Submitted by the staff of the Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH)
The production of war materials required during the Second World War meant an industrial boom throughout Canada, and Orillia was not left unaffected.
In particular, Tudhope Specialties Limited produced various war materials within the factory located at the corner of Colborne and West streets. One of these was the Projectile, Infantry, Anti-Tank “PIAT” shell, developed in 1942 as a more effective means of piercing through the armoured surface of military tanks.
The shells were not loaded until reaching the front-lines of a battlefield where they were fired from a large launcher propped up on the ground. Powered by a spigot mortar system, the charge located in the tail would detonate to propel the missile forward while also resulting in a powerful recoil.
By 1944, the Tudhope factory was producing hundreds of PIAT shells and employing many local Orillians, mostly women, to assemble these munitions.
Tudhope Specialties Limited was one of the many incarnations of company manufacturing tracing back to the Tudhopes of Orillia. Starting out in 1876 as a blacksmith and wheelwright shop under William Tudhope, enterprises were expanded towards carriage making and automobile manufacturing into the early 20th century.
In 1928, the Tudhope Metal Specialties Limited and Tudhope Factory Premises Limited company began and primarily produced a modest range of electrical appliances. During the PIAT shell demand of the Second World War, the company was reorganized into Tudhope Specialties Limited.
The end of the war saw the Tudhope factory manufacturing for at least another decade, including the popular ice cream “disher” sold under the Tudhope name. Some of the inoperable PIAT shells even became a local novelty item by converting the shell structure into a unique household lamp.
Learn more about Tudhope industries and come see the Tudhope Ice Cream Disher on display in the exhibit Reflections Of Our Roots throughout this summer!
Next week we will feature another object from the OMAH collection that showcases our local history.
