Harold & Elaine Turner - Supporting the War Effort from Home
Information provided by Patricia Turner, daughter of Harold & Elaine Turner.
Both Harold & Elaine Turner volunteered to serve in the war, but, for different reasons they were not accepted and instead served the war effort by working at the Cominco Smelter in Trail, BC. during the war years. The family would like to honour their memories and their contribution to the war, albeit here in Canada.
Harold was born on July 18, 1910. So, he was 30 when the war started, and he was a proficient lead burner – a specialty job – at the Cominco Smelter. He had some health issue and a job that was important to the war effort. Both of these made him of more value working here in Canada. He worked for Cominco for 35 years, had many health issues because of the working conditions there, and died from lung cancer 9 months before he was able to retire. He was a wonderful, kind and generous man.
Elaine was born February 26, 1926. She began working at Cominco when she was just 17, after answering an ad asking women to come to work at the Smelter to replace the men at war. At the Smelter, her job was to clean huge zinc sheets in an acid bath, a very difficult job. As soon as she turned 18, she traveled from Trail to Vancouver to volunteer for the war effort. But, because she did not have any nursing skills – which were needed at that time – and was already working in a “man’s” job at the smelter, she too was told to help by continuing to work there. She, along with the other women who worked men’s jobs during the war, were asked to leave their jobs when the war ended and the men came back home to their jobs.
Elaine and Harold married in 1945 and had two daughters, Kathryn and Patricia. After Harold passed, Elaine attended BCIT to become an R.N. and a Reg. Psychiatric Nurse, and was well loved by her patients.
Harold passed Oct. 29, 1969 and Elaine just passed Nov 10, 2019. She waited impatiently to see the 50-year memorial the family had put in the paper for Harold and then seemed content to leave.
Kathryn and Patricia have honoured their contribution and sacrifice for the war effort by planting two trees for them.