TRANSCRIPT

I was born in London England, and the day the first siren went [off] it was my 21st birthday and everybody ran in the streets and didn't know what to do. You know it was sort of; well it was the first air raid siren we had. Well then I was going to University Evans for teaching business, and than when the war went on they conscripted people under 25. So my father was in the police force and I managed to get in the auxiliary women's peace corpse; we took the part of the manual called out, it only had to be call out for air force pilots. So I was lucky to get that job. Well then we still kept on our lives, I went to dances, and you know we didn't go to bed every night. We had, underneath the stairs is the most secure place to go, and it [was] used as a pantry with marble shelves. Because in those days we didn't have basements, and we put deck chairs in there, we had a barrowed old stove and we could cook, you know and that, because sometimes the gas armatures were blown up and we had no gas for a week.

And then we all had to do air raid warning duty and when it was bad, I mean you had to, even my grandfather was over 70 (and) he did it, and I used to go along and if you see a light through the shink (sp?) of the black curtain you say put out that light. And then when the bombs were coming I used to jump into a person's door way, there's not much point in standing out, you know but the black drapes we had where terrible.

In the Battle of Britain we had quite a few German pilots parachuted out because that was a real battle, the Blitz you know the battle of Britain. Everyone was out in the streets. When they came down I couldn't understand it, people went in and got baseball bats and everything but they never touched them. They just had it in their hand, they were so angry, but they never touched these Germans or pilots. And I used to go around where they were. They were in a compound near where I lived, and they were the real Nazis they were blond hair and I stopped going around that way because they'd come to the fence and they'd say, "were going to marry some of the Engl.. you know they really thought they were going to take England. But one night it was foggy and we never had one and I hate the fog in England, but we were glad to see it during the war because we never had a raid because the Germans can't fly low or anything, so I used to go to bed when it was foggy.

The most beautiful dance place was Cobden garden that was the big opera house. And the night I met my husband Glenn Miller was playing. And I was thrilled too because Ray Eberle was the singer in Glenn Miller, and when they turned the thing around they had a ladies band, and the Glenn Miller orchestra, they came down and danced. And I danced with Ray Eberle, and when I hear him on the radio you know and I've seen pictures of him I was more enthralled in that then I was [with] my future husband. Well he (future husband) danced with my sister first because he wanted to know, I guess all about me. And I remember in those days he had an hour to catch the train back. So we had these movie tone theaters were you could just go in and see the news of the war.

So then I was in the peace corpse, and I was pretty busy, and we corresponded and then we met you know we met; he was stationed and I went down, and we decided to get engaged. It was in 1943, and you have to put in permission to get married for 6 months ahead of time because so many of the first army soldiers that came over, like there was no check on them and some of them were married and got married again it was really, you had to? if your young and you just get in with someone and you don't know. So I had to wait six months and I had a[n] interview with the captain and my husband did, and I remember him saying to me, we were two different people who worked at two different jobs. And I said, "Well opposites are the best, you know they say marriage" so he liked that, he said, "Well I guess it would be." So we got married in 1943, and I was lucky my grandmother gave me all her coupons. So I got a wedding dress and then all the people along where I lived, I made trifle and different things so I had a nice wedding. So then we went to Eastbourne for 7 days honeymoon. And then I came home, I used to go down to see him, and if there was an air raid you couldn't go into the station. You had to lay on the floor and I'd used to take brown paper in my purse so that the floor wasn't, the floor was dirty; it was just you know in those trains in those days and sometimes you had to lay on the floor for half an hour you know to get into the station.

So I carried on with my work, well then I found out I was a Canadian citizen, so I could take any job. And luckily I was under the 25 so I would have had to go into war work or something. You know they call you up you have to go, or you go before a tribunal. So luckily I was a Canadian citizen and I worked for Aerio Nasus (sp?) in the Greek shipping line. And I remember we didn't have enough rations and we used to go out for dinner, my husband and I were in a small little country place with an Inn. And we went in there and they had beef and it was really good you know and when we came back out it said "very best of horse meat sold here" but it tasted like beef.

