Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

CAMP 133 BENCH "E III 3."

Date

1942

Materials

WOOD, METAL, PAINT

No. Pieces

1

Height

47.5

Length

179.0

Width

27.0

Description

BENCH WITH IRON LEGS AND “E III 3.” IN GREEN PAINT ON UNDERSIDE OF BENCH. BLACK TEXT, “MAXWELL-1942,” STAMPED INBETWEEN III AND 3. BENCH IS WEATHERED, WATER DAMAGED, AND DISCOLOURED, PAINT ON HARDWARE IS CHIPPING, LEGS ARE RUSTED AND STIFF, ONE LEG PIN IS BENT, BOLTS SECURING LEGS TO BENCH ARE LOOSE AND WOBBLY, EXCESS PAINT ALONG EDGE ON UNDERSIDE OF BENCH. OVERALL FAIR CONDITION.

Subjects

FURNITURE

Historical Association

MILITARY

AGRICULTURE

RELIGION

History

ON MARCH 22, 2022, COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED BURNS WOOD, ALONGSIDE SON IAN WOOD, ABOUT BURNS WOOD’S DONATION OF A HARDENED DOOR FROM CAMP 133, AND CORRESPONDING BENCH AND TABLE FROM CAMP 133. BURNS WOOD GREW UP ON HIS FAMILY FARM, SOUTH OF TABER, BEFORE JOINING THE RCAF IN 1942 AND FLEW AS A FERRY COMMAND PILOT FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS IN WORLD WAR TWO. BURNS WOOD COMMENTED ON WHO WAS HELD AS A P.O.W IN CAMP 133: “… THAT CAMP WAS POPULATED BY MOSTLY GERMAN, AND ITALIAN PRISONERS-OF-WAR. THEY WERE TAKEN IN THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN, WHEN THE GERMAN ARMY THERE WAS PUSHED OUT OF NORTH AFRICA… AT THE SAME TIME, AFTER THE WAR, THAT CAMP DIDN’T CLOSE FOR ABOUT A YEAR. THOSE PEOPLE WEREN’T REPATRIATED UNTIL A YEAR OR SO… THERE WERE MORE PEOPLE IN THAT CAMP THAN THERE WAS IN THE CITY OF LETHBRIDGE…” BURNS WOODS CONTINUED ON WHAT WAS DONE TO THE POW’S WAITING TO BE REPATRIATED AFTER THE WAR: “… DURING THAT INTERIM FARMERS IN THE AREA COULD ARRANGE TO HAVE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF MEN…” ON WHAT HIS FAMILY DID WITH THE P.O.WS ON THE FARM, BURNS WOOD EXPLAINED: “… WE WOULD GO TO BARNWELL [A SATELLITE P.O.W CAMP], AND WE WOULD PICK UP THE NUMBER OF MEN WE NEEDED. WE WERE TOLD WE HAD TEN ‘LIVE BODIES’, AND WE PICKED UP [THE] TEN ‘LIVE BODIES’ – YOUNG MEN. AND, WE HAD TO RETURN TEN ‘LIVE BODIES’… FOR THE FIRST FEW WEEKS, WE TOOK [THE P.O.W’S] BACK EVERY NIGHT TO THE CAMP IN BARNWELL, THAT HAD GUARDS, AND EVERYTHING. BUT THEN, WE WERE ALLOWED TO (IF WE COULD) KEEP THEM OVERNIGHT, AND WE HAD A GARAGE THERE [ON THE FARM], NOT IN USE, AND SO WE GOT SOME COTS FROM THE CAMP, AND WE WERE ALLOWED TO KEEP THEM [OVERNIGHT]… MY WIFE, AND MY MOTHER FED THEM. I THINK WE HAD A BIG MEAL AT DINNER, AND THEN ANOTHER MEAL IN THE EVENING, AND THEY HAD BREAKFAST. THEY, IN FACT, HAD BOARD-AND-ROOM ON THE FARM. (I FORGET HOW MUCH WE PAID). IT WAS ONLY A FEW CENTS A DAY FOR EACH PERSON, AND THAT WAS BEFORE THE AUTOMATIC POTATO HARVESTERS, ETC. WE WERE PICKING UP POTATOES BY HAND; PUTTING THEM IN BASKETS; AND THEN DUMPING IT IN THE TRUCKS.” “…THEY WERE YOUNG MEN, JUST LIKE I WAS, AND THEY WERE WANTING TO GET BACK HOME TO GERMANY. AND, FOR THE LUCK OF THE DRAW, I GOT HOME BUT THEY WERE KEPT HERE AS PRISONERS….” ON WHAT P.O.W’S WERE WORKING ON THE FAMILY FARM, BURNS WOODS REFLECTED: “AS FAR AS I CAN REMEMBER, WE NEVER HAD ANY ITALIAN PRISONERS-OF-WAR. THEY ALL SPOKE GERMAN…” BURNS WOODS COMMENTED ON THE RESTRICTIONS TO MANAGING P.O.W’S: “… YOU COULDN’T ALLOW THEM IN TOWN. