While browsing thru this cool dance book I own (and blogged about before, called “Let’s Dance: A Celebration of  Ontario’s Dance Halls” my friend stumbled up a  picture of a girl dancing jitterbug and the caption said she was the “Bren Gun Girl“. My friend turned to me and said “Who is a Bren Gun Girl?” I replied with a “I don’t know” and quickly ran to the internet for answers and what I found was pretty cool!

The Canadian "Rosie The Riverter"-Veronica Foster

The Canadian “Rosie the Riveter”Veronica Foster

Who was the Bren Gun Girl?

The Bren Gun Girl according to Wikipedia was a young woman named “Veronica Foster” who became a Canadian icon representing nearly one million Canadian women who worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions and material during World War II. She was popularly known as “Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl” and worked for the company John Inglis Co.Ltd producing Bren light machine guns on a production line on Strachan Avenue in Toronto, Ontario (Where I live! And now called “Liberty Village”). She became popular after a series of propaganda posters were produced; most images featured her working for the war effort, but others depicted more casual settings like Foster dancing the jitterbug  (just like the image we found in my book) or attending a dinner party.

She can be seen as the Canadian precursor to the American fictional propaganda tool Rosie the Riveter (Source-Wikipedia).

Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter aka "The Bren Gun Girl". Posing for a photo with a bren gun while smoking.
Source: Wikipedia

Image comment: I find it interesting that she is smoking in this picture. I know in the TV Show Bomb Girls that would not be allowed but maybe it is because she is posing with a gun and not a bomb 🙂

Note from Laura-Veronica’s Daughter:

Just to clarify a small fact… my mother never smoked. The photographer wanted her to smoke because I guess it was considered sexy in those days and smoking was supposed to be the socially acceptable cool in those days. Up until a few years ago you could smoke anywhere you wanted at any time. But… my mother never smoked… just for the “Ronnie” photos.

Now for some more pictures of our Canadian Rosie the Riveter

Inspecting a lathe at the John Inglis Co. Bren gun plant.

Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter aka "The Bren Gun Girl". Veronica in her 1940s Homefront fashion is working on a machine.
Source: Library and Archives Canada

Demonstrating the use of a kerchief to protect the hair of female employees from being caught in machinery.

Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter aka "The Bren Gun Girl". Veronica is tying her 1940s Headscarf before going to work on the homefront in a factory.
Source: Library and Archives Canada

Playing Baseball. The site of the photo is in what is now Liberty Village in Toronto.

Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter aka "The Bren Gun Girl". Photo features Veronica playing baseball in Toronto.
Source: Preserved Stories

Our Bren Gun Girl getting her photo taken for work. She was a petite woman.

Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter aka "The Bren Gun Girl". PHoto features Veronica getting a photo taken
Source: Preserved Stories

Preparing to go to a party at the Glen Eagle Country Club. What a fantastic 1940s hat!

Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter aka "The Bren Gun Girl". 1940s Photo features Veronica is beautiful 1940s Fashion for a night out on the town.
Source: Library and Archives Canada
Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter. 1940s Photo features Veronica is beautiful 1940s Fashion for a night out on the town.  Super 1940s Hat
Source: Library and Archives Canada

Jitterbugging with plant foreman Bill Ward during a party at the Glen.

Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter. 1940s Photo features Veronica in a 1940s dress dancing (doing the jitterbug / Lindy hop) at a party.
Source: Library and Archives Canada

Love the shot of her dress in this image and the dance pose as well!

Veronica Foster-The Canadian Rosie the Riveter. 1940s Photo features Veronica in a 1940s dress dancing (doing the jitterbug / Lindy hop) at a party.

Veronica Foster the Big Band Singer:

1940s vintage photo of Veronica Foster the Canadian Bren Gun Girl and also 1940s Big Band Singer.

Veronica was also a singer of repute in Canada. She sang & toured with Mart Kenney and his Western Gentlemen from 1943-1944 and then met her furture husband, trombonist George M. Guerrette (they would go on to have 5 children). She also sang with Ellis McLintock’s Orchestra as well as the Bobby Gimby Orchestra.

Here are some fantastic photos courtesy of Veronica’s daughter Laura of her mother performing in the 1940s (Oh my goodness her 1940s dress is just stunning!).

1940s Vintage photo of Canadian Veronica Foster performing with an orchestra in 1940s dress.
1940s Vintage photo of Canadian Veronica Foster performing with an orchestra in 1940s dress.

And now my personal favourite news clipping that features Veronica Foster & Swing Dancers who were jumping and jiving at Maple Leaf Gardens, thanks in part to Miss Foster who sang with one of the orchestras (Bobby Gimby I believe).

