Canadian women in WWII - tv series assistance

[Anonymous]

I'm conducting research for a 5 part tv series on Canadian women inWWII.**Indepedent Moving Pictures, Inc. is producing the program.It will focus on overseas efforts - including women of the secret service, various military branches, Canadian Press reporters, war artists, Nursing Sisters, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Mechanized Transport Corp and flyers who joined the ATA in Britain.**The passingof many of these women and the age of those still available to interview creates a sense of urgency to capture these stories now on film.One of the women we need information and visuals on is Joan BamfordFletcher.**She was originally from Regina, Saskatchewan and trained with the Canadian Red Cross as a transport driver.**She then paid her own way to Britain and joined the FANY'S (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry).**Ms. Fletcher was posted as an ambulance driver and general worker in a unit operating with the Polish Army in Scotland.**In the spring of 1945 she was sent to Southeast Asia as a lieutenant.**In October she went to Sumatra to evacuate the Bangkinang prisoners.**She was responsible for getting close to 2,000 POW'S to safety.**In the process she used 70 Japanese soldiers as truck drivers and guards.**She's believed to be the only white women ever to command a party of Japanese army men.**She won their respect and was presented with a 300 year old sword.**The British made her a member of the Order of the British Empire.**At one point Ms. Fletcher had been evacuating POW's for 3 weeks when the British troops reached the area.**According to regulation, she should have turned the job over to the troops.**Instead Brig. General Peter Hutchison who was in charge of the troops told her to keep at it if she wanted to.**He would cover for her but she mustnever let General Chambers - the OC at Padang - find out.**All the information I have at this point comes from a Nov, 1946 article in The Standard newspaper from Montreal.**The article continues by saying that after the war and her recovery from swamp fever, the British Embassy offered her a post in either Poland or Russia.We are also trying to locate information on: (1) Canadian women who are said to have been recruited to work for British intelligence,**(2) visuals on those Canadian women who joined the ATA and (3) visual or audio material on Canada's nursing sisters and female military personnel stationed overseas.If you know where I might obtain visuals, on-air people who can speakwith some authority or first hand knowledge about these or otherCanadian women who served in some capacity overseas during WWII, pleasecontact me. Thank you.Barb Campbell****************************Phone 1-306-585-0901**Women and War****************************Fax**** 1-306-585-2219Independent Moving PIctures, Inc.Regina, SaskatchewanCanada S4S 1R8****************Email - bcampbell@cableregina.com



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bcampbell@cableregina.com