Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1940

Date Range To

1945

Materials

WOOL

No. Pieces

1

Length

223.6

Width

175.2

Description

BEIGE/GREY WOOL BLANKET. THREE THIN AND ONE WIDE OFF-WHITE STRIPES ALONG WIDTH NEAR EACH END. ONE END OF BLANKET HEMMED; OPPOSITE UNHEMMED AND FRAYED SLIT OR TEAR, 9.5CM L, CUT INTO EACH SIDE OF BLANKET APP. 20 CM FROM HEMMED END. WHITE TAG STAPLED IN ONE CORNER; TYPED WITH ILLEGIBLE NUMBERS/LETTERS. OUTLINE OF WHITE STAR WOVEN INTO BLANKET BETWEEN STRIPES ON UNHEMMED END.

Subjects

BEDDING

Historical Association

DOMESTIC

MILITARY

History

CAME FROM PRISONER OF WAR CAMP 133 IN LETHBRIDGE DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR. ISSUED TO PRISONERS IN CAMP. *UPDATE* 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. *UPDATE* IN 2018, COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT ELISE PUNDYK CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF BOXED TEXTILES AND ACCESSORIES, INCLUDING A PURSE AND HAIR ORNAMENTS DONATED BY DORIS BALCOVSKE. CONNECTIONS MADE WITH THE NEXT-OF-KIN TO ACQUIRE FURTHER ARTIFACT-SPECIFIC INFORMATION WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. DORIS BALCOVSKE'S OBITUARY WAS FOUND ON THE CORNERSTONE FUNERAL HOME'S WEBPAGE. IT STATES THAT SHE WAS BORN IN LETHBRIDGE IN 1923. SHE WORKED FOR THE BANK OF MONTREAL FOLLOWING HIGH SCHOOL. SHE THEN WENT ON TO BECOME THE PROPRIETOR OF MARGO LADIES WEAR THROUGH THE 1950'S. SHE MARRIED HERB BALCOVSKE AND TOGETHER THEY HAD SANDRA BALCOVSKE AND MARCIA TAYLOR. DORIS PASSED AWAY ON 14 SEPTEMBER 2016 AT THE AGE OF 92 YEARS. PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE P19980051003 FOR FULL OBITUARY.

Catalogue Number

P19980051006

Acquisition Date

1998-07

Collection

Museum

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