During the existence of Small Arms, Ltd. few details were available due to the nature of the company. Small Arms, Ltd. was a Crown company which manufactured firearms on arsenals property during World War II. 50 years later, a variety of books, newspapers, photographs, company newsletters, and accounts from former employees have established the Company’s contribution to the Canadian war effort. On September 10th, 1939 the Canadian government declared war against Germany while Canada was still in the Great Depression. With a total population of 11 million people, approximately 900,000 workers were unemployed (Pierson, 1986). 20% of the unemployed were women (Pierson, 1986). Lakeview, in Mississauga suffered from unemployment before World War II but the establishment of Small Arms, Ltd reversed the condition by providing thousands of people with work to support the war (Heritage Mississauga Files1).
The increase in the population of Lakeview resulted in the building of many wartime housing, transportation links as well as two modern schools: Lakeview Beach and Lakeview Park. Small Arms, Ltd. started the industrial expansion in Lakeview as a stimulus for economic and population boom in post-depression Ontario (Weeks, 1990).
As early as 1927 the Quarter Master General proposed steps to initiate rifle production in Canada (Law, 2004). The government however viewed it as unnecessary defence expenditure (Law, 2004). It was not until 1937 that the Canadian Department of National Defence began a detailed study based on small arms production in the United Kingdom (Law, 2004). On May 31st, 1940 Colonel D.E. Dewar, Director of Clothing, Equipment and Manufacturing Establishments in the Branch of the Master General of the Ordnance made a proposal to manufacture rifles in Canada. The United Kingdom had recently sent for all Canadian Ross rifles and requested more but Canada had little firearm to support even its own rapidly expanding forces (Stacey, 1977).
On June 6th, 1940 the Ordnance Branch of the Department of National Defence was authorized to build an arsenal in Long Branch, Ontario west of Etobicoke Creek. It was to manufacture firearms and ammunition for Canada and the UK during the War (Weeks, 1990). Colonel Malcolm P. Jolley a former engineer in the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps was appointed General Manager of the arsenal project. Colonel Jolley had previously spent an 11-month secondment at the Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield, United Kingdom to learn about the manufacturing of No.4 rifles, Bren guns and other small arms (Stacey, 1977). He became a resident technical and inspection officer and was the departmental expert on small arms.
Words exert from Small Arms history written by: Liwen Chen for Heritage Mississauga
