In the September 2019 article we covered the mobilization activities of the Ontario Regiment during the month of September 1939. The mobilization plan called for an increase in the size of the Regiment to full war-time establishment of over 600 soldiers. As many would be from out of town, accommodation for these soldiers would be required.
The Regiment moved quickly and on 2 September the old Williams Piano Company factory was acquired for use as a barracks. The Department of National Defence leased 22,000 feet of space in the old factory at a cost of $243 per month. The three-story building was located on the north side of Richmond Street, between Simcoe and Church (now Centre). The building was ideal as it was sitting mostly idle, was large enough for the purpose, and was very close to the Oshawa Armoury. The building has since been demolished and the site is now the Durham Regional Police Headquarters.
Almost immediately, thirty-five tradesmen were employed to convert the building to a suitable barracks under the direction of Staff Sergeant J.H. Warner of the Royal Canadian Engineers. It was quickly configured with the top floor dedicated to sleeping areas, orderly room, store room, washrooms and showers. On the second floor were the kitchen, mess facilities and additional sleeping areas. There were no bunks initially so the soldiers slept on paillasses – essentially converted potato sacks filled with straw. The first soldiers moved in to the barracks on 8 September and the first meal was served by the Regimental cooks on 12 September.
A reporter from the Oshawa Daily Times visited the barracks in mid-September at the invitation of Lieutenant Colonel Pearson. The reporter described the building as a “highly acceptable barracks quarters” and noted that the rooms were “well-lighted, well-heated, with ample ventilation and no cramping.”
Access to the building was from the guarded east entrance. After climbing the stairs to the top floor a visitor was immediately met with the orderly room. Continuing through the building moving west were the sleeping quarters and then the washrooms which were described by the Times reporter as “adequate and complete with hot and cold running water, shower baths, hand basins, laundry tubs and toilet facilities”. At the far west end were the quartermasters’ stores. A ramp took the soldiers down to the second floor where the mess and kitchen facilities were located. Meals were taken at long tables and benches.
The cook staff consisted of a sergeant cook, corporal cook and two assistants. They were augmented with a daily fatigue detail to assist with meal preparation and dish washing. The Times reporter described a typical day’s menu. Breakfast consisted of porridge, bacon, potatoes, bread, jam and coffee. For lunch, it was roast beef, soup, potatoes, vegetables, bread, jam and tea. At supper the soldiers were provided with cold meat, potatoes, tea, bread and jam. The reporter indicated that desserts would eventually be served.
By the middle of October certain deficiencies were noted in the barracks. A newspaper advertisement appeared in the Oshawa Daily Times asking for residents to offer billets to the soldiers at a rate of 85 cents per day while the barracks was being renovated. Billets were found for all the men within two days and the barracks was emptied, ready for the work to be completed.
Over the next two weeks substantial changes were made. An additional washroom was built. The mess was reconfigured to double as a recreation room with a dry canteen at one end and a wet canteen at the other. The soldiers’ comfort was greatly increased with the paillasses being replaced with double bunks and real mattresses. Wooden partitions were built to divide the sleeping space into cubicles each accommodating 40 soldiers. The soldiers re-occupied the barracks on 28 October.
It’s not clear when the building was returned to the City of Oshawa. The Regiment left for Camp Borden on 28 May, 1940. The war diary entry for that day indicates that the barracks, armoury and other buildings were left in the hands of the caretakers. Later that summer the Regiment formed a 2nd Battalion as part of the Reserve Army of Canada. This battalion made extensive use of the armoury but would have had no need for the barracks as all members were local.
Rod Henderson
Rod Henderson is the Regimental Historian of the Ontario Regiment. He served as a Sergeant in the Regiment and is the author of “Fidelis Et Paratus: The History of The Ontario Regiment RCAC”.