World War 1

War can cause massive disruption to the lives of children. In the worst causes, children ma directly face death or the destruction of their homes. When Canada participated in World War II (1939-1945), our youth were luckily spare actual battle on Canadian soil. They were however, initiated into the adult world of war mobilization. Many surely felt the anguish of having close relatives fighting on the battlefields of Europe and Asia. On the home front, Canada’s youth were expected to fill roles vacated adults. Children showed their community spirit by scavenging and recycling necessary war material and donating their boys and allowances. Many would be relocated to rural area to assist in food production. Older teen would sometimes lie about their age so that they could directly fight or join the merchant marines. The demands of World War II required the rapid maturity of children and teenagers as they were required were provide necessary wartime resources, work on farms and participate in military activities.
Children were required to assist the war effort by providing the valuable resources of salvageable materials, scrap metal and money. During the war, materials such as rubber, fat, and grease were in short supply and could be recycled to produce products necessary to the armed forces. Every child was meant to feel that their contribution mattered and was important even if it was disrupting their normal playtime and school activities. Ron Snell, a young boy during WWII, remembers that, “[Lots of times] in the fall our teachers would let us out of school for the day to gather milkweed pods….the silk from the pods would be used to make life jackets for the sailors” ( Santor, 1979, p.31 . metals were in particular demand. The Boy scouts and Girl guides of Canada led the scavenger effort for children. The 10th Toronto Scout Troop collected 510,000 pounds salvage and used the money to buy a truck, ambulance and victory bonds (Veteran Affairs Canada, 2008). Not only...