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 The
Melhuish Collection of Second World War
Posters
When the Second World War broke out, Ivan
Melhuish was employed by Canada Packers,
Ltd. in Toronto. He was certified as medically
unfit for enlistment but was very interested
in the progression of the war. A self-confessed
pack-rat, he collected newspaper clippings,
magazines, programmes, letters and other
items connected to the war effort, both
in Canada, his native England and beyond.
His first poster came from the bulletin
board at Canada Packers, and was ultimately
joined by 295 others, many sent to him from
friends overseas and by groups with which
Melhuish corresponded.
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"Regiment
receiving The Colours before being
marched to Christ Church, Brampton.
April 30, 1939."
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Of Brampton during the war years,
Melhuish recalled "The whole town was
a noise of excitement. Residents were all
involved in one way or another with the
war effort, through volunteer work with
the Red Cross, or at the Maple Leaf Club,
in Victory Bond Drives, or by working in
essential war industries." Melhuish
continued to work for Canada Packers, a
major supplier of meat to the armed forces,
and also became a member of the Civil Defence
Corps for Brampton.
In later years Melhuish considered his
collection to be his small contribution
to the war and in 1979 he donated his collection
of posters and ephemera to the Region of
Peel Archives. Ivan Melhuish died in the
early 1990s.
Exhition Areas:
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