GECO Fusilier Magazine Vol
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The General Engineering Company of Ontario (GECO, pronounced: "Gee-ko") was a
munitions Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of ...
plant located in
Scarborough, Ontario Scarborough (; 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Census 629,941) is a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated in the eastern part of the City of Toronto. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue (Toronto), Steele ...
, and owned by the
Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
. Between July 1941 to July 1945, GECO filled more than 256 million units of ammunition for the
Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...
. GECO is named after its builder and operator, General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited. The Scarborough GECO munitions plant was also known as "Project No. 24", and "Scarboro". It spanned 172 buildings. Following the Second World War, some of the buildings were used for emergency housing.


History

In 1940, the Allied War Supplies Corporation (AWSC) contracted General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited to build a fuse filling plant (Project No. 24). 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. The munitions plant was divided into the 'clean' and 'dirty' side, dividing the area used for handling explosives from that of the safe area. GECO spanned 345 acres of land. The construction of the munitions plant cost over $7 million which was more than the initial estimate of $2.25 million. The GECO plant was overseen by
Robert Mclean Prior Hamilton The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
(GECO's president) and his brother
Philip Dawson Prior Hamilton Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the n ...
(Vice-President of GECO). A large percentage of GECO employees during World War II were women. Later on during the war most of the employees were women. The GECO employees who worked with ammunition earned the nicknames "Bomb Girl", "Munitionette", "Fusilier", and "Munitions Gal". Often the tetryl powder that they worked with resulted in yellowed hair and hands. 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. Part of the uniform was a turban or head covering worn to cover the head to prevent accidents with machinery. When crossing from the 'dirty to the 'clean' side of the factory, the employees were inspected for any prohibited items such as metal or matches. The employees on the 'dirty' side were also not allowed to wear anything with metal because of the risk of an explosion. 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. GECO published an employee magazine called the GECO Fusilier. GECO employees were also encouraged to participate in Miss War Worker that was sponsored by the Toronto Police Amateur Athletic Association. GECO hosted its own pin-up contest in 1943.Visitors to the GECO munitions factory included:
Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...
,
Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone (Alexander Augustus Frederick William Alfred George; born Prince Alexander of Teck; 14 April 1874 – 16 January 1957), was a member of the extended British royal family, as a great-grandson of King Georg ...
, and
Andrew McNaughton General (Canada), General Andrew George Latta McNaughton (25 February 1887 – 11 July 1966) was a Canadian Electrical engineering, electrical engineer, scientist, army officer, Minister (government), cabinet minister, and diplomat. Before th ...
. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, between 1945-1954, some of the GECO buildings were used for emergency housing. Twenty of the GECO buildings are still visible in
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
. The site where GECO used to be was bought by the township of Scarborough in 1948 and now is part of the
Golden Mile Golden Mile or The Golden Mile may refer to: Geographical features * Columbia Street (New Westminster), a street in New Westminster, British Columbia nicknamed the Golden Mile. * Golden Mile (Belfast), Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom ...
. GECo Park in a new subdivision in the area is named in honour of the company. ''
Bomb Girls ''Bomb Girls'' is a Canadian television drama that debuted on January 4, 2012, on Global and Univision Canada in Spanish. The plot profiles the stories of four women working in a Canadian munitions factory during World War II, beginning in 1941. ...
'' (2012-2013), a Canadian television drama, was based on accounts of workers from the DIL Ajax and the GECO plants.


References


Further reading

* * Records held at the City of Toronto Archives.


External links

* * * * * {{Cite web, date=2018-08-01, title=Bomb Girls with Barbara Dickson, url=https://www.junobeach.org/podcast/bomb-girls-with-barbara-dickson/, access-date=2021-04-06, website=Juno Beach Centre, language=en-US Ammunition manufacturers Companies based in Toronto Canada in World War II