Verdun, Quebec, was home to one of Canada’s most important munitions factories during World War II. The factory was headquartered in the 1916 building known as La Poudrière, which is today recognized as part of Verdun’s heritage (though now it houses condos).

At its peak, this particular factory had approximately 6,805 workers – most of whom were women. These women are the subject of David Fennario’s latest play, Motherhouse (Talonbooks, 2014). Motherhouse takes place at the Verdun munitions factory and brings to life the voices of its historical women workers.

(See Pat Donnelly’s review in the Montreal Gazette, “Motherhouse remembers Verdun’s ‘Bomb Girls’,” published on February 21, 2014.)

From pages 128–132 of Fighting from Home: The Second World War in Verdun, Quebec (UBC Press, 2006) by Serge Dürflinger – a book based on his PhD thesis – we glean the following information.

Defense Industries Ltd. (DIL) re-established the British Munitions plant at Verdun in December 1940. Consisting of two small plants and having 250 employees at the outset, it became operational in May 1941, producing limited quantities of TNT and cordite (for ammunition). By 1943, the factory had been renovated with subsidies from the Canadian government to include 40 new buildings and rail sidings that linked the factory directly to train lines. DIL-Verdun obtained contracts and guidelines from the Department of Munitions & Supply; its primary client was the Canadian government, though the factory supplied ammunition to other Allied nations as well.

Verdun benefited economically from the factory, but there were associated challenges. In 1943, the city’s unemployment relief commission closed its doors, declaring that the booming factory had negated its raison d’etre. A serious housing crisis, however, hit and remained a challenge for Verdun throughout the war and into the post-war era.

Learn more about the history of Verdun from the Ville de Montréal website.

A companion to his war protest play, Bolsheviki, Motherhouse similarly debunks the sentimental notions of duty, heroism, and nationhood that figured so prominently in Canadian war effort campaigns.

Look for Motherhouse by David Fennario in Summer 2014.