Home Front of Elgin: Remembering Rural Ontario’s War Effort On Remembrance Day, we often reflect on the soldiers overseas, but the spirit of sacrifice was alive in every corner of Ontario, especially in its rural counties. Right here in Elgin County, farmsteads, kitchen tables, and village halls were all battlegrounds of a different kind, the fight to support those overseas. When war was declared, many young men from Elgin’s villages and farm families enlisted, leaving behind parents and siblings to carry on. The fields still needed ploughing; livestock needed care, and harvests, bringing in. In response, women and youths took up roles once reserved for men, driving farm machinery, repairing fences, milking cows, and managing the crops. Across Ontario, programs like the Ontario Farm Service Force (often called ‘Farmerettes’) recruited young women to fill gaps on farms. Civilians at home joined rationing campaigns, purchased Victory Bonds, and organized fundraising drives. Local Red Cross branches in Elgin sewed quilts and assembled care packages to send to troops abroad. Homemakers economized in their daily lives, stretching sugar, substituting ingredients, and growing Victory Gardens using every inch of available land on their homesteads. Rural communities rallied around displays promoting wartime causes: businesses and local government displayed Victory Bond posters and staffed information booths to drive awareness and contributions. Small-town stores adjusted window displays to reflect patriotic themes, and local fairs and 4-H clubs became hubs for scrap-metal drives, knitted socks, and fundraising teas. Elgin’s countryside also became directly tied to the war through the establishment of No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School in Southwold Township, part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The base trained aircrew from across the Commonwealth in bombing and gunnery techniques, filling the skies over Elgin with the steady hum of practice flights. Local farmers often found their fields used as landmarks or emergency landing sites, and the presence of the base brought both excitement and tragedy, most notably the 1943 crash of a training aircraft that claimed several lives. By war’s end, Elgin County’s rural families had tested their resilience in unfamiliar roles. The contributions made from farmsteads and small communities: farming under strain;
sewing for soldiers; raising funds, and hosting training, were indispensable threads in Canada’s war effort. On Remembrance Day, as we honour those who fought abroad, let us also honour the quiet courage of those who made war efforts possible from home, in fields, barns, and kitchens across Elgin County.
The Municipality of Central Elgin proudly honours and remembers the sacrifice of our Veterans and all those who continue to serve our country. Lest We Forget.
We remember those who sacrificed for our freedom Lest We Forget NOVEMBER 11
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AndrewLawtonMP.ca | 519-637-4130 | andrew.lawton@parl.gc.ca
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Real Living • Fall 2025 • Page 3
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