1940s newspaper article featuring images of 1940s teenagers and adults swing dancing and admiring Veronica Foster the singer.

I actually featured an image in a past blog post called “Vintage Photo Tuesday: The Social Dance” that you can see below.

It’s the Simpson’s Teen-Town Time dance at Maple Leaf Gardens (1940’s) featuring Bobby Gimby (Toronto Orchestra Leader), Art Hallman (popular Canadian Tenor) and Ken Watts.

1940's Simpsons Sears Teen Town Time Dance at Maple Leaf Gardens
Source: Toronto Archives

Want to learn more about Veronica Foster?

Here is a video on Ronnie the Bren Gun Girl done by CBC a few years ago. This video was pointed out to me by one of her daughters Laura. HERE IS THE LINK TO THE VIDEO (playback on my blog was removed by the owner of the video so you have to click on the link to see it)

AND…I was just told from Ronnie’s daughter about a Postage Stamp from Canada Post in honour of VE Day 2020 (75th Anniversary). THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Veronica Foster -Ronnie the Bren Gun Girl Canada Post Stamp.

And check out this 2016 Blog Post with another story about Ronnie..HERE.

To end this post I want to leave you with this great video to watch on our “Rosies of the North” Click Here

FURTHER READING:

Liz 🙂

26 Comments on The Canadian “Rosie the Riveter”-Veronica Foster, The Bren Gun Girl

  1. She was such a bombshell (WW2 pun entirely intended). I discovered her via Pinterest a while back and then proceed to “stalk” her on the web, too. I had to see and learn more about this hard working, total babe of a factory employee. I really adore that you shone the spotlight on Veronica here (I’m so going to include a mention of this post in my next end of the month link roundup – more folks, inside and out of Canada, need to learn about or Rosie of the Great White North).

    ♥ Jessica

    • Isn’t she just amazing? I would of totally loved to have met her. Such a great story and now I to am just a bit obsessed 🙂

      Ahh thanks for thinking to share! Would be great to spread the love of some good Cdn history with everyone.

      Liz 🙂

  2. I am Veronica “Ronnie” Foster’s daughter. My mother only had 5 children. I am thrilled that there is so much interest in my mother and what she represented to Canadian women then and now. Thank you for keeping it alive.

    • Oh my! Thank you for stopping by ad commenting! Your mother is truly and inspiration and I’m just fascinated by her part in the war effort. But not just me I know lots of women everywhere share the same sentiment. You were very lucky to have had such an inspiration as your mother.

      • @tovintagelizze thank you. She was an amazing woman. She became a widow at 41 years old with 5 children. She missed my father everyday of her life until she passed 37 years later. Thank you for your interest. Best, Laura x

        • Sigh how sad but she had to be strong I’m sure. I would love to know more about her life and maybe do a follow up piece on her. Would that be something you would be interested in doing? Not sure if you have stories or pictures from her life with your father, her life as a worker during the war? Would be so fascinating to know more. Let me know. Liz 🙂

          • The CBC contacted my family a few years ago to get information on my mother as they were doing a 6 part documentary called Love, Hate and Propaganda. Here is a youtube link on the excerpt of the part of the documentary which included my mother. My brother augmented it with more information on her life after Ronnie The Bren Gun Girl. http://youtu.be/-E0KvWve-9g . Perhaps this will give you some more information.

            Regards,
            Laura x

      • Hi there,

        I don’t think I will be much help. What you see in my blog post is all I could find, unfortunately. More then welcome to email some questions if you like and maybe I might know (but I don’t think so).

        Let me know!

        Liz

  3. Just to clarify a small fact… my mother never smoked. The photographer wanted her to smoke because I guess it was considered sexy in those days and smoking was supposed to be the socially acceptable cool in those days. Up until a few years ago you could smoke anywhere you wanted at any time. But… my mother never smoked… just for the “Ronnie” photos. Laura x

    • That is a good fact (I will actually make a note of that in my blog). I figured that it was just a “look I’m cool” photo. I also added the video you sent me to the end of the blog. Great piece. Thanks again! Liz

  4. Great post, Liz! I bought a very similar dress online while trying to find the right thing to wear to the Swing Fever event. It is so badly damaged as to be unwearable, alas, but it is so very pretty with the pleated waist detail.

  5. I love shopping at this online store. There is a huge variety of items that are no longer available anywhere else, that I know of. New vintage style clothes for the while family, potato chips in tins, cleaning products, home decor, etc. all at very high quality… have a look. Thought you would enjoy this:
    http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/

  6. propaganda is the use of “misinformation” or “fake news” to promote and idea, she actually did make the guns so posters of her doing so isnt propaganda

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