04-01 Grandfather Halter
Grandpa Halter joined WWI as a volunteer in 1914 leaving a young wife with two children, our mother age 3 and her sister Rae, age 2. Our grandmother Halter was enterprising and arranged for “Eatons” to send work home so she could enjoy income to supplement grandpa's army pay. Grandma Halter was an alteration tailor…
04-02 Canada Joins War
It is not often that a young child remembers a world-shaking event, but I remember the beginnings of WWII, with frightening clarity. "Quiet, quiet", my father shouted as he ran from the bathroom into the living room to catch the morning news report on the radio. He was only in his underwear shorts and held…
04-03 Kilroy was Here
Anyone who lived through World War II will remember the slogan “Kilroy was Here”. On every news reel showing US forces advancing in France or Italy, there would be the cartoon signature announcing that “Kilroy was Here” on fences or walls. This had a special meaning for Ian and I when we went to Ireland….
04-04 From Bacon to Bombs
I can still remember mother pouring bacon fat out of the frying pan through a strainer and into an empty tin can. "It's for making bombs," she explained. It was 1942, and we lived in a bungalow on Bowie Avenue in the Dufferin-Eglinton area of Toronto.People were saving everything. One day trucks would be picking…
04-05 It’s Friday Dad
Dad was driving me to the D. B. Hood Public School on Dufferin Street in 1942, and before saying goodbye, I remember saying to him, "Its Friday, dad." He quickly reached into his pocket and gave me a quarter to buy my War Savings Stamp. Every Friday in schools across Canada, teachers collected quarters from…
04-06 Sam Ovens
You seldom have a family member’s story available to the world in a major film. But the wartime horror story linked to Sam Ovens, who married my mother’s cousin Helen Halter, was told in the movie, “Schindler’s List”.To refresh the family connection to the story, Helen and her brother Ben are the children of Jack…
04-07 The Women’s Land Army
"Where are you going, Mom?" "To lead an exercise class for the Land Girls", she replied. It is 1941, and I am eight years old. Mother was wearing black tights and a sweat suit and heading off to the gymnasium at the local public school. She led a class of about 75 girls who were…
04-08 VE Day
It is 9:00 am Friday, May 8th, 1945 and I am three months away from my 12th birthday. There was no plan to go to school because we were waiting for confirmation that the war in Europe was over. There had been rumours the night before. Dad had already left for work an hour ago,…