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Some very interesting history on the town of Transcona and the RM of Springfield originated with the Transcona Cordite Plant. You can still see the earthworks outlining the factory buildings and roads that once were here, and of course, the ruins of six cordite magazines. A Transcona bawdyhouse at one time counted cordite workers as customers, and the site may have been, for six months, a Japanese internment camp during WW II.
“Springfield - 1st Rural Municipality in Manitoba 1873-1973” - published by the Dugald Women's Institute in 1974 as a Centennial project for the RM of Springfield.
The Cordite plant began when the Dominion Government purchased the fertile section of 1-11-4E in Late October 1940.
Defense Industries Limited was in charge of the plant. Construction began immediately. Local farmers helped with the hauling of materials by team and sleigh and by truck. Straw was required on many basement sites to keep out the frost. The excavated earth was placed to the south in large mounds around the nitro glycerin area, to protect buildings in case of an explosion. A power house with two very high chimneys, a large machine shop and other shops were built. Many area residents were employed here. Some recall the large staff house for two hundred people built on the Dodge Dairy site. This building was two stories high, long and wide in 'E' shape with the conveniences of a modern hotel. To the south east of the staff house, a fire reservoir was constructed and lined with field stone hauled from Anola. It was created in case of an emergency fire, as the water in the pipe would not flow fast enough. Also it would be easy to sabotage the water pipe line from the south. Many buildings were erected. Work continued around the clock. To the observing residents at dawn, a new building seemed to mushroom overnight.
In the middle of the section were concrete ranges. Here the cordite, a spaghetti like material used for ammunition, was pressed out, packed into bales and packaged. It was stored in six magazines ready for shipment by rail out of the plant. Residents, who were employed there, will recall the cotton storage area, wood pulp preparation, mixed acid storage, nitration, steaming and finishing area to the south and the main government laboratory, the telephone exchange, fire hall, laundry and hospital near the main gatehouse to the west.
An eight foot high metal fence was built around the entire area and a cinder guard walk was placed just inside the fence. There were five guard houses to the mile and an electric light pole everyone hundred feet. Guards moved from one shelter to the next every twenty minutes, as heavy security was maintained. There was to be no smoking anywhere in the area. Guards, however, were seen occasionally, by nearby farm workers, standing against the fence sneaking a smoke. Fire was a great hazard and workers were required to wear special soled shoes to avoid static electric sparks.
After the New Year in 1941, three daily trains left the Union Station on the C.N.R. from Winnipeg for the Transcona Cordite Plant. At the peak of employment there were 4,000 men. Many workers continued to reside in Winnipeg, as it was thirty minutes travelling time and no one paid for transportation. Occasionally local farmers, students and teachers boarded the train incognito with the crowd. There was also a large parking lot for cars. Many Springfield residents were employed here. The neighboring community also lodged employees.
The plant operated twenty four hours a day from 1941 - I 945. There was a great deal of secrecy. No one ever heard of any spying, serious fire or accident. Few pictures, if any, were taken. At its closure, some effort was made to investigate the use of this complex for peace time industry. However, the authorities decided it was impractical, although some of the buildings were large and very well constructed, while others were small and temporary. In a very short time dismantling and demolition began. There was considerable waste. As cordite does not explode unless detonated, it was hauled to a burning pit. The power house was also demolished. The two long chimneys were weakened on one side and dropped into two long trenches.
In the centre of the section there was a large burning area. Buildings were demolished with a bulldozer and burned. Little was sold. As destruction continued, some residents living near complained of their homes vibrating and being affected. In 1949 the Department of National Defense acquired a portion of the north 1/2 of I -11-4E to erect a transcontinental message receiving station. Staffed by three shifts of men from the R.C.A.F. this station continued to operate in 1973. Travelers, as they drove by at night on highway No. 15, could see the red lights of the station towers.
"Oh fertile soil, so much abused, you still show scars of war." Lois Duke Edie.
The Manitoba Museum - Social History Curator Sharon Reilly
The Transcona cordite plant was a highly secretive and dangerous explosives manufacturing facility that operated from 1941-1945. In 1940, the British and Canadian governments collaborated and invested 20 million dollars to construct a munitions plant – Defense Industries Limited – just east of the town of Transcona. Men and women worked in the mixing shed, combining cellulose nitrate, nitro-glycerine, and mineral jelly in large mixers to make cordite paste. The exact composition was determined according to the specific use intended for each batch. Once mixed, chunks of the pliable cordite were cut off and sent to another work area to be extruded through dies, like pasta dough going through a spaghetti press. Long strings of cordite were made this way and then cut to size and dried for later use inside a shell.
Workers arrived for their 12-hour shift each day via a special train that transported people and explosive materials past a towering wire fence patrolled by armed guards. Employees were forbidden to bring cameras to the site or to discuss what went on there with others. Great care had to be taken to prevent fires and explosions. Ferrous metals that might cause sparks, like steel and pig iron, were forbidden at the site and special clothing, handling, and cleaning procedures were required to limit the risk inherent in manufacturing explosives.
Winnipeg Free Press – Erin McIntyre
There was a cordite plant that was set up close to Transcona and for a period of six months it was used as a Japanese internment camp. A lot of people don’t realize that the war happened so close to home.
Town of Transcona Council Meeting Minutes
March 1941 – An illegal bar and bawdyhouse at the corner of Kildare and Redonda is shut down after “immoral activities” are found to be occurring there. The woman conducting the “activities” is a Miss Bowering from East Kildonan known to police there. Men from the CNR Shops and the newly opened Cordite Plant are found to be frequenting the farmhouse on a regular basis even during Sunday Church time.
May 1941 – A Cordite Ditch to carry wastewater is under construction from the Cordite Plant to connect to Bunn’s Creek in North Kildonan.
January 1942 – Council wants Regent Ave extended eastward to the Cordite Plant in Springfield but the Federal Government doesn’t want Regent extended.
In 1968 the Floodway was constructed cutting off Cordite Ditch.
In 1988 the Cooks Creek Diversion was built, in part following the Cordite Ditch, with its banks butting up to the cordite magazine foundations.