in Hamilton and also opened up the QEW. Hamiltonians like others in Canada and the world welcomed the spike of economic demand caused by the war but not its source. Heavy industry again began spewing out its pollutants, and by the end of the war the ecological cost of pollution had taken its toll on Hamilton: heavy metals made fish from the Hamilton Harbour inedible, air pollution made breathing difficult and industrial dumps contaminated land. Unlike the First World War, in this war the Canadian Army mobilized its territorially recruited militia units as a body rather than soliciting individuals to serve in conglomerated units. Men of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (colloquially known as the Rileys) and the rest of the 2nd Canadian Division were mobilized early, but sat on their hands in Britain for two years. The Hamilton area was also active in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF): the city proper sponsored 424 "Tiger" Squadron by buying bombers to equip it. On the home front, the public not only eagerly followed the progress of the war, but they also got a chance to see airmen in action. In 1940, as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the Royal Canadian Air Force established a station in Glanford Township. Hundreds of Commonwealth pilots and other aircrew were trained at RCAF Station Mount Hope, and some unfortunate ones are still buried there. The army’s enforced idleness—disregarding their unsuccessful foray to France in May 1940 and disastrous defence of Hong Kong in December 1941—led to discontent in the army, the public and the government. In this atmosphere, the timing was ripe for Lord Louis Mountbatten’s ill-advised and unauthorized raid-in-force. The Rileys lost hundreds of its young men on a single day in 1942, when they were effectively wiped out as a fighting force at Dieppe. When the war finally ended, Hamilton was a much different place. Women had permanently entered the paid workforce. The lean times of the Great Depression were over—and veterans were going to make sure that happened. Notable people from Hamilton prior to 1946 People associated with Hamilton who became well-known prior to 1946 are listed below in the order of their birth year. Étienne Brûlé, (1592–1633), The first European to visit what is now Hamilton was probably Étienne Brûlé in 1616. Robert Land, (1736–1818), veteran of the American Revolution and one of Hamilton's founding citizens. John