Summerside's War Effort During WWII

There have always been strong service organizations in Summerside. Several of them took particular interest in the well-being and entertainment of the Air Force personnel of the local RCAF Station. They were the Board of Trade, Knights of Columbus, Y's Men's Club, IODE, the Royal Canadian Legion, and the special wartime group The Contact Club. Their efforts are described in the website titled, "Summerside Hospitality During World War II."

There were other organizations in the town that also did their part in the war effort. A wide variety of church-based groups hosted special speakers and did practical work to make needed items and to raise funds. The Legion's Women's Auxiliary assisted the members of the Summerside Legion branch in all their efforts to assist servicemen. The Rotary Club formed in Summerside in April 1943 and carried out various projects to support the war effort, in addition to sponsoring a major drive for x-ray equipment at the Prince County Hospital. In another campaign of a local nature, several organizations banded together in 1944 to form the Summerside Youth Centre Incorporated (SYCI).

The Salvation Army was very active across Canada during the war. As a national body it conducted several campaigns to raise money through its Home Front Appeal. In Summerside, the organization had no concrete presence for lack of personnel, but successful fundraising was conducted under the sponsorship of the Y's Men's Club

Every service group that existed in the town between 1939-1945 has its own record of participation in home front activities. Four organizations are featured in this section of the website. The Sea Cadets and Red Cross Corps were formed because of the war. The Girl Guides and Boy Scouts were already in existence but underwent changes in wartime.