March / April 2002 Vol. 34, no. 2

SAVOIR FAIRE: A History of Women in the Canadian Military

Risë Segall
Research and Information Services

In keeping with the marking of Remembrance Day, the SAVOIR FAIRE seminar held in November focussed on the experience of women in the Canadian military. Using selections from her recently published book A History of Women in the Canadian Military, Barbara Dundas chronicled the contribution of women serving their country from the Northwest Rebellion, in 1885, to the present day.

This pictorial work, a millennium project of the Department of National Defence, surveys women’s military history and pays tribute to the female soldier. In her preface to the book, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, states: "this millennium book affirms the importance of Canadian women in our nation’s military history."

In her presentation, Barbara Dundas provided an overview of women’s participation in the Canadian military experience and discussed the challenges she faced in researching and writing the book, as well as in selecting the many photographs and works of art reproduced therein. In her review of the experiences of women in the Canadian military, Ms. Dundas explained the motivating forces that brought women into service through the years. She also described the institutional, economic and social forces that influenced which roles within the military were open to women.

Ms. Dundas gave a moving account of Canadian women’s experiences during the First and Second World Wars and offered insight into the evolution of women’s role in the military since the Second World War. She also discussed the impact of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the role of women in the Canadian military. In describing the research phase of her work, Ms. Dundas noted she had found the National Library of Canada’s AMICUS database invaluable in identifying oral histories and secondary sources.

A selection of photographs and works of war art that were used in the richly illustrated A History of Women in the Canadian Military enhanced the lecture. The photographs included early archival photographs of nursing sisters, World War II era photographs showing women in all aspects of war service, from servicing a tank to sorting laundry, and more recent photographs of women sailors, cadets, peacekeepers and pilots.

As a conclusion, Ms. Dundas noted that it was her hope that this book would fill a void by providing a chronicle of women through the entire Canadian military experience, giving context to existing oral histories, and beginning to bridge the gap between military history and women’s history. The discussion following the lecture was enriched by the personal testimony of a number of female war veterans in attendance; their accounts brought to life the information presented by Ms. Dundas.

Barbara Dundas, A History of Women in the Canadian Military (Montreal: Art global and the Department of National Defence in co-operation with the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada, c2000), 157 p., ISBN 2920718797. Also published in French under the title: Les femmes dans le patrimoine militaire canadien.

SAVOIR FAIRE is a monthly series given by researchers and staff of the National Library of Canada. Open to the general public, free of charge, the presentations highlight the richness of the Library’s collections.