The Greenwood Military Aviation Museum is proud to present “Wartime Knitting: Remembrance and Recognition,” a travelling exhibit first prepared by the Kings County Museum in Fall 2022.
The display includes Second World War artefact and replica knitwork, reflecting the effort of communities to keep their soldiers, sailors and aviators warm, dry and comforted far from home. Scarves, sweaters, vests, mitts and specialty items all had to meet exacting wartime patterns and standards for our service members.
Initially knitting in outdoor spaces from the start of 2020 pandemic restrictions, the Kentville-area Four Season Fibre Group’s knitters created a sense of togetherness and common effort – and companionship – in their weekly gatherings. Conversations found commonalities, particularly in family traditions and relatives’ wartime knitting. The knitters focused their effort, using patterns from the Monarch Knitting “Knitting for Victory” pattern book. The GMAM provided guidance on colour, textile and yarn weight. The group’s final work resulted in the original Kings County Museum’s exhibit.
“This exhibit started a lot of conversations of what it was like here at home during the war,” said Kings County Museum curator Ellen Lewis, as she and Four Season knitter Marie Meldrum hosted GMAM display curator Ian Patrick last month on their half of a dual “field trip” to see how their show would translate to Greenwood.
“I am thrilled with the opportunity to see it at the Greenwood museum.”
This is the first partnership between the two Kings County museums, with the GMAM happy to extend local viewing of “Wartime Knitting” – and add items from its own extensive collection of items depicting life at CFB Greenwood in its wartime days as a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan base.
Patrick, also the museum society’s volunteer chairman, hosted both Lewis and Meldrum that same afternoon, whisking them through the Greenwood spaces. Meldrum had been there before, meeting with manager Captain Art Gogan before the original exhibit opened.
“We were here and found a beautiful khaki knit sweater way down in a trunk in the storage archive – just in beautiful condition!” Meldrum said. “Our group is so excited to see what you’re going to do with the exhibit!”
Patrick knows the GMAM has in its collection a nursing officer’s uniform it can add to the display, and there are Greenwood-specific items that will add just a few new stories to the exhibit.
“We always try to have empathy with our community in our events and in the heritage we share,” Patrick said. “Museums may often have a lot of ‘stuff,’ but they need to tell a story.”
He himself remembers growing up in Newfoundland, and his mother would pull out her knitting needles after supper and at spare moments through the days, knitting clothing for family members. Knitting articles for wartime use would not have been unknown in almost any household.
The GMAM will officially open the uniquely Greenwood version of “Wartime Knitting: Remembrance and Recognition” with a yarn-cutting event and refreshments at 1 p.m. Friday, May 5. The public is welcome to attend.
Visit the “Wartime Knitting” display, available to June 16, and the wider GMAM collection, Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The outdoor GMAM airpark is open dawn to dusk. Museum admission is free.
