Beulah Sime Musselwhite (Primary Source)

Transcript

My name is Beulah Musslewhite, and I live in Toronto and have done so all my life. During World War II, I worked at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario near Toronto, from about 1942 to March 1945. I worked in several departments. During the Anson production I worked in the stores, keeping track of parts, etcetera. The production of the Lancaster [Bomber] began in 1943. At that point, I worked in the electrical parts department on the bench, assembling and putting together other electrical parts of the aircraft. Then I worked on the hangar floor, installing gas and oil lines into the instruments. One Lancaster every day rolled out of the hangar door. No cars were manufactured after 1942. Cars were scarce and gas was rationed. Car-pooling got us from Toronto and other towns near Malton. We worked for two shifts. Day shift was from 7am to 6pm, and night shift was from 7pm to 4am. We made good wages for that time, but bought war bonds and compulsory savings stamps. Goods were in short supply and free time was short, so we didn't have much time to shop. How great was the launching of the Ruhr Express, which was the first Lancaster, on August the 6th, 1943? It was a great celebration with many dignitaries on hand, and Lorne Greene was the MC who at that time was a Canadian radio announcer. A memorable snowstorm was on December the 4th, 1944, and it still holds the record to this day. It has never been broken. Victory aircraft was closed for three days. Our ride home at 4am took two to three hours