VOL. III
SEPTEMBER 1943
NO. 3
Published at the Hespeler, Ontario Plant of Dominion Woollens and Worsteds, Limited
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
W-1443 Pte. Helen Sault
Meredith Barracks
562 Talbot Street,
London, Ont.
Helen Sault was born in Hespeler on May 6th, 1913. She received her education at the Hespeler Public School.
On leaving school Helen became a members of the D. W. & W. staff in June 1927. She started out in our Warping and Drawing-In Department as a drawer-in, and aside from a few months as a sample clerk, she remained at this work until the time of her enlistment.
Helen was very fond of sports, especially hockey and baseball. For a number of years she played defence for the well known Preston Rivulettes hockey team, and was with them when they won the Dominion Championship for several years in succession. As a member of the team Helen has travelled for championship play-offs to Winnipeg, Charlottetown and Edmonton, where they met their only defeat. As well as hockey Helen took a keen interest in softball and was a member of the Preston team for several years. She is carrying on her softball with the C.W.A.C. Team in London.
Helen enlisted with the Canadian Women’s Army Corps at London on September 21st, 1942, and was placed in the ordnance stores for a short time. She was transferred to Kitchener for one month’s basic training, and then returned to London where she is now taking a course in accounting.
Housing Shortage Becomes Acute
Production Suffers for Lack of Living Quarters
The most urgent production problem today is living quarters. Idle machines and understaffed shifts forecast a shortage of woollen goods not only for the Services but now, almost as important, for civilians as well. This time there is no shortage of material to keep production going. The shortage is housing for workers.
It is not because people do not want to work in Hespeler. D. W. & W. has built up an enviable reputation as a good place to work and is one of the few establishments in Canada that can engage all the workers required to run at capacity. And a large number is required. Jobs are available now for two hundred girls and Fred Hutchings guarantees to find two hundred if someone provides a place for them to live.
The employment manager that sticks his neck out like that is a rare bird these days but D. W. & W. has something to offer that few can compete with. First of all Hespeler is just like home. Everyone knows everyone else and it doesn’t take two or three hours a day to get to work and home again. Secondly, the reputation of Gordon Hall, Hillside Lodge and Nelson House has spread all over Western Ontario. And last but not least working conditions at D. W. & W. are good. If you don’t believe that take a look at the absentee record—never more than five percent at the worst when factories all over the country were moaning about ten percent and twenty percent.
This story looked so good that it was told to Wartime Housing who, when they were convinced that it could be backed up by facts, decided to lend a hand. They are considering a government owned and operated residence for one hundred and fifty girls at the corner of Cedar and Maple. Plans are not sufficiently advanced to furnish more details but it is hoped that the production problem is on the way to solution.
Swan Dive
Della Fulcher, (Filling Winding, night shift) does a beautiful swan dive. She can wind filling too.
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
A37818 Pte. James Reid
A/T Support Coy.
Highland Light Infantry of Canada,
Canadian Army Overseas.
James Reid was born in Hockley on October 4th, 1920. He joined the D. W. & W. staff in September, 1936, and enlisted from the Worsted Twisting Department on September 13th, 1940, with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada. He has been overseas since July, 1941.
R89950 LAC. John Reid
R.C.A.F. Station
Overseas.
John Reid was born in Toronto on March 8th, 1917. He joined the D. W. & W. staff in April, 1932, and enlisted from the Wool Scouring Department on April 28, 1941, with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He has been overseas since June 1943.
A56804 Cpl. James Stark
No. 4 Plt., “A” Coy.,
No 6 (T) B.T.C.
Stratford, Ont.
James Stark was born in Hespeler on July 28th, 1914. He joined the D. W. & W. staff in September, 1935, and enlisted from the Worsted Drawing Department on June 12, 1941. At present he is stationed at the Basic Training Centre in Stratford.
LETTERS FROM THE BOYS
I would like to take this opportunity to send you my belated thanks and appreciation for the copies of the D. W. & W. News which I have been receiving since I left the plant about a year ago. I have looked forward to getting my copy every month as it formed a definite link with Hespeler and people I knew and worked with.
I think that Sgt. Fuller’s remarks in a recent issue were rather unfair and if I were a part of your newspaper staff I certainly wouldn’t take them very seriously. He would be the first to know of any changes in the town as he has never been very far away from it. Keep up the good work and don’t let any aspiring young editor try to show you how a paper should be put together.
Yours sincerely,
R169936 LAC. Earl Constant,
No. 6 E.F.T.S., R.C.A.F.
Prince Albert, Sask.
