Original Files from the Inglis Factory - Where are They?

The_Red_Rabbit

The_Red_Rabbit

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This maybe a random question, but does the records of the Inglis factory still exist?

And if so, who has them? The Federal Archives? The War Museum? Archives of Ontario? Or the City of Toronto Archives?

It would be really awesome to review some original documents in person.
 
Toronto Public Library has a local history department. That's where I would start. All the photos taken by various government photographers during the war are in the National Archives.
 
The_Red_Rabbit said:
This maybe a random question, but does the records of the Inglis factory still exist?

And if so, who has them? The Federal Archives? The War Museum? Archives of Ontario? Or the City of Toronto Archives?

It would be really awesome to review some original documents in person.
Click to expand...

If you don't have a reason to see them you might find that you can't see em. Lots of stuff similar to this is only available to people doing research etc, it's not available for Joe public.

If you do track them down and can go see em please try to take a video or something though, that would be super cool!
 
Original Files is very vague. I know that the firearms stuff,, went from Long Branch to Canadian Arsenals, then Dimaco, now Colt Canada, all that stuff was original files.
In the past five years or so Colt Canada has been transferring this stuff to microfiche and destroying the originals.
 
I have emailed the War Museum and they have kindly forwarded my request to the Military History Research Centre.

Really hope they have some original documents on the Bren contracts, and the 8mm variants made for the Nationalists.

Maybe some internal memo on the difficulties they faced during production? Really hope they didn't shred everything.
 
CGN member Mr.Clark posted on the net his Inglis Factory pictures from about 20?
years back or so plus original pics, info, etc. It’s quite the impressive website he made
and worth checking out.
 
Hello RedR. You may not have too far to go. Chien's great article, possibly thesis, on Long Branch was derived from records in the archival
reference section for City of Mississauga. I can only assume that is at City Hall?? However I expect the information would be scant as it involves guns going to China. I once spoke to a man who worked there at their loading dock. He told me that all the Chinese stuff was left in a certain area and when he would come to work the next day it was gone. Rather secret stuff back then and Canada's detailed arms association with its allies was never common knowledge and still is today. Surely the Bren Gun Saga book by Dugelby would entice you and possibly have some interesting references. JOHN
 
A large number of the files for REL and Long Branch arms were destroyed.
From what I can find, most if not all the records from REL were in a basement that flooded and they were just shovelled into the back of a truck and they went across the river to the paper mill.
I have the index of what should be here and none of them are available.
I made a copy of parts of the Canadian file index that was in England, which I found by chance.
When I asked to view some of the records in Ottawa it was an interesting conversation to say the least.
Other than around 15 thousand pages of microfiche I have, I think a good deal of the paper records were wiping Canadian butts after being made into toilet paper by E.B. Eddy in Hull.
Personal anecdotes are now a thing of the past as both John and I have found out and we are no spring chickens either.
I hope I remembered the correct name of the paper mill. Memory is the second thing to go.
 
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