The plant premises and the surrounding area had several town-like facilities such as residences for DIL employees, a post office, a fire department, a hotel, recreation centres, a grocery store, a school, a church, and local transit.

The proposed plant required a sewage treatment facility and a daily supply of 1 million gallons of water, which was met by Lake Ontario.

By the end of February, the contractors had erected their single-storey frame office buildings, just north of the present-day Ajax Town Hall.

A 25,000 gallon steel water tank was mounted 110 feet high to ensure constant supply and reliable pressure.

[14] The plant was originally known as "Defence Industries Limited - Pickering Works", and the sign on the Canadian National Railway (CN) line identified its location as "DILCO".

[15] DIL Ajax's first employee was Sydney Thomas Hopkins, an accountant from Oshawa, who was hired on 21 February 1941 as the Chief Construction Auditor for Carter-Halls-Aldinger.

DIL contacted many of these women for its Pickering Works plant, promising them train fare, affordable lodgings and meals.

Ultimately, unable to find enough workers, DIL offered jobs even to the women with children, who were considered least suitable.

[26] But, overall, the women vastly outnumbered men at the DIL plant,[25] and by January 1942, the ratio of female to male workers had crossed 2:1.

[28] DIL management's reports of injury-free days in The Commando suggest that the plant remained largely accident free.

However, according to worker Ken Smith, who later served as the mayor of Ajax, incidents involving minor injuries were common, and there were instances where employees lost fingers or had copper pieces lodged in their abdomen from explosions.

[30] Overall, the plant had a low incidence of damage, disability or death, which is remarkable given that most of the workers were relatively unskilled civilians inexperienced in handling explosives.

The Camp was located at what is now the south-west corner of Harwood Avenue South and Station Street, the site of Ajax Plaza.

The site of the women's compound was later used for building the Parkside Public School (which no longer exists) and St. Andrews Community Centre (located at Kings Cres and Exter Rd).

[33] Several workers rented houses or rooms from the nearby home owners, who saw this as an opportunity to earn money and to contribute to the war effort.

[37] The houses were not built to last: the plan was to dismantle them after the war, and possibly to ship them to the United Kingdom, to provide shelter for people who had lost their homes during the German bombing.

[42] Several other events were held at the Recreation Centre, including amateur hours, movie screenings, square dance evenings, beauty contests, and the annual midsummer competitions.

Its frame building was located at the intersection of Kings Crescent and Exeter Road; the site was later occupied by the Salvation Army Citadel.

However, their families lived on the land owned by the federal government, and therefore, did not pay taxes to contribute towards schooling in the Pickering Township.

Most residents of Ajax did not have cars to travel to these stores, and relied on door-to-door peddlers (who required a license), or home deliveries.

[45] Operated by Murison using locally hired staff, it was located in a large frame building, on the site later occupied by the Petro Canada gas station.

The buses dropped them off at Harwood Avenue, from where they could reach the plant by walking, riding a "cattle car", or catching lift from passing motorists.

[40] Many Christian DIL employees felt the need for organized worship, amid the worry and fear caused by the war.

[45] In response to the residents' demands for a church and a grocery store, George Finley advocated the formation of a local Citizens' Committee.

[39] Production at DIL slowed down substantially in the winter of 1944, as the Allied victory in the World War II seemed assured and the demand for shells declined further.

[49] Many men released from DIL found work at General Motors in Oshawa, as the auto industry revived after the war.

[48] During 1946-1949, the University of Toronto ran its Ajax Division in some of the vacant DIL buildings, to accommodate increased demand for engineering education, especially from the returning war veterans.

[48] After the end of the war, the government decided to liquidate WHL, as part of a policy to minimize its intervention in the housing market.

[49] The government ultimately bowed to public pressure, acknowledging the demands of the residents, and the need for housing from the incoming married University students.

[50][48] Bomb Girls (2012-2013), a Canadian television drama, was based on accounts of workers from the DIL Ajax and the GECO Scarborough plants.