protection against tetanus, typhus, and other bacterial infections. The Labs began the war with a staff of 252; peaked at 1,500 staff in 1944; and ended the war with a staff of 800. The period also saw heavy collaboration with other local researchers at Banting Institute (named after Frederick Banting) and the Department of Bacteriology, both at the University of Toronto. In 1943, Connaught acquired more processing space at One Spadina Crescent, a building originally established for Knox College, then during WWI used for Spadina Military Hospital, where Amelia Earhart had worked as a nurse aide. Tetanus Connaught's previous efforts during World War I (1914-1918) had led to a highly successful campaign focusing on treatment of affected soldiers. In 1927, Connaught had begun to build on recent advances by Gaston Ramon at Pasteur Institute to develop various toxoids (inactivated toxins used to vaccinate against future infections). During WWII, Connaught intensified research on the tetanus toxoid to eliminate its negative side-effects and scale production. Edith M. Taylor led these efforts, building on previous successes with the diphtheria toxoid. Her methods for preparing the tetanus toxin (from which the toxoid was prepared) used a culture far more sophisticated than commercially available options, and yielded a more potent toxoid which was free of any negative side-effects. Taylor's work during this time led to her being awarded the Order of the British Empire at the end of the war. Typhus Typhus is a group of infectious bacterial diseases often spread through lice, fleas, and mites. Typhus fever, spread by the body louse, had ravaged both the military and civilian populations of Eastern Europe throughout WWI and continued to plague the European populace. While no typhus vaccine was available at the beginning of WWII, there had been promising research by the United States Public Health Service and the Harvard School of Public Health. At Connaught Laboratories, James Craigie launched a federally supported research program in July 1940 seeking to build on these findings. Their efforts culminated in a much richer bacterial culture and an improved ether-based purification method which lay the foundations for a large-scale vaccine production program in August 1942, overseen by Drs. Laurella McClelland and Raymond Parker. The operation proved successful, and the vaccine was soon made available to Canadian as well as British and American troops. At peak, one million doses were produced each month at Connaught. Craigie received the United States