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Ruth Jean Carr-Harris (née McJannet), military intelligence officer (born 26 March 1919 in Toronto, ON; died 17 February 1990 in Ottawa, ON). Ruth Jean McJannet was an intelligence officer with the RCAF during the Second World War. She was part of a small group of Canadian women who worked with operational aircrews, and was awarded a Mention in Dispatches for her wartime work.
Early Life
Ruth Jean McJannet was born in Toronto on 26 March 1919 to William and Margaret McJannet. Her father was injured by shrapnel while serving in the First World War and eventually sent back to Canada because of the lingering effects of pneumonia he contracted while in hospital.
Ruth McJannet worked several jobs prior to enlisting in the military, including saleswoman at Laura Secord in Toronto and telephone operator for Bell Canada. After receiving her diploma as a chemistry technician in 1939, she worked as a lab technician in vaccine production at Connaught Laboratories in Toronto. She also played the violin and worked as a music teacher part time.
Military Career
McJannet enlisted in the military on 1 December 1941, initially as a telephone operator. Shortly thereafter she transferred to administrative clerk. She was recommended for commissioning and was appointed an administrative officer in July 1942. In the fall of 1943 she was sent to England to be trained as a photo interpreter and employed alongside operational aircrews flying out of England. McJannet was part of the initial group of nine Canadian women to undertake this work.
Once qualified as photo interpreters, the women were employed at RCAF squadrons as part of Bomber Command. They took part in the pre-mission briefs given to aircrews before they departed on bombing missions over Europe. The intelligence officers provided context about the targets and describe the expected enemy defences. They also debriefed the aircrews upon the return from their missions in order to be able to write the raid reports. McJannet and the other female intelligence officers were fully integrated into their units by June 1944, when Bomber Command supported raids of Europe as part of Operation Overlord (the Normandy campaign).
McJannet retired from the military as a Flight Officer in the fall of 1945. Her work as an intelligence officer was honoured by a Mention in Dispatches in the 1946 New Year’s Honours list. She also was awarded the Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp, War Medal 1939-45 and a bronze oak leaf emblem to be worn on the War Medal to indicate her Mention in Dispatches.
Post-War Life
After the war McJannet married Donald Dale Carr-Harris, who was also an RCAF veteran. Carr-Harris had served as an engineer and obtained the rank of temporary Wing Commander during the war. The couple had two children: Lynn and Dale. The marriage was short-lived, however, as Carr-Harris was killed in a tragic passenger plane crash in Missouri in 1955. Ruth Jean Carr-Harris (McJannet) died in Ottawa on 17 February 1990.
