Ministry of
Government and Consumer Services
Ministry of
Government and Consumer Services
Fonds F 2082
1.5 metres of textual records
1 plan
ca. 600 photographs
4 prints
2 drawings
1 audio cassette (30 min.) : digital
Fonds consists of textual records, photographs, one audiocassette, and documentary art created and received by the General Engineering Company and by Robert Hamilton.
Textual records in this fonds include some financial records, personnel records, product design and manufacture records, company histories, procedure manuals, copies of the employee magazine "Fusilier," and newspaper clippings.
Fonds also contains correspondence and notices regarding work Hamilton performed as a member of the American Arbitration Association and also of the Arbitrator's Institute of Canada. This material primarily pertains to a dispute between VIA GmbH and Hankison Corporation, in which Hamilton served as an arbitrator. Other correspondence deals with membership in the organizations, speaking engagements, and conferences.
Included in the fonds are photos taken 1941-1944, mainly portraits of Scarboro plant staff members, plant operations and visiting dignitaries.
As well, one diazo plan showing the layout of the plant is included, along with an accompanying list of buildings identifying the structures numbered on the plan. Also, four photomechanical prints are included, consisting of cartoons promoting plant safety in the munitions industry. The artwork is by Lou Skuce, cartoonist for the Toronto "Telegram" during World War Two.
Fonds also contains one digital audiocassette, containing a recording of a radio broadcast entitled "Let's Visit," describing a visit to the Scarboro plant in 1945. The broadcast is produced by Hartley McVicar, who also is one of its hosts.
Fonds has been arranged into two series.
The General Engineering Company (Canada) Limited (GECO) designed, built and operated mining and industrial plants, airports and munition works. They operated a plant in Scarborough, Ontario.
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Fonds remained in possession of Robert McLean Prior Hamilton until 1980, when he deposited them with the Engineering Heritage Records Foundation. The Foundation donated the records to the Archives of Ontario in 1981. A subsequent donation was received by the Archives in 1998 from Robert Hamilton's widow Elizabeth Hamilton of Toronto, Ontario. Two further items were donated by Barbara Dickson in 2009 after being found in an attic belonging to Ken Bott.
An audiocassette interview of Robert Hamilton regarding his involvement with GECO is found in fonds F 1062. See series F 1062-3-0-2.
This fonds was previously known as the Robert M.P. Hamilton fonds.
Material in this fonds originally was part of F 1062, the Ontario Engineering Heritage Records Foundation fonds. For a listing of fonds separated from that fonds, please consult inventory for F 1062.
Accession numbers: 14154, 34613. Lead 0809-074.
Consult inventory for F 2082 to narrow down search.
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Digital images of all or some of these records are available for online research in the Visual Database.