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;)
Schoolchildren arrived for class only to be dismissed for a three-day holiday. Some businesses opened for a brief time, but many remained closed. The authorities also had the government liquor store and the beer parlours shut down for two days.
Everywhere there was great jubilation. Many people gathered on the streets and large numbers flocked to their churches for services of thanksgiving. On 8 May 1945, the official V-E Day [Victory in Europe Day], civic celebrations were held. A large parade proceeded down Ross Street to the City Square where, despite a bitterly cold wind, a crowd of more than a thousand people had gathered to hear the speeches of local dignitaries.
Although the hostilities in Europe had ceased, the fight against Japan continued. A number of soldiers and airmen returned to Red Deer on thirty-day leaves pending re-assignments to new stations in the Pacific theatre of war. At the same time, demobilization work also continued. The CW AC canvassed for more recruits to help with the enormous load of paperwork generated by mass demobilization. The old A-20 Camp officially became the Canadian Vocational Training Centre No.8 on 14 May 1945, and preparations were made to start on trades instruction for recently discharged men. In July, the Federal Government began building 25 houses, each on one-half hectare lots, for the returned servicemen.
On 8 August 1945, the Red Deer Advocate reported that on the preceding Sunday, a new awesome weapon had been used on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. While the nature of this new "atomic" bomb was not yet clearly understood, the editor of the paper predicted that "a new epoch in both war and peace is at hand."11
On 14 August 1945, word was received that Japan had surrendered. Across the city, the municipal siren, the CPR train whistles, and countless automobile horns broke out in a din of celebration. People gathered in the downtown area and City officials quickly organized a special street dance on Gaetz Avenue. On the evening of 15 August, the official V -J Day, a service of thanksgiving was held on the City Square. Afterwards, another outdoor public dance was held. For those who were more sedentary, the Capital Theatre showed the movie Brother Rat which starred an actor named Ronald Reagan and his wife Jane Wyman.
For the rest of the summer and into the fall, the transition from wartime to peacetime continued. Special gatherings were held to welcome and honour the returning veterans. New fund-raising and clothing drives were held to provide emergency relief supplies to the war-torn regions of Europe. In Mid-October, the Ninth Victory Loan campaign commenced and a new record of $770,000 was raised.
The military authorities began holding huge auction sales to dispose of the massive quantities of surplus materials. After the closure of the RCAP's No.2 Technical Signals Unit which had been repairing and rebuilding radio instruments at Penhold, there were widespread reports of the destruction of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. The air force replied that only material which was "no longer valuable" was being destroyed.12
Meanwhile, the proposal to install natural gas service was revived, and on 24 September 1945 the local ratepayers overwhelmingly approved a new by-law granting the franchise to Northwestern Utilities. A proposal by the Councillors of North Red Deer that the Village be amalgamated with the City did not meet with as easy a response. There was general agreement on the desirability of such a move, but there were serious reservations about the costs of installing utility services north of the river and about who would be responsible for paying for them.
There was also great concern throughout the community about the worsening housing situation. Accommodations had been scarce throughout most of the war, but with the return of the servicemen and the arrival of a number of newcomers, the situation was becoming desperate. Twenty suites were created in the old barracks huts at the Canadian Vocational Training Centre. However, this was a stop-gap measure which only slightly alleviated the crisis.
The housing situation reflected the paradox of the war for Red Deer. Prosperity and progress had returned to the community, and there had been the first significant increase in population in more than thirty years. Although the city's residents had dreamed of such a development for a very long time, the wartime shortages and restrictions actually had hampered the ability of the community to absorb the growth. Hardships had come with the long-sought boom.
The benefits of the wartime economy had also been accompanied by considerable dislocation and grief. More than a thousand men and women from Red Deer and district had disrupted their lives to go and serve their country. Tragically, 52 of them had lost their lives, and many more had been wounded. The human costs of the war had been heavy.
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
11. Red Deer Advocate, 8 August 1945.
12. Red Deer Advocate, 24 August 1945.