Veronica Foster

Moreover, in 2016, Foster was also featured in an exhibition titled, “the other NFB” curated by Carol Payne, an arts history professor at Carleton University and Sandra Dyck, the director of the Carleton Gallery. The exhibition displayed the life of Canadians through showcasing an extensive photograph collection containing 89 pictures from years 1941–1984 taken by NFB during their role as the “official photographer” for the Canadian government.

In 2014, Canada’s Broadcast Corporation (CBC) Radio produced a six part series on Love, Hate, and Propaganda that featured a segment on Veronica Foster and her contribution in the Second World War in the third episode, “Meet the Enemy.” Though, the excerpt was later edited by Foster’s son to include more information about her life and work.

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 or attending a dinner party. After the war, she worked as a singer with Mart Kenney and His Western Gentlemen, where she met trombonist George Guerrette, whom she subsequently married. She died on May 4, 2000.

In 2000, Canada Post commemorated her influence through the creation of a stamp line featuring Foster. Moreover, in 2016, Canadian Broadcast Corporation featured foster in their six-part series titled, “Love, Hate, and Propaganda.” In 2016, her impact was also highlighted in an art history exhibition, “The Other NFB” curated by Carol Payne and Sandra Dyck.

Foster died on May 4, 2000, in Toronto, Ontario, at the age of 78. On May 8, 2020, which marked the 75th anniversary of the Victory in Europe (V-E) day, Foster’s achievements were commemorated through Canada posts’ creation of stamps in her honour. Foster’s and other Canadian women’s stories of participation in the Second World War were referenced in the National Film Board of Canada documentary, Rosies of the North. Her photos were available for viewing at the Robert McLaughlin Gallery in Oshawa from March to May 2016, in order to highlight her profound influence in the Second World War in inspiring women to join the workforce.

Through the band, Foster fell in love with George Guerette, the band’s trombonist. By 1944, Foster decided to depart from Kenney’s band. She continued to perform with other musical groups, such as the Trump Davidson Orchestra, while also pursuing a career in modeling. Foster and Guerrette eventually got married in 1945, settling in Guerette’s hometown in Edmundston, N.B. Together, they have five children. Music played an important role in the Foster-Guerette family, with one of their sons, George Guerrette going into the film industry and also playing the trombone, like his father. After Foster’s husband’s death in 1963, she decided to move back to Toronto. There, she changed career paths from a vocalist and model to become a real estate agent. She worked as a real estate agent until her death in May, 2000.

Once the war had ended, men returned back to the workforce, displacing a majority of women who had found careers during the war, including Foster. Around the year 1943, Foster joined the Canadian band, Mart Kenney and his Western Gentlemen, as their new vocalist. Although she was not part of any commercial recordings, the Western Gentlemen and her made appearances on the CBC radio program, ‘Sweet and Low,’ until 1949. There was increased exposure for the band through this program, resulting in tours and recurring performances at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.

In 1941, at the age of nineteen, Veronica Foster started working at the John Inglis Company Ltd. on Strachan Avenue in Toronto. John Inglis Company Ltd. was a massive facility that covered 23 acres, with thousands of other women working alongside Veronica in the manufacturing of Bren light and reliable machine guns used by Canadian and British soldiers. Between 1939 and 1945, the company produced over 40,000 Bren light guns. Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, the factory focused on creating appliances and machinery. Later on, the factory transformed and focused on the creation of guns due to a change in ownership. In 1939, when the Second World War broke out, the Canadian government was desperately looking to solve the labour supply shortages that came with men vacating positions to fight in the war. As a result, Canada turned to extending factory jobs to women. In May 1941, Foster then began working in the John Inglis Company making Bren Light Machine guns. She was discovered by the National Film Board (NFB), which had recently been assigned as the official photographer for the Canadian Government. The NFB chose Foster as the poster girl of their new campaign.

Veronica Foster (January 2, 1922 – May 4, 2000), popularly known as “Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl”, was a Canadian icon representing nearly one million Canadian women who worked in the manufacturing plants that produced munitions, weapons, and equipment during the Second World War.

On January 2, 1922, Veronica Foster was born in Montreal, Quebec to Daniel Leo Foster and Catherine Francis Empey Foster. She had seven siblings, four brothers and three sisters. At a young age, she moved to Christie Pits area in Toronto, Ontario with her mother and siblings. Although, as a teenager she frequently moved between both Toronto and Montreal. In her free time, her favourite things to do were playing golf and making charcoal drawings.