Remembering friends I made and lost
I remember those years before I met William Lyster (a brave Canadian sergeant and now my husband), when I was still in Britain. I think I was only about 20 years old at the time I met him. But before that, I was just a normal, average, young woman. I hung out with my girlfriends and we had occasional outings to have tea and crumpet parties. Oh gosh, the time we had together! I still remember the times we had during those parties, eating, laughing and gossiping. Do I miss those days! But after I married Bill, I started to spend more time with him. But my friends and I still kept in touch regularly. However, our outings did become less frequent, but when we did… by golly! And by the time I was pregnant with my first baby, Terry, my girlfriends had to come and visit me. Near the end of the war, Bill had to return back to Canada, and I was left in England with little Terry.
In early 1946, I was waiting with 18-month-old Terry for our ride to Canada. Bill was in the hospital at the time in Calgary because of wounds he suffered before the war ended. I said my goodbyes to all my friends. There were tears and sadness, but we promised to write to each other. Terry and I sailed the Mauretania from Liverpool with a group of nearly 1000 Canadian war brides. There, I met many other women, who were just like me! It felt great to be with others who were like me. I also met Maida who described herself as “back door Canadian war bride”, referring to being at first a Newfoundlander. Several days later, we reached Halifax, and into the arms of my husband.
After a while, a sort of ‘war bride clubs’ was formed for us women. It provided us with welcome and relief. They taught us French or English, cooking and Canadian culture, and provided an opportunity for us all to gather. I made many long-lasting friendships here, including Melynda. However, taking care of our children and husbands became our first priority and these clubs faded into the past. But in the 1970s, there was a renewed interest in getting together again. Gloria Brock established the foundations now known as the War Brides Clubs and Provincial War Brides Associations.
So do you remember any old friends that you’ve lost? Any new friends made?
PS – Loooong post.
posted by Eswyn Lyster | 22:12
4 Comments:
Christina the Factory Worker:
During world war 2, i was left all alone with my young son at home while waiting for John and Jimmy to return from battle. At first,we were very lonely.then i began working at the factory , making guns & providing weapons for war, i met some life long friends that supported me at the time. Actually, we supported each other since we were all there for the same reason; our family left us for war, and we all feel that we should do the least we can do to help out. We faced similiar hardships and gave each other advice, kept each other company and encouraged others to stay strong during the hard times. My friend Lucia, almost quit her job because of the working conditions and long hours. But we reminded each other why we were here & really helped each other through. I will never forget my girlfriends!
During the war, i lost many of my market friends. Some of them got a bad patch of land and didnt have much to harvest for the solider.. so they became one themselves. ill never forget Tom and Jerry. they were my dearest fellow farmers and the darn bravest soldiers too.
I was but a little girl, yet I saw so many people, people close to me, DIE, GET TAKEN A WAY! It was horrid. I didn’t even see it coming, that’s how sad it was! When I was 12, I was quite the catch! Not going to lie, I met a lot of nice boys, however, they all left to help out farmers and some even went to work in factories. They were young boys, maybe 14-16. I was gloomy for days, but I eventually remembered that I always had my mama to lean on.
Most of us at the paper were just colleagues before the war. People who worked together, but had never really gotten to know each other. The war brought us closer together, in our unified effort to keep the nation informed. It was then when we truly "met" one another. I still remember my editor's secretary, a pretty young girl by the name of Audrey. Never really knew her until the day she broke down in tears in the middle of the office. It was right after the Canadians had been captured as POWs by the Japanese in Hong Kong. Her brother had been killed in the attempt to keep the island. Many of us at the paper had similar stories, and we stuck together through our grief. I lost many of my friends too. Bright young people, ready to take on the world, lives cut short by war. I'll never forget the pangs of grief each time I learned another one of them had died.
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home