P.S.—As the above Sgt. Is one of my best friends I don’t think he will get too hostile if this happens to appear in your paper. He happened to be the assistant editor of the Flypaper when he was stationed at Jarvis.
The Editor:
Received your copy of the March issue of the “news” and was very pleased to get it. It makes you feel as if you were still back among them on the old job. But before long I hope to be back again to visit you.
Give my regards to everyone in the Weaving Department and tell them to keep up the good work. They are doing a swell job.
I will sign off now but still remain a loyal reader.
Yours truly,
V-37113 A B John H. Cunnington,
80th Can. Flotilla,
Naval Party 820,
c/o C.F.M.O, London, Eng.
The Editor:
Once again I thank you for the cigarettes and also the paper which I am receiving regularly. We appreciate news and Canadian cigarettes very much. It sure is nice to read the paper and find out what is going on back home.
The weather over here is fine at the present time. The flowers and scenery are also very lovely.
On my last leave I was up in London. I saw Bert Jardine and we had quite a chat together. It sure is nice to meet someone you know when you are so far from home.
I went to see Edgar Wilkins when he arrived in this country and he was feeling fairly good except for a slight cold from his experience.
Well friends I must close, but before I do I want to thank you again for the cigarettes and the paper,
Yours sincerely,
Can. R165585
LAC. Strachan L.E.
412 Squadron,
R.C.A.F. Overseas.
SAVE FUEL
D. W. & W. ENLISTMENTS
Army…………………….103
Air force ………….…… 70
Navy………..…………… 11
__________________________
184
Industrial Softball Reaches Playoffs
Final standing of teams:
On September 7th the four remaining teams commenced to battle it out for the trophy donated by John From. The winning team will retain the cup.
Haks and Merchants start the ball rolling, followed next evening by Toppers and Combines. This is a two out of three games series. It should be Toppers and Haks in the finals, but anything can happen in the playoffs. We already have had one upset.
The two winning teams in this series will meet in the finals, best three out of five games. Should the Toppers and Haks meet, it will be a close hard fought series. There should be enough come out of it to keep the hot stove league going all winter.
Pte. Ken McLaughlin Now Serving in Sicily
ACTIVE SERVICE ADDRESSES
Meredith Barracks,
565 Talbot St.,
London, Ont.
A106270 Pte. George Armstrong,
5 Trp. A Bty. L.A.A.
C & A.A. Arty. (A-23) T.C.,
Elkins Barracks, M.P.O. 615,
Halifax, N.S.
B63269 Tpr. Donald Bruce,
8 Princess Louise’s (N.B.) Hussars,
5th Canadian Armoured Regt.,
C Squadron,
Canadian Army Overseas.
A105843 Pte. John Durnford,
B Coy., No. 3 C.I.R.U.,
Canadian Army Overseas.
A105010 Pte. Jack Hortop,
No. 1 C.S.R.U.,
Canadian Army Overseas.
J27486 P/O Robt. Hughes-Games,
R.C.A.F. Overseas.
R256019 AC1. Douglas Johnson,
No. 3 B. & G. School,
MacDonald, Man.
V41206 Elect. Ralph Myers,
Mess 10, D. Block,
H.M.C.S. Cornwallis,
c/o F. M. O., Halifax, N.S.
R161003 LAC. Murray Seeley,
Squadron No. 434,
R.C.A.F. Overseas.
No. 5 S.F.T.S.
Brantford, Ont.
R66499 Cpl. Hector Bird,
R.C.A.F.
C.A.P.O. 10
R84360 Cpl. Cakebread E.F.
C.A.P.O. No. 5, Newfoundland,
R.C.A.F. Overseas.
R208080 AC2. Vincent Campbell,
No. 16 S.F.T.S.—R.C.A.F.
Hagersville, Ont.
A601303 Fus. Robt. Caswell,
H.Q. Coy.,
The Scots Fusiliers of Canada,
Camp Ipperwash,
Forest, Ont.
A106697 Pte. Randall Clulow,
Bennett Barracks,
Listowel, Ont.
R26311 AC2 Tommy Foss,
No. 1 Manning Depot, R.C.A.F.
Toronto, Ont.
V58193 Robt. L. Henry, Sto. 2.
Room 117, R.C.N.
St. Joseph’s College,
Edmonton, Alta.
Can. R114277,
LAC. Norman Reist,
No. 14 S. of T.T.
R.C.A.F. Att’d R.A.F.
Overseas.
Night Shift
There aren’t many jobs the girls don’t do now. Here’s Lourdes Reichstein, Woollen Carding, night shift.
