This image is a “film still” from Gudrun Parker’s 1943 National Film Board film Before They Are Six. This 17 minute short was shot at 95 Bellevue which operated as the Bellevue Provincial Training Centre during the War.
The NFB describes this film saying “this short documentary offers an early example of the challenges faced by working mothers. As women entered the workforce in greater numbers during WWII, their young children were cared for by others. At day nurseries, trained staff supervised children’s meals, health and play. Toddlers are taught how to wash and dress themselves and to put their toys away tidily. The film is an intriguing portrait of the nascent mid-20th century world of work for women and their families”.
The DEPARTMENT chose the above image because it shows a mother and son in 1943 walking south on Bellevue Ave towards 95 Bellevue, in exactly the same spot where the commemorative sign was installed.