Veterans’ Woodworks Ltd… Who Were They?

I have been working on a post about lap and steel guitars made in Canada and I was considering including this manufacturer but as luck would have it, I stumbled upon a photograph that reveals they made much more than just lap guitars in the same vein as Bert Hill. So I have decided that even though my information is pretty much nil, Veterans’ Woodworks Ltd deserves it’s own place… if for no other reason than to try and shake some more information loose. The photo is of a storefront display window with a range of Veterans’ Woodworks’ guitars from 1947. I have also found a reference to a guitar in the collection of the Museum of Vancouver and I have contacted them to inquire whether they might be able to direct me to more information. The original owner of the instrument reported to them that it had been purchased in the 1940s. I have also found a couple of group photos of some posed men who were in some way involved with the Western Academy of Music, which I assume is the name of a music school/publisher of the time for whom (or perhaps owned by) Veterans’ Woodworks Ltd. made their instruments. That’s it so far… if I am able to acquire something more I will be sure to report it here.

ADDENDUM: An employee at the Museum of Vancouver responded very quickly with information from the city’s newspaper directory indicating that Veterans’ Woodworks Ltd. operated from 1945 to 1950 at least. They have also posted photos of the museum’s example which I have now added to this post and their link now leads to the source photos.

Photos of the one guitar I have found “in the wild” and my source links follow as usual.

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Museum of Vancouver: http://openmov.museumofvancouver.ca/object/history/h2005271a-b

City of Vancouver Archives: https://searcharchives.vancouver.ca/b-c-e-r-co-window-veterans-woodworks-steel-guitars