normandy in France, and opened up the second front against the Germans. Over the next several weeks the Canadian, American and British forces were generally victorious, but at a terrible cost. Seven young men from Red Deer and area lost their lives. The Canadian forces as a whole suffered more than 18,000 casualties.
The new successes in France and the continuing victories in Italy gave hope to central Albertans that war would soon be over. The annual Red Deer Fair in August 1944 was dubbed the Victory Year Fair. That September a committee was formed to make the necessary arrangements for Armistice Day celebrations. The hopes for peace proved to be premature, and in December 1944 the German Army launched a major counteroffensive. While the attack was eventually stemmed, it slowed the Allied advance and demonstrated that the Germans were not about to surrender.
As yet another wartime Christmas approached, the volunteers with the war auxiliaries, the Home Comforts Fund and the Red Cross pressed on with their work of sending Christmas parcels to the troops overseas and to those in the prisoner-of-war camps. The official farewells were held for the departing RAF men from Penhold. The personnel at the A-20 Camp held an elaborate Christmas party for 200 children with the highlight being the arrival of Santa Claus in ajeep laden with gifts.
Tragically, in the days leading up to Christmas, word was received that five more local lives had been lost overseas. The Advocate reported that while the usual holiday parties and gatherings were still held, there was a decidedly sombre note to the normally festive events.10
Unfortunately, the first few weeks of the New Year brought little relief from the heart-breaking news. Nine men were killed in battle, three lost their lives in plane crashes and another was taken prisoner of war. Some people recalled the old saying that the outlook is often the blackest just before the dawn.
In late February, there was a reminder that the war was indeed coming to an end. The military authorities announced that the A-20 Camp would soon be closed and that the facility would be turned into a rehabilitation centre for returned servicemen under the Vocational Training programme. As the operations at the Camp wound down, and the RCASC personnel departed, the need for the Knights of Columbus Hut quickly diminished. It too was soon closed and the building was sold to the Red Deer Elks Club.
Throughout the spring of 1945 increasing numbers of veterans returned to their families and friends in central Alberta; at the same time there was the welcome news that some of the paws had been released. The Federal Government launched yet another Victory Bond drive and cajoled the people to help provide the means to finish the war.
By early May 1945 people realized that the fighting in Europe would be ending very shortly. Plans were renewed for the Victory Day celebrations, and early on Monday, 7 May, the long-awaited news finally arrived. Germany had surrendered.
Notes
9. See David Grove, The Puck and I in red Deer, [Red Deer: Adviser Publications, n.d.].
10. Red Deer Advocate, 20 December 1944.