Description
Ms. Rapp describes joining Signals in Ottawa as a steno. She is eventually promoted to Sergeant as an enticement to keep her.
Helen Rapp
Helen Rapp, the youngest of five children, was born on July 15, 1925 in Schumacher, Ontario. Her dad and older brothers were gold miners. Ms. Rapp's brothers enlisted when the Second World War began, and she used her drafting studies to obtain a job with General Electric in Hamilton, where she helped assemble Bofors guns. When women were permitted to join, she enlisted and served in Ottawa. Ms. Rapp attained the rank of Sergeant and managed the office which controlled all Communication in Canada.
Transcript
When I joined up, I wanted to be in Signals. I wanted to be a wireless operator. I just thought that was just fascinating. But I was a steno, I had shorthand and typing and so, and they were badly needed, so but the next best thing was that when they offered us a job I said I would go to Ottawa and I would go to Signals.The directorate of Signals was divided up into different sections and the section that I went into was with the Northwest Yukon tel, NWTNY radio system, looked after all the radio systems in Canada, right across Canada. And that was the means of communication. And so that’s where I ended up. So I was a clerk. I was in D Sigs but of course I wanted to get overseas if I possibly could. But once you were in a job and doing it, the first time I mentioned that, all of a sudden I’m a corporal. Then I was a sergeant in the section and the section grew and then I had people working for me in this section. So I had a major and I had two captains, two lieutenants, a sergeant major and a CQ and mess, and so, but we had a civilian pool so they did all the typing and they did all the shorthand. So I just looked after that section and the correspondence and made sure everybody was working. Actually a girl Friday, you know, you do everything.