I was rummaging through some of my Dad's old stuff this weekend with a mind to getting some of it organized when I came across this. This is his old badge from Research Enterprises Ltd during WWII. Research Enterprises Limited or (REL) was a high technology war industry company.

Occupying 55 acres southeast of Eglinton and Laird, REL at its peak it employed over 7,500 people in buildings covering 750,000 sq. ft of engineering and manufacturing plants. It produced an incredible $220, million worth of high technology radio machinery and precision optical instruments in its six short years. Little remains, just a few red brick buildings on Eglinton and on Research Road.

Incorporated on July 16,1940, and closed in September, 1946, Research Enterprises was the largest single employer ever to operate in Leaside. War conditions gave Canadians a chance to show they were among the world's best in establishing a high technology facility and at maintaining very high production volumes throughout the war.

Noteworthy was the equal staffing of men and women, with
the latter providing most of the inspection staff.

Excerpt from: Points Of Interest Along Lost Streams

I feel blessed that I have such tangible pieces of my family's past in order to give me a better understanding of who they were outside of the roles I knew them in. My Dad's days at REL were long over when I was born in 1967.

Thank you for stopping by, and wishing you all the best in the week ahead

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