No. 3 Company, Canadian Women’s Training Corps members Etta Wardlaw, Marjorie Hewett and Joan Platt with telephones at ARP headquarters in Mahon Park during ARP demonstration. Became No. 2 Detachment CWTC later in 1941. Photo: NVMA 9416

At the beginning of November each year, we remember the sacrifices made by Canadians during wartime. For elementary and secondary students, these events can often seem far away and distant in both time and place.

With that in mind, we recently relaunched our Women and Wartime: Defending North Vancouver 1939 to 1945 exhibit on our website to encourage inquiry about local experiences and responses to World War II.

Through unique archival records, this exhibit explores the extraordinary efforts of women and youth to defend North Vancouver and contribute during wartime. It is a clear, engaging, and powerful look at the thoughts and feelings of earlier generations of North Vancouver residents during the Second World War.

Using poignant images, documents, and text, teachers and students in upper intermediate and secondary grades can explore questions such as:

• What was it like for some students in North Vancouver during World War II?
• How did women and youth contribute to the War effort on the Homefront in North Vancouver?
• What happened to the Yada family during World War II?

Girls leaving Queen Mary School during a gas mask drill, ca. 1941. A simulated gas was used for this exercise. Girl in the centre of the image, in dark dress and light sweater, is Leonora Hutchinson. Photo: NVMA 732

There are may inquiry questions that could be looked at through this exhibit. Here is a possible approach to working with it:

1. Pick an inquiry question such as those noted above, share it with the class, and explain to the students that they will be looking at the Women and Wartime exhibit to help answer the question.
2. Read the section(s) of the exhibit relevant to the question as a class.
3. Divide the class into small groups and give each group a photo or document from the exhibit to analyse using the photo and document analysis form.
4. Have each group share their image or document and findings with the class.
5. As a class, discuss the inquiry question and what was learned from the exhibit text, photos, and images.

We would also love to see or hear students responses to the exhibit and encourage you to share them with us at nvmaprograms@monova.ca.