Collection search - [Gray, Ruth - Interview]

Record information – Brief

1

[Gray, Ruth - Interview]

Item number (ISN):

526798

Hierarchical level:

Item (Accession level)

Date:

1999/2000 ?

Item number (ISN):

526798

Link to related resource:

Type of material:

Sound recordings

Found in:

Archives / Film, Video and Sound

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Record information – Details

Fonds/collection:

CANADA. DEPARTMENT OF NATIONAL DEFENCE FONDS / FONDS DU MINISTÈRE DE LA DÉFENSE NATIONALE

Accession:

2016-0078

Media:

Sound

Part:

2 of 2

Production date:

1999/2000 ?

Production company:

Directorate of History and Heritage
Department of National Defence
Lisa Banister
Directorate Materiel Group Human Resources

Description:

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Ruth Gray participated in an oral history interview conducted by Lisa Bannister. The interview was used to create a first-person narrative for Bannister's published work "Equal to the Challenge: An Anthology of Women's Experiences during World War II." Gray moved around a lot during the first two years of the war, working in a munitions factory and driving a salvage truck. She enlisted with the Air Force on her eighteenth birthday, June 1942. She completed basic training in Rockcliffe, ON, and qualified for Fighter Operations. In the summer of 1943 she was posted to Newfoundland, which at the time was still officially part of Britain, and sent to the American base where personnel was needed. Fighter Operations involved tracking aircraft flying overhead from Halifax or Dartmouth, using tracking tables, and communicating with radar stations along the coast. The atmosphere in Newfoundland was similar to being in Britain: felt under fire, mandatory blackout shutters, and lack of fruit and vegetables. There was also a distinction between Newfoundland and Canada seen in the way of living. In early 1945 she was posted back to Dartmouth before being sent to Vancouver Island. She was still on the train west for V-E Day but continued on because of the conflict with Japan. Gray comments on the perception of women in uniform and the misconceptions about women at war. The service provided her with friendships, maturity and discipline and believes military service should be mandatory at eighteen.

Language:

English

Original number:

2004/6

Notes:

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1. Tape speed: 2.4cm.~2. First draft of narrative produced from the content of the interview is available.
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Conditions of access:

restricted by law

Restrictions on consultation:

Closed for consultation. Protected material. Copyright belongs to the Crown.

Copyright status:

Under copyright.

Copyright owner:

Copyright belongs to the Crown.

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With written permission from the copyright holder.

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Date modified:: 2024-06-27