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP THEM RIGHT ON THE FARM… WE WERE FARMING A PIECE OF LAND, A QUARTER MILE FROM TOWN, AND ONE DAY AN AXLE BROKE ON ONE OF THE VEHICLES, AND I HAD TO TAKE THAT AXLE INTO THE TOWN [TO GET FIXED], BUT WE WERE SO CLOSE, THAT WE JUST TOOK THE AXLE, AND ONE OF THE BOYS HELPED ME INTO TOWN. [THE P.O.W] WORE A JACKET WITH A BIG ROUND RED CIRCLE ON THE BACK, BUT I WAS BREAKING THE RULE BY ALLOWING THE BOY TO HELP ME IN TOWN, BUT NOTHING WAS EVER SAID…” BURNS WOODS REFLECTED ON THE CAMP 133 PRISONERS OF WAR: “I JUST REMEMBER… I WAS 22 OR 23, AND THEY WERE THE SAME AGE… THEY OBVIOUSLY KNEW WHAT GOOD FOOD WAS, AND THEY WEREN’T ROUGH. I NEVER REMEMBER THEM GETTING INTO FIGHTS WITH EACH OTHER.…I THINK THEY DID REALLY APPRECIATE THE HOME CARE THEY GOT, OTHER THAN BEING IN THE PRISONER-OF-WAR CAMP WITH 25,000 OTHER MEN…” WHEN IAN WOODS ASKED HIS FATHER, IF COMING BACK FROM THE WAR AND WORKING WITH THE P.O.W’S ON THE FARM BRING UP ANY FEELINGS, OR IF HE COMMUNICATED WITH THE POW’S ABOUT THE WAR, BURNS WOODS EXPRESSED: “WELL, NO. I DON’T THINK THEY WERE REALLY WANTING TO DO THAT. I NEVER TALKED TO THEM ABOUT THE WAR. I JUST TREATED THEM AS A YOUNG FRIEND, AND I FELT QUITE COCKY ABOUT TAKING ONE OF THEM IN TOWN, WHERE I WASN’T SUPPOSED TO. I SUPPOSE THAT’S JUST YOUTH…” BURNS WOODS ADDED ON A STORY AFTER THE P.O.W’S WERE REPATRIATED: “…THOSE PRISONERS-OF-WAR KEPT IN TOUCH WITH US AFTER. I RECALL ONE LETTER COMING TO MY MOTHER, SAYING, ‘YOU HAVE IN THE GARAGE WHERE WE STAYED, A SACK FULL OF OLD SHOES, AND OVERSHOES. COULD YOU PLEASE SEND THAT SACK OF SHOES TO GERMANY, BECAUSE MY MOTHER HASN’T HAD SHOES FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS?’ (WE HAD TO HAVE THOSE LETTERS TRANSLATED BY GERMAN PEOPLE, WHO LIVED IN TABER), AND MY MOTHER SENT THOSE SHOES, BUT WE NEVER EVER GOT A REPLY, SO I HOPE THEY GOT THERE.” BURNS WOODS COMMENTED ON THE GENERAL FEELINGS AT THE TIME: “… YOU KNOW THE JAPANESE CAME IN AT THE SAME TIME. THEY CAME IN IN ’42… THAT WAS BEFORE I WENT INTO THE SERVICE, BUT I REMEMBER [AN OPEN] MEETING HELD IN THE TOWN OF TABER… IT WAS OUTDOORS, IN FRONT OF THE REX THEATRE. AND THEY HAD PEOPLE COMING FROM ALL AROUND, BECAUSE TABER HAD RESOLVED THAT THEY DID NOT WANT THE JAPANESE TO COME INTO TOWN… TO BE RELOCATED THERE. AND THERE WAS MORE OPPOSITION TO THE JAPANESE COMING THERE THAN THERE WAS TO HAVING THE GERMAN PRISONERS-OF-WAR THERE.” WHEN ASKED WHY THERE WAS MORE OPPOSITION TO THE JAPANESE VERSUS GERMAN POW’S, BURNS WOOD RECALLED: “…I CAN REMEMBER ONE MAN WHO WAS VERY PROMINENT IN LETHBRIDGE… BUT I REMEMBER HIM KNOCKING ON THE SIDE OF THE REX THEATRE PODIUM THAT WAS THERE, AND SAYING, ‘JUST YOU WAIT. IF THE JAPANESE COME, THEY’RE GOING TO STAY!’ AND, HE WAS A PROPHET IN THAT REGARD, BECAUSE THEY STAYED, AND MADE THE BEST OF IT. THEY REALLY BESTED US ALL. THEY BECAME SOME OF THE BEST FARMERS IN THE DISTRICT… WE WERE MORE AFRAID OF THE JAPANESE THAN THE GERMANS! THE GERMANS LOOKED LIKE US, YOU KNOW.” ON HOW BURNS WOOD CAME INTO POSSESSION OF THE CAMP 133 OBJECTS, BURNS EXPLAINED: “…AFTER [CAMP 133] WAS DEMOBILIZED [DECEMBER 1946], EVERYTHING IN THE CAMP WAS PUT UP FOR AUCTION SALE, AND THERE WERE HUGE SALES. MY FATHER, HAROLD WOOD, WENT UP TO THAT SALE. HE BOUGHT A [THREE-TON] TRUCKLOAD OF STUFF – DOORS, WINDOWS, BENCHES (BENCHES THAT WERE USED), TABLES (WOODEN TABLES), FOR ALMOST NOTHING...” BURNS WOOD REFLECTED: “…I’M NOT SURE MY MOTHER WAS AMUSED WHEN SHE SAW THAT JUNK COMING IN…” BURNS WOOD DESCRIBED THE CAMP 133 BENCHES BOUGHT AT AUCTION: “…I THINK WE MUST HAVE GOTTEN 25-30 CHAIRS, BENCHES RATHER. THEY ARE A LONG BENCH; ABOUT SIX-FOOT-LONG, AND HAVE METAL LEGS…” ON IF HAROLD WOOD (BURNS WOOD’S FATHER) WAS A COLLECTOR, BURNS WOOD COMMENTED: “…NO, HE WASN’T REALLY A COLLECTOR, BUT I THINK, IF HE SAW SOMETHING THIS CHEAP, A BENCH FOR ‘TWO BITS’ (I JUST REMEMBERED THAT THEY WERE $0.25 A BENCH), AND HE COULDN’T STOP BUYING JUST TWO, OR THREE…!” BURNS WOOD REMEMBERED LOANING THE BENCHES TO MENNONITES IN TABER: “…WHEN THE MENNONITES FIRST CAME INTO TABER, THEY DIDN’T HAVE A CHURCH, OR A MEETING PLACE, AND [THE MENNONITES] FOUND OUT WE HAD BENCHES (THEY CALLED THEM ‘BANCHES’)… SO [THE MENNONITES] CAME, AND EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT THEY WOULD COME AND ASK IF THEY COULD BORROW OUR ‘BANCHES’, AND WE LET THEM HAVE IT. THEY WOULD SET UP IN A SHED, OR A BARN, OR ANYTHING THEY COULD FIND, FOR THEIR CHURCH. MONDAY MORNING, THEY WOULD BRING THE ‘BANCHES’ BACK… [THE MENNONITES] WERE VERY GOOD, AND THEY WOULD BRING THE SAME NUMBER OF BENCHES BACK.” ON WHAT THE CAMP 133 BENCHES ARE USED FOR CURRENTLY, BURNS WOOD REMARKED: “…WE STILL HAVE [BENCHES], A LOT OF THEM! AND WE USE [THE BENCHES] FOR EVERYTHING. WE USE THEM TO PROP UP…” IAN WOOD INTERJECTED: “STUFF IN THE SHOP. YOUR [BURNS WOOD] FLOWER POTS.” IAN WOOD ADDED: “[THE BENCHES WERE USED FOR] FAMILY REUNIONS, YOUR [BURNS WOOD] BIRTHDAY PARTIES, OUT IN THE SHOP, JUST AROUND THE YARD.” BURNS WOOD COMMENTED: “[THE BENCHES] WOULD ALWAYS BE BROUGHT OUT IF WE HAD A PICNIC ON THE LAWN. THEY WERE USUALLY COVERED WITH A BLANKET, BECAUSE… SOME OF THEM WERE GETTING KIND OF SPINDLY, OR SLIVERY ON THE EDGES.” WHEN ASKED IF THERE IS ANY MEANING TO THE DONATED OBJECTS BEYOND FUNCTIONALITY, BURNS WOOD COMMENTED: “…THE ONLY THING THAT IS NICE ABOUT THEM, I GUESS, IS THE MEMORY OF HOW THEY CAME, AND INDICATES WHAT MY DAD WAS LIKE…” IN A MAY 7, 2022, EMAILED RESPONSE, MICHAEL O’HAGEN EXPLAINED THE PAINTED LETTERING ON THE UNDERSIDE OF THE BENCH. “…THE LETTERING UNDER THE BENCH APPEARS TO CONFORM TO THE NAMING CONVENTION OF THE BUILDINGS IN THE CAMP. AS A PORTABLE, FOLDING TABLE [AND BENCH], IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO HAVE SOME IDENTIFICATION SO THAT [THE FURNITURE CAN BE] RETURNED TO ITS PROPER HOME. THE MAIN BODY OF THE CAMP WAS DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTIONS, NAMED ‘A’ THROUGH ‘F’… EACH SECTION HAD SIX P.O.W QUARTERS, A KITCHEN AND MESS, A WORKSHOP, PACK STORES, AND A LECTURE HUT. THE ‘E’ IDENTIFIES IT AS BELONGING TO ‘E’ SECTION. THE ‘III’ - TO ME [MICHAEL O’HAGAN], AT LEAST - SUGGESTS A