The Andrew Malcolm Furniture Factory and the Mosquito Aircraft

This dresser was made at the Malcolm Furniture Factory in Kincardine, Ontario. It is a piece of local craftsmanship with a rich history.

In the 1850s, John Watson opened a small furniture shop in Kincardine, producing household items for the growing town. Around the same time, Andrew Malcolm emigrated to the British West Indies, but the tropical climate proved too harsh. He soon sailed North to Canada and found work with the Canada Land Company in the Queen’s Bush area.

By 1864, Watson and Malcolm had formed a partnership under the name Watson and Malcolm, establishing a thriving furniture business in Kincardine. When John Watson passed away in 1897, Andrew Malcolm’s sons—Andrew E. Malcolm and James Malcolm—joined the business. After Andrew Malcolm’s death in 1915, the company became known as the Andrew Malcolm Furniture Company. Andrew E. Malcolm managed a second factory in Listowel, while James Malcolm oversaw operations in Kincardine.

During World War II, the Kincardine factory took on a dramatically different role. By the end of 1941, the facility had shifted from making furniture to manufacturing wing parts for the De Havilland Mosquito—a fast, lightweight, primarily wooden aircraft used extensively by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Nicknamed the “Mossie,” the aircraft flew at 425 mph at altitudes of up to 30,000 feet. It was crewed by a pilot and a navigator and used for bombing raids, photoreconnaissance, and other “in quick, out quick” missions across the European, Mediterranean, and Italian theatres of war.

Women played a critical role in this wartime transformation. Local residents such as Edith Norine (Farrell) Turland (1924–2017), Bertha (Bolton) Tout (1913–2017), and Ardis Christine (Nicholson) Harkes (1926–2022) were among the many who joined the workforce at the Malcolm factory. Women made up the majority of the 250 staff members producing precision wing components vital to the war effort. Their meticulous craftsmanship met—and often exceeded—the high standards required by Britain’s RAF.