Miscellaneous British, Canadians, and Americans Farmhouse on the shores of Lake Ontario near Oshawa Special Training Camp #103 One of the most secret projects of the war First wartime spy training camp in North America Purpose was to train Allied agents in techniques of secret warfare for the Special Operations Branch of the British Secret Intelligence Service Also established to train Americans in the art of secret warfare Seen by some to be beginnings of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Secret agents and spies for enemy-occupied Europe. Technicians provided secret agents with false passports and other documents for use behind enemy lines. Costume experts produced European-style wartime clothing, eyeglasses, soap and toothpaste. French-speaking Canadians for undercover work in France. Parachuted into Nazi-occupied France to blend in with the local population. Yugoslav Canadians. Sent into their occupied homeland to destroy German railway tracks, trains, roads and power lines. Spy catchers for undercover work in Canada and the US. Trained to look for spies on the homefront. Radio operators to transmit, top-secret information. Hydra, top secret communications network Some military historians believe that the training done at Camp X helped to shorten the war and perhaps saved thousands of lives Before D-day, French-Canadian saboteurs trained at Camp X blew up bridges and railway lines, delaying the Germans advance to Normandy (where our invasion was taking place) Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, trained at Camp Xschool/video/camp+x+secret+agent+school/video.html?v= &p=1&s =da#camp-x-secret-agent-school/video Prime Minister Mackenzie King determined conscription would not tear country apart At beginning of war, he promised that no one would be forced to fight overseas (pledge made primarily to French Canadians) 1940, the National Resources Mobilization Act required that all adult males register for national service, but only with Canada Nobody would be forced to fight overseas The Act caused protest, especially from French Canadians As war went on and Hitler had continued success, pressure increased for more soldiers Prime Minister King in tough spot Many English Canadians calling for conscription Britain and United States introduced conscription at declaration of war In 1942, King decided to hold a plebiscite, all citizens have a direct vote on an issue of major national importance Canadians were asked if they were in favour of releasing the government from its pledge that it would not introduce conscription for overseas service 9/10 provinces answered with 80 per cent yes 72 % voted No in Quebec Mackenzie King emphasized that conscription was not yet necessary and promised to introduce it only as a last resort Not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary By 1944, pressure to introduce conscription increased even further King announced that a total of conscripted soldiers would be sent overseas Passed in House of Commons with majority vote of 143 to 70 One minister from Quebec resigned saying that the government had broken its pledge to French Canadians Some rioting in Quebec city and Montreal Not nearly as violent as in 1917 Most French Canadians acknowledged that King had tried to prevent conscription and gave him credit for doing his best Kings conscription policy probably one of his greatest political achievements He remembered and learned from tragic experience of 1917 and this time conscription did not tear apart the Liberal party or the country In WWI, women had served as nurses and contributed to war industry In WWII, they did the same, but also became an active part of armed forces for the first time Women pushed to be accepted into official military service In 1941, the Canadian army, air force and navy each created a womens division the Canadian Womens Army Corps (CWAC) The Canadian Auxiliary Air Force (CWAAF) The Womens Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) By end of war Canadian women in uniform = 4500 women in medical services Women were not sent into front-line combat Did essential work behind the lines Radio operators, mechanics, welders, armourers or workers in armed forces headquarters Nurses and Red Cross workers Worked in industries at home 1939, women in workforce in Canada 1944, women Women in overalls and a bandana on posters became a symbol of service to Canada Women welded parts in airplane factories, worked on assembly lines in munitions plants Ran farms while men were away Took on traditionally male jobs: Work in lumber mills and streetcar and bus drivers Expected to return to the home after the war