BUILDING NUMBER AND THERE ARE TWO LIKELY OPTIONS. THE FIRST POSSIBILITY WOULD BE THE BUILDING THAT THE CANADIANS REFERRED TO AS "EZ," WHICH WAS THE SECTION'S WORKSHOPS AND THE THIRD (OF THREE) BUILDINGS IN THE SECTION. I'M ASSUMING THE FINAL DIGIT, ‘3,’ COULD BE A ROOM NUMBER, AN AREA, OR PERHAPS JUST THE BENCH NUMBER. THE OTHER POSSIBILITY IS THAT IT WAS FROM SECTION E, BARRACK #3, ROOM/AREA #3…” O’HAGAN EXTRAPOLATED: “…WHILE THIS DOESN'T USE THE ROMAN NUMERALS, IT COULD BE A CANADIAN VS. GERMAN PRACTICE, AND I COULD SEE THE USE OF ROMAN NUMERALS HELPING ELIMINATE ANY CONFUSION WITH THE BARRACK NUMBER AND BUILDING SECTION…” FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE CAMP 133 OBJECTS, EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE WITH MICHAEL O’HAGAN, OR TO SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE. IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON DEVELOPED THE FOLLOWING BRIEF HISTORY OF PRISONER OF WAR CAMP 133 WITH INFORMATION FROM THE GALT MUSEUM BROCHURE "LETHBRDGE'S INTERNMENT CAMPS" AND THE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA WEBSITE. DURING WORLD WAR II THERE WERE 40 PRISONER OF WAR (P.O.W.) CAMPS CONSTRUCTED ACROSS CANADA TO HOUSE THE LARGE NUMBER OF INCOMING POWS - ENEMY MILITARY PERSONNEL THAT WERE CAPTURED IN COMBAT. CAMPS WERE BUILT IN ONTARIO, QUEBEC, THE MARITIMES AND ALBERTA. THE CAMPS IN LETHBRIDGE AND MEDICINE HAT WERE THE LARGEST, TOGETHER HOUSING 22,000 MEN. THE LETHBRIDGE CAMP, NO. 133, WAS BUILT IN THE SUMMER OF 1942, AND BY NOVEMBER OF THAT YEAR HOUSED 13,341 PRISONERS. THE CAMP WAS DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTIONS, EACH WITH SIX DORMITORIES, MESS HALLS, KITCHENS, AND ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES. MEALS WERE IN SHIFTS WITH PRISONERS SERVING AS COOKS. TAILOR, BARBER AND SHOE REPAIR SHOPS WERE ALSO STAFFED BY PRISONERS, AND NON-COMBAT POWS PRACTICED THEIR PRE-WAR PROFESSIONS AS MEDICAL DOCTORS AND DENTISTS. HOUSING AND RATIONS WERE THE SAME STANDARD AS FOR THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES, WHICH SOMETIMES CAUSED RESENTMENT AMONG LETHBRIDGE CIVILIAN RESIDENTS, WHO WERE UNABLE TO OBTAIN MANY OF THE SAME SUPPLIES ON THEIR STRICT WARTIME RATION ALLOWANCES. WITH MANY YOUNG LOCAL MEN AWAY AT WAR, LOCAL FARMERS BEGAN TO REQUEST LABOUR ASSISTANCE FROM THE CAMP, ESPECIALLY FOR THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY. BY 1943 AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED AND SOME OF THE PRISONERS WORKED ON FARMS THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN ALBERTA. MOST OF THESE PRISONERS WENT FROM THE CAMP TO THE FARMS DAILY, BUT SOME WERE KEPT AT 'LODGES' AT THE MORE DISTANT FARMS FOR DAYS AT A TIME, WITH MINIMAL GUARDING. FOR THEIR LABOUR, THE PRISONERS WERE PAID 50 CENTS PER DAY. WITH WAR'S END, CAMP 133 CLOSED IN DECEMBER 1946 AND ITS PRISONERS WERE SENT BACK TO GERMANY. THE AREA WHERE THE CAMP STOOD EVENTUALLY BECAME AN INDUSTRIAL PARK AND PART OF THE FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTRE.

Catalogue Number

P20220006002

Acquisition Date

2022-03

Collection

Museum

Less detail