Photo Frame and Portrait, c. 1942-1946
“Canada” Cigarette Case, c. 1942-1946
P20080016001-2

Between 1942 and 1946, Lethbridge’s population grew by upwards of 13,000 persons after the Federal Government decided to locate one of Canada’s largest prisoner-of-war (POW) camps on the north eastern outskirts of the City. Camp 133’s internees were former German soldiers, including members of the Deutsches Afrika Korps, downed Luftwaffe aircrew and captured Kriegsmarine sailors.

This Photo Frame and Cigarette Case belonged to Lethbridge resident and Veterans Guard (VG) member David G. Reid. Reid, a veteran of World War One, attempted to re-enlist with the Canadian Army in the early 1940s; however, he was found medically unfit to serve due to wounds he suffered in WWI. Not to be deterred, he joined the Lethbridge’s home front effort in 1942, becoming a Veterans Guard member at Camp 133.

Reid was never posted outside of Camp 133 or the Lethbridge region. His commute to work from his northside, 20th Street home consisted of a short walk across a farmer’s field. As part of his guard duties, he searched the crawl spaces underneath prisoners’ huts, looking for evidence of escape tunnels which, according to his daughters, he did find.

Handicrafts, such as the ones here, were received in trade from the Camp’s internees. In exchange, the guards gave the POWs luxury goods. It is understood that these particular crafts were received via trade for cigarettes. Before war’s end, the guards also traded cigarettes for the POWs’ chocolate rations. In the case of Reid, the chocolate was brought home and given to his kids. David G. Reid passed away in Lethbridge in 1967 at age 70.

Donated by Irene Fekete