Remembering our Heroes (Part 1)
As Remembrance Day approaches, we would like to recognize members of the armed forces and pay our gratitude to those who have sacrificed for our freedom and protection. As many of us reflect on our memories of the war, writer Richard Todd visited The Salvation Army’s Meighen Health Centre in Downtown Toronto. With many residents having vivid recollections of the