It is well known that Australia received vast quantities of aid from the United States of America during the Second World War, under the Lend Lease scheme. In order to partially redress the dollar value of aid received, Australia provided considerable quantities of goods to the United States in return under the Reciprocal Lend Lease scheme.
However, less well known is the equivalent Canadian scheme, called Mutual Aid. The Dominion of Canada, as part of the British Commonwealth , was involved very early on in the supply of materiel to Britain , particularly following the withdrawal from the Continent and the loss of much valuable military equipment. Canada , with its vast natural resources and thriving industrial base, became one of the ‘great providers’ to Britain , during the Second World War and consequently, other Commonwealth countries.
Motor vehicles dominated the types of war supplies supplied from Canada to Australia under the Canadian Mutual Aid program. This Ford model C11ADF station wagon, commonly known as a Ford 'Woody' due to its composite construction, was the ultimate in senior officer field transport. It was just one of the many types of vehicles supplied by Canada.
As with the provision of goods from the United States , problems arose not in the quantities available, but in payment. As a consequence, the Canadian Government enacted the Canadian Mutual Aid Act. This Act enabled the creation of the Canadian Mutual Aid Board with powers to ‘contribute, exchange, deliver, transfer title to or possession of, or otherwise make available, war supplies to any of the United Nations other than Canada’. Any member of the Allies could procure war supplies from Canada by paying up to the same value as the goods procured by Canada from that country, with the excess value paid for by the Canadian Government though the Mutual Aid fund.
For Australia , the Mutual Aid agreement was a blessing at a time when there were critical shortages of many war supplies, particularly motor vehicles. Prior to the war, Canada developed purpose-built military vehicles which was especially significant for Australia , which had a very small motor industry largely dependent on imported parts.
As a result, Australia procured a staggering 20,000 motor vehicles and parts from Canada during 1942 alone, amounting to over C$25 Million. While this was the greatest amount of expenditure on a single class of war supplies provided to Australia , it was only one type amongst a bewildering array of items provided by Canada . These included many strategic raw materials, such as special timbers, aluminium bars and ingots, iron and steel, brass, copper, zinc and nickel, as well as manufactured items such as C$2.5 Million worth of Pattern 1937 webbing equipment, various guns and vast quantities of ammunition. Some less common items included several coastal freight ships, miles of silk fabric, clocks, watches, and typewriters. Probably the most unusual was something Canada is still famous for: canned fish and fish oil!
While the Australian Government made a conscious decision to procure as many war supplies from within Australia as possible in order to preserve manufacturing expertise and employ Australians, there is no doubt that this country's ability to wage war was significantly increased through the manufacturing capacity, and remarkable generosity, of the Canadian people.
Trucks comprised the single greatest Australian expenditure under the Canadian Mutual Aid scheme. Initially, these were complete vehicles like the Ford F15 15-cwt 4x2 truck with a Candian GS body manufactured by the Canadian Top and Body Company. Later Australia imported only rolling chassis and built much of the bodywork within Australia.
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