GECO
The General Engineering Company of Ontario (GECO, pronounced: "Gee-ko") was a
History
In 1940, the Allied War Supplies Corporation (AWSC) contracted General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited to build a fuse filling plant (Project No. 24).[2]: 18 The 172 buildings included a bank, a guardhouse, a medical centre, a cafeteria, changing houses, a chemical lab, a power plant, carpentry shops, and more.[2]: 42, 202, 217 The munitions plant was divided into the 'clean' and 'dirty' side, dividing the area used for handling explosives from that of the safe area.[2]: 41 GECO spanned 345 acres of land.[2]: 51 [1] The construction of the munitions plant cost over $7 million which was more than the initial estimate of $2.25 million.[2]: 51
The GECO plant was overseen by Robert Mclean Prior Hamilton (GECO's president) and his brother Philip Dawson Prior Hamilton (Vice-President of GECO).[2]: 20
A large percentage of GECO employees during World War II were women. Later on during the war most of the employees were women.[2]: 66 [4] The GECO employees who worked with ammunition earned the nicknames "Bomb Girl", "Munitionette", "Fusilier", and "Munitions Gal".[2]: 66 Often the tetryl powder that they worked with resulted in yellowed hair and hands.[2]: 170 This made it easy to spot who worked at GECO. The cotton uniforms the employees wore was specially designed to reduce static and protect skin from the dust from tetryl powder that could cause rashes.[2]: 74 Part of the uniform was a turban or head covering worn to cover the head to prevent accidents with machinery.[2]: 74 When crossing from the 'dirty to the 'clean' side of the factory, the employees were inspected for any prohibited items[5] such as metal or matches.[2]: 71 The employees on the 'dirty' side were also not allowed to wear anything with metal because of the risk of an explosion.[2]: 70
Workers at GECO had the option of joining the GECO Recreation Club, using the laundry services, the daycare services and gardening in the Victory Gardens.[2]: 187–188, 212, 215, 217 GECO published an employee magazine called the GECO Fusilier.[2]: 208 GECO employees were also encouraged to participate in Miss War Worker that was sponsored by the Toronto Police Amateur Athletic Association.[2]: 213 GECO hosted its own pin-up contest in 1943.[2]: 215
Visitors to the GECO munitions factory included: Mary Pickford, Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, and Andrew McNaughton.[2]: 227–228
After
References
- ^ a b c d Dickson, Barbara. "Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo". Barbara Dickson.
- ^ ISBN 9781459731165.
- ^ "WWII GECO Women Scarborough". Heritage Toronto.
- ^ Black, Alex (August 2018). "Bomb Girls with Barbara Dickson". Juno Beach and Beyond. Juno Beach Centre.
- ^ Collins, Robert. "When mother was a war worker". Maclean's.
- ^ McMurtry, Alice. "The history of the Scarborough munitions plant where women made bombs during WW2". BlogTO. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ Dickson, Barbara. "GECO Today". Barbara Dickson.
- ^ General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation (28 May 2019). "Proposed Official Naming of Future Park on Cleanside Road, Scarborough" (PDF). City of Toronto. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - .
Further reading
- "War on the Homefront". City of Toronto. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- "General Engineering Company (Canada) Ltd records". City of Toronto Archives. Records held at the City of Toronto Archives.
External links
- "General Engineering Company (Canada) fonds". Archives of Ontario.
- "Wartime Production". Archives of Ontario.
- "Records relating to the General Engineering Company (Canada)". Toronto Public Library.
- "G.E.C.O". Abandoned Places Ontario. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- "Bomb Girls with Barbara Dickson". Juno Beach Centre. 2018-08-01. Retrieved 2021-04-06.