PERSONALITIES
Effie (Schmiedendorf) Arpa, whose marriage took place on August 21st, was presented with an end table and reflector by the members of the Burling & Mending Dept.
Enlistments for this month include Pauline Dugmore with the Wrens, John Tunn, Alf. Horne, Clarence Arndt and John Foss with the Air Force, and Elwyne Blake and William Hastings with the Army.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Berrington were in the receipt of a cable from their son, Pte. Alfred Berrington, who is serving overseas with the H.L.I. of C., advising them that he had been married in England on Saturday, August 21st.
On August 19th Pauline Dugmore reported for duty with the Wrens at the W.R.C.N.S. establishment at Galt. Prior to leaving the employ of the Company, Pauline was presented with a writing portfolio by the Woollen Spinning Dept.
Percy “Punch” Harvey, who was been serving for approximately a year on sea duty, was awarded a commission as probationary sub-lieutenant in the R.C.N.V.R. on June 1st. Sub-Lieut. Harvey has returned to duty with the R.C.N.V.R. at Kingston after spending a brief leave with his parents.
Margaret Robinson, who is to be married on September 11th, was entertained by the girls of the Top Combing Dept. at the miscellaneous shower at the home of Mrs. G. Dawson. On Friday she was presented with a bedspread on behalf of the members of this department.
MARRIED
Mary Deemert to Cpl. George Kohli, now stationed at Camp Iperwash.
Isabel Breich to Pte. Earl Jackson who is stationed at Montieth, Ont.
Effie Schmiedendorf to Cpl. John Arpa, who is stationed in Hamilton.
Rovena Frank to John Berta, Reside in Preston.
BORN
August 5th, a son, Kenneth Michael, to Mr. and Mrs. Pat McLaughlin.
August 20th, a son, Gerald Joseph, to Mr. and Mrs. Jack Black.
August 29th, a daughter, Joyce Dianne, to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Rayment.
Sept. 3rd, a daughter, to Mr. and Mrs. Bob Townsley.
Cheering Section
The softball teams always have a cheering section. Jean Holmes, Erna Schoenke, Jean McKay, Edith Zvaniga, Catharine Kohli, Shirley Hortop, Betty Brix.
UNION NOTES
The Social Committee contacted the Coca Cola Company and tried to get the Victory Parade with Mart Kenny and his Western Gentlemen here for the opening dance but they were too late. However, there is a possibility of them coming in December. In the meantime they are lining up a good band for the opening dance.
In compliance with the Factory Shop and Office Building Act, the Safety Committee urges all girls operating machines to wear hair nets to avoid contact with machinery, shafting or belting, or with the material being handled.
The suggestion has been put forth for a hospital plan which will cover an employee’s entire family in case of sickness. If anybody has any ideas on this matter we will be glad to hear them. If enough interest is shown we can do a little investigating along this line.
We regret to hear the news that one of our Hespeler boys is reported missing. We all know George and we hope to hear of his being reported safe in the near future.
We are still in need of more time study stewards. Give your name to your steward if you are interested.
LETTERS FROM THE BOYS
It has been quite some time since I last wrote to you, however they always say better late than never.
I have been receiving the mill paper and cigarettes every month and really do appreciate your kindness. It is nice to be able to keep up with the news around the old home town and the factory where I was employed before joining the army.
I have just spent a nine day leave in Cumberland and had a very nice time, but it is hard to get back to the old routine after being on leave. That’s just one of the joys of the Army.
All of us over here are hoping that things soon start cracking so that we can get back home again and enjoy some of the good old comforts of home life, but maybe it won’t be so long.
Before I say cheerio, I would like to thank D. W. & W. and wish them and all their employees the best of luck.
Keep smiling,
A35354 Gnr. John O’Krafka,
C. Battery, No 1 C.A.R.U.
Canadian Army Overseas.
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Hello Hespeler, this is England calling. How is the work going at the mill? I haven’t heard much about it since I came over here and would like to hear from you. Could you please send me the mill paper? I’d appreciate it very much.
I miss the noise of the looms and the shuttles going back and forth rolling in the money. I work twice as hard now for $1.40 a day. But the Canadian khaki sure wears well. Tell the boys to keep it up and we’ll be back soon to make civilian cloth instead of khaki. I’d love to have my old job back on 13 to 18 loom.
I have met a lot of boys from town and they all look fine, but are hurrying to get this over, so they can return to the mill and their families again.
Maurice Bruce came in last week just after I did so we are together once more.
Please send the mill paper.
One of your faithful mill hands,
A105843 Pte. John Durnford,
“B” Coy., No. 3 C.I.R.U.
Canadian Army Overseas.