We grew up with the annual ritual of the Poppy campaign, which my Dad looked after in our community. There were some jaunts to the Royal Canadian Legion in Hillsborough, about a half hour from home.
One rather tangible record of some things that were brought to our attention was a cache of almost 500 letters sent to my mother during the years Dad was away. I received these after my Mother's death and read through all of them. They were all numbered so the proper sequence has been retained.
I think I was most surprised at the literacy of these letters, as my Dad gave very little indication of that part of his being. This is one of the most poignant excerpts....
" June 10, 1942
....... it must be great there now in the mornings about the time you go to school. I can just see the spider's webs and dew shining in the early morning sun, and the bobolinks would be nearby bursting....and the gardens would be just showing lines along the rows where the seeds are just coming through the ground. The hard working beans with their bent back. Did you ever take notice of seeds coming up? Well there is a lot of fun looking at the different ones as they start though the ground. You will have to look twice to see the skinny onion, and the squash jumps right out of the ground at you. Hey, what am I getting down on this paper anyway, asking a farmer's daughter if she was ever in a garden, and only a dozen years ago i hardly knew a carrot from grass. You will have to blame it on this pen...as I told you before, at times I have no control over it. So maybe I had better put it in my pocket for awhile......"
These were in no way a record of war, but rather a journal of the day to day, or week to week activities of life in the Army.
All soldiers knew they couldn't give much information of actual military activities since they would be censored out.
Dad had a bit of code that as Mother received letters let her know where he had been in recent history. The mundane tasks of staying alive and reasonably comfortable make up much of the focus.
The other main theme was one of extreme homesickness. Dad missed home and family very much. My older sister was only a baby when he left for England. The highlight of any day or week would be the arrival of letters and the precious parcels that brought a bit of home to the boys.
There also seemed to be a continual need to obtain a supply of cigarettes, a commodity that was in a constant state of flux...too many borrowed, too few arriving!
My Father was joined by three of his brothers overseas and remarkably all returned home in reasonably good shape. Such was not the case for many .
Watching the history of the Silver Cross Medal today brought home that fact.
Remembrances now cover many generations both past and present.
7 comments:
Very, very touching, Sharon! Brought back some memories, for sure. Linda
Beautiful, Sharon! Thanks for posting, brought back some great memories of my dad. Lulu
We received a few comments via email From Raylene..." my comment on your Dad's writing. I think he was a gifted writer. Perhaps you should consider publication? I think it would be beautiful."
from Joan via Facebook...."Lovely post, Sharon. For those of us who were born in Holland, we were brought up with gratitude for those who helped the country to regain freedom at such a very great cost to the soldiers. Your dad sounds like such a wonderful person, thank you for sharing and we will never forget!"
another email from Kerstin...
"I particularly enjoyed in your Father's letter the sentence with 'the hardworking beans with their bent backs'. What an interesting observation and beautiful turn of phrase. The letter with memories of Spring at home were probably a kind of escape from the horrors of war. The style is truly literary. Your Father mentions the Bobolink which has become so rare now due to the change in agricultural practices. This fact lends additional interest to his letter.
Thanks for sharing the letter and your memories."
email from Mary... "Thank you for sharing your storey. It was a reminder of my Father, very moving."
from my sister Marilyn...."It was interesting to read your musings about Dad. I was talking to someone and telling them Dad spoke very little about the war as such in his letters. Mostly the weather!!!!
I was reading a bit of Mom's summary of the letters. We have a service here at the Rec. Center and so one sees people interested in War remembering. It takes me a bit to remember some of the things.But I always go to Mom's book.
I very rainy ,windy day here. It was good most services were indoors. Our War 2 vets are very old and few these days. I get a cross to remember Dad and Uncle Jim and Uncle Paul. Some one from his family gets one for Uncle John."
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