1943-47 Diary of a Camrose, Alberta Student, Labourer and Film Buff Discussing Work, Life, the War, and Many, Many Movies

On offer is a fine example of a multi-year diary kept by a young man named George Granger in rural Alberta, Canada during World War Two (WWII).

The author of the diary is George Beverley Granger (b. 1927). He was the youngest of five children born to Barlow Clyde Granger (1889-1966) and Helen Marie Solien (1895-1973). He was raised and lived in Galahad, Camrose, Alberta. This diary originally belonged to his mother, as she inscribed it with her name and made one brief entry on January 3, 1943. George then crossed her name out, written his own, and written the rest of the diary in his large, childlike hand. He kept the diary almost every day from 1943-1946, and was less consistent in 1947. 

There is very little information available on George Granger, but we know he is around 16 when he begins his diary, and 21 when it ends. This aligns with the early entries he makes about attending school. We also know, from his mother's inscription, that he lives in the village of Galahad. He works on a family farm and also ‘in town’, unloading freight at the railroad station. 

George's daily entries are generally brief but certainly until 1945, make continued veiled references to WWII. Mostly he comments on seeing ‘airplanes’ - groups of them most days. Another constant in his entries are the many movies that he sees.

Some brief excerpts from the diary follow:

“Fair and warm. Earned 30 cents. 3 airplanes. Didn’t go to school” [Mar 17, 1943].

“Thawing. Got $1.10 today. 7 airplanes. Have $28.00 now” [Mar 26, 1943].

“Fair and windy. Hauled out junk and got water. Our army invade France. Last train 4:00. 3 airplanes” [June 6, 1944].

As noted, he lists the many movies that he saw and indeed, his diary could be a catalogue of the most popular war-time movies then in circulation.

“Show “Queen of the Yukon”...” [Apr 3, 1944].

“Fair and mild. Worked. Show “Captain Eddie”” [Sept 28, 1946].

Canada entered WWII in September 1939. The British government looked to its Commonwealth allies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, for assistance in training up the necessary air crews required to prosecute the war. Canada was an ideal location as it was the closest to Britain, far from the combat front and had the vast space necessary for air training. In 1939, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) signed and the program was rolled out in Canada.

Between 1940 and 1945, some 151 schools had been established across Canada with a ground organization of 104,113 men and women. By the end of the Second World War, the BCATP had produced 131,553 aircrew, including pilots, wireless operators, air gunners, and navigators for the Air Forces of Great Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. A number of these schools / bases were located in Alberta, one of the largest being in Edmonton, Alberta. This would account for Granger’s almost daily sighting of planes.

For a social historian, this diary offers an excellent long-term look at life in rural a rural Prairie province in Canada during the war years of WWII.

This five-year diary measures 6.0 inches by 4.25 inches and contains 365 pages. It is 100% complete. The cover is in good condition. However, it has separated completely from the binding. The pages are in good condition and the handwriting is legible.