The War Years

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End of an Era, the closing of the Prison for Women in Kingston
During the war, the inmates manufactured pillow slips for the Department of Service.
During the war, the inmates manufactured
pillow slips for the Department of Service.

The first German alien was admitted to the prison in 1939-40. Like other prisoners of war who followed, she was kept segregated from the general population and governed under a different set of Regulations and Instructions from the general population.

The Prison for Women's war effort began in 1941-42 when inmates began manufacturing thousands of pillow slips for the Department of Service (now the Department of National Defence). As the war progressed, the textile product line expanded and, also in 1941-42, inmates began to raise poultry for larger scale egg production.