Welcome to the War Records-Manufacturing (WRM) series of photographs. On this website you will find images of black and white photographs taken during the Second World War by the Wartime Information Board, whose photographic operations were later transferred to the National Film Board. This series spans seven years, from 1939 to 1945, and documents the roles of Canadian civilians in the Second World War industrial effort.

This series is one of several War Records series taken by the National Film Board detailing particular aspects of Canada's home front during the Second World War. The 2,870 images on this website are only part of the WRM series and consist of nitrate-based negatives, an unstable and volatile medium. The complete series contains over 5,000 images, and the remaining images were taken on safety film.

Although the series was originally produced to encourage participation and support of the Canadian war effort, the photographs now document shifts within Canadian society at the time. As a result of the war, for example, women entered the work force en masse for the first time in Canadian history, and the economy grew significantly through increased industrial production.

In the ‘Highlights' section of this site you will find a selection of images arranged under three sections: Industries, Photographers and Themes. In addition, you can click on the ‘Search' section of the site to perform a keyword search and browse through 2,880 images from the WRM series. Explore these rich themes and images!