Letter from R.M. Allan, to Assistant Director of Internment Operations, November 2, 1940

Typewritten letter from R.M. Allan, Warden of Kingston Penitentiary, to Assistant Director of Internment Operations, November 2, 1940. This letter on visits to female internees indicates the change in government position. It appears, as with the male internees, that visits were originally forbidden. However, sometime in the fall of 1940, the authorities reconsidered (see LDICEA2012.0017.0004).

Four Italian Canadian women were interned during World War II. They, along with 17 German Canadian women, were held at the Prison for Women in Kingston, Ontario. The prison was located on the north side of King St. West, across from the Kingston Penitentiary. The women were held in a separate wing known as the Internment Quarters. Eventually, the female internees were allowed visitors. Family members could visit the prison, but meetings were limited to 15 minutes and supervised by a guard. If the visit was conducted in Italian, a translator was provided at the internee’s cost. Visitors were limited to two persons at a time, and visits could not take place on Sundays or statutory holidays.