Summerside's War Effort During WWII

During the war years, the government controlled two independent information entities that reported to National War Services. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the National Film Board (NFB) were conveyors of wartime news, reaching out to citizens across the country. Almost everyone became familiar with these important national bodies.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The CBC in the Second World War era was radio. It began a weekly program in the early 1940s called "Carry On" which described the war effort on the home front. In 1941 it ran a thirteen week dramatized series about air force training that was titled "They Fly for Freedom" and papers such as the Summerside Journal printed descriptions of the programs in order to promote them. A series to support a Victory Loan campaign in October 1944 consisted of 12 dramas broadcast in ½ hour segments. They were "twelve outstanding stories about Canadians and Canadian life during the war years" adapted from articles selected from national magazines.

The corporation was a consistent and reliable conveyor of the latest information. Those who tuned in to CBC broadcasts came to know the distinctive voice of Lorne Greene who read the daily news about the war fronts.

An extensive CBC radio interview with Islanders Walter Shaw, Jim Trainor, and Lincoln Dewar was broadcast in August 1943. They told interviewer Harry Boyle about the state of the province with an emphasis on agriculture. The P.E.Island Agriculturalist carried the transcript of the program so that its readers could be informed of what was said by these well-known men of Prince Edward Island.

A series produced in co-operation with the Wartime Information Board in 1945 was called "Serviceman's Forum" and consisted of discussions about topics of interest to members of the military. Another series, "The Soldier's Return" was produced to help servicemen in the rehabilitation process.

National Film Board

The NFB began to produce war related films in 1940. Its series called "Canada Carries On" was made for the education of the public and was distributed to movie theatres across Canada to be shown as "Shorts." Another series it produced had a wider scope. The "World in Action" short films were shown in United States theatres as well.

The National Film Board may have produced some of the other films shown in Summerside during the war. Two films presented during Reconsecration Week in September 1941 were titled "The Fight for Victory" and "Over All The World." "Britain on Guard" was shown at the High School in November 1941. In February 1942 three films were shown at the School - "Wings of Youth," Churchill Island" and "Blue Horizons." "Women are Warriors" and "Make It Over" were offered to all interested women in October 1943.