Her arms are folded. Her face is stern. Decades later, the portrait still conveys an image of strength. It is one of the most famous canvases to come from the brush of Molly Lamb Bobak, Canada’s first female martial artist. It has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world. But while the painting itself is familiar, the story behind it—of its subject, Eva May Roy—is much darker. “This painting of Private Roy has been part of the public imagination for decades,” said Laura Brandon, retired war art curator at the Canadian War Museum. “It’s well known, but Roy’s story is not.” Sgt. Eva May Roy’s photograph remains at the Canadian War Museum. (Pierre-Paul Couture/CBC News) Roy died in 1990, having retired from the Army with the rank of Sergeant. She is one of many black women who served in the Canadian Forces during the Second World War – people whose stories are largely missing from the public record. Roy was a pioneer, serving overseas at a time when it was rare to see Canadian servicemen working in Europe. “She was right there with everyone else doing the same thing,” said her granddaughter Shannon Roy. “He didn’t hesitate… He showed respect.” Eva Mae Roy reached the rank of sergeant after re-enlisting in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps in 1955. (Submitted by Shannon Roy) Stacey Barker, art and military history historian at the Canadian War Museum, recently combed through Canadian Forces archives to discover more about the person behind the painting. He learned that, after the outbreak of war, Roy left her job as a presser in a laundry to become a machine operator and fuse fitter at the General Engineering Co. munitions plant. in Scarborough, Ont. Roy was drafted in 1944 and joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC), a new unit created just three years earlier. The CWAC had 50,000 women in its ranks during World War II in support roles ranging from cooking to decoding. Historians say that before the CWAC was created, the only option Canadian women who wanted to join the war effort had was to serve as a nurse — and it was nearly impossible for black women to get that training. Roy trained as a cook and served in military canteens in Canada, the UK and the Netherlands. “It was quite unusual,” said Mélanie Morin-Pelletier, the acting director of research and chief historian at the Canadian War Museum. “Only one in nine Canadian women in the military has served overseas. So it was amazing that she was able to do that.” The Canadian War Museum says Roy was not offered a place in the Army Show – possibly because of discrimination, as she would have been the only black woman in the chorus. After that he asked for another commission, the museum said. (Submitted by Shannon Roy) Roy’s military records show that the austere image presented by her portrait was a little misleading. She had an outgoing personality, was excited about the military and loved to sing. He was detached for a month to audition with the Army Show, an internal performance troupe that entertained Canadian soldiers overseas. But no one would teach her the routines, the museum said. “There’s no official reason why she didn’t make it, but we have to remember that she would have been the only black woman in the chorus,” Morin-Pelletier said. “So it’s easy to read behind the lines.” After returning to Canada in January 1946, Roy worked as a government postal worker in Toronto, the museum said. Nearly a decade later, when the CWAC launched another recruitment drive, Roy re-enlisted, serving from 1955 to 1965 and attaining the rank of sergeant. Shannon Roy said her grandmother wasn’t the type to push her away from something she wanted to do. “It was a different time then and unfortunately there was a lot of racism,” he said. “So the fact that he was able to get the rank of sergeant is just incredible in my mind. “You think they might hold her back, but I’m sure she wouldn’t let them because that’s just the type of person she was. She would have stood her ground.” Roy had an “extroverted personality” and was “very enthusiastic about the military,” said Stacey Barker of the Canadian War Museum. (Submitted by Shannon Roy) Another painting of her grandmother has been hung in her house. Her photo albums are filled with black and white pictures of Roy in her uniform and doing track. These photos show a side of her that Bobak’s portrait doesn’t—confident, calm, always smiling. “People would gravitate toward her,” Shannon Roy said. “Just for her smile.” Her family describes Roy as an outgoing, determined and hard-working single mother who lived in Cobourg, Ont. for more than 25 years. Roy worked at the Queen’s Printing Office and was known for having “the best laugh”, Marney Massey said. Roy’s preliminary sketches by Molly Lamb Bobak, which are still in the archives of the Canadian War Museum. (Ashley Burke/CBC News) Massy’s grandmother, Joan Cork, lived with Roy. They were both single mothers with military experience. Cork served in the reserves, her family said. “They had a lot in common and helped each other through hard times,” Massey said. Roy’s son Peter was well known around town for his support of the Royal Canadian Legion and for helping with the annual poppy campaign in his mother’s memory. Before he died in 2018, he traveled to Ottawa to see the portrait of his mother. “He was so happy to get another picture with his mother,” said his wife Hilda Roy. Roy joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corp in 1944 and served in the United Kingdom and Holland, according to her military records. (Submitted by Shannon Roy) This painting by Roy is so evocative, so full of life, that it casts a spell on almost everyone who sees it. Tanya Lee, who runs a national book club for at-risk teens, first saw a photo of the painting in a book 20 years ago. She said she couldn’t believe she didn’t know before that black Canadian women served in the Second World War. It was never taught in school, he added. “When I first looked at it, I was looking at her and wondering what it was like to fight for your country … knowing that at home you’re still considered a second-class citizen,” Lee said. Tanya Lee runs a book club in Toronto for high-risk teenage girls who can’t buy their own books. (Ashley Burke/CBC News) Lee has spent years learning about Roy and is now working on a pitch to make a documentary about her life. She said there are also plans to bring in black veterans to meet her book club in the new year to ensure Roy’s story is shared with a new generation. “It was a missed opportunity then, but it’s an opportunity now,” Lee said. “Only some people’s stories are honored and we need to rethink this debate.” For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians – from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community – check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here. (CBC)
