Second World War
The Navy Ashore  - The Navy and the Home Front

The Royal Canadian Navy became a strong presence on Canada's home front during the Second World War. Naval imagery appeared in fundraising and propaganda materials, while Canadians built equipment for the navy, or were encouraged to support it through volunteer work.

Sailor's Fur Vest

Canadian volunteer organizations helped make and supply warm fur-lined vests like this to members of the navy and merchant navy.

Working as part of an organization called the "Seamen's Fur Vests War Project," fur companies and fur industry workers in cities like Montreal and Toronto helped fashion these vests from donated fur coats or from fur pelts. Groups like the Navy League or the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire then distributed them. This particular example came from the estate of Percy Wooster, a banker heavily involved in the Navy League in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Vest
CWM 19810260-001