And then my husband was wounded and he came home, I think it was the end of April, he'd been away nearly a year and I found out he was at a hospital. And I went down to see him and he said, "Oh I won't be going back" he said, "you better get your passage" and he said "I'll be over there by the time that you get there." So I thought well I might as well, so I put in for it and I went in June and my husband was sent back for occupation to put up the signals in Germany. So I couldn't cancel so I came out and I didn't have him out here. I had six months of living with his mother and father, they were wonderful and his relations were, but he had six sisters, and I'm sorry to say that they were sort of jealous. I didn't ignore it but it was really lonely for me, because I was used to London and I went back to Bancroft, and in those days they were all farms and now there are these art centers and people retired back there; it's a different place all together.


I belong to the war brides association, and the governor general Clarkson, and she remarked that so many of us brought over so many cultures. Some were professors and some were painters, they said it was the biggest immigration and she said herself that we altered all the culture and brought over our own culture and mixed in with the Canadians. But there is a difference between Canadians and the English. Canadians are all on the hurry you know and English people are very laid back. I found it very difficult, I know I went in and asked for a shanty with my husband once, but they know now what a shanty is and it's ginger ale with some beer in it, not too much beer that's a shanty. That's a girls drink you know, and we had a shanty. I remember coming over on the boat, I came on the Cynthia. And some war brides went up the steps to the line up and they turned around and came back, they did, quite a few of them did that. I can not remember getting on the train. And it was very sad because as we went through Quebec some of the people got off the train and you could see they were just so hesistant, you know, well some of them their husbands where there. Then we went right the way through. Well I got off at Bellville, that was the nearest for me, but I liked it, like as I say your roots are you roots where you come from, but there was a lot of Canadian war brides, the night before we left we had to go to, now I don't remember staying in this place; now I read they didn't change the sheets for two weeks. And I don't remember that but I do remember going to a meeting and most of us had hats on and gloves, you know what the English people are like. And these army that were in the Canadian army, the girls were showing off these fashions, you know that they wear in Canada. So one of them got up and said, "What is the difference? You know, we dress conservative" and then they gave out cook books. I threw mine in the sea, I got so mad because, they had visions of us that? you know and, but I objected to that really, they say the Americans were worst, the war brides, they had to go through a lot, they kept them about a week before they were even sailed, we were just one night. And when I went to Canada I saw even my own sister-in-laws in bikinis you know and I never wore one in my life, you know, and I really didn't like with the cook books.

I learned a lot from my mother-in-law though, how to make bread and pie. The first two years I thought I'd go home, I wasn't unhappy with my husband, but I didn't like the set up of the Canadian life, they were different. When I got into family the girls were very clannish together and yes, I was an outsider, you know and I've never had rousing but we've never been close. They even told me that he was engaged to a girl, and I've met her, and she went in the convent because he broke up with her. And I found out she went, no engagement, she went with one of my husband's cousins when he went over seas, you know they tried to be mean. And you know I'm not the only one, and yet his relations were just wonderful to me, you couldn't wish for nicer relations. They welcomed me into their family, we visited everywhere, you know it's so funny, his relations, I had them here and we used to visit them on the farm and stay the night.

When we moved to Oshawa we didn't, we just had one room you know, and people thought we were crazy; we bought a house. My husband had only been in General Motors [for] about six months, but we [were] glad we did because people couldn't afford it later on and we just had the one child. Well then my husband built, he had some friends, and we built a cottage up near Kinmount. And then when we came to Oshawa. I had three other children and I was 38, and 39, and 41 when I had them. Well then my husband passed away in 1983, so he's been dead about 23 years and I didn't know what to do. I went back to teaching again, but it wasn't the same so I put myself right into voluntary work. I was treasurer down at the seniors for a good many years and then I was treasurer of the heart and stroke voluntary and all sorts of, now I was on the City representing the seniors for a year you know like you have a year. I enjoyed that, because I met most of the politicians and so I had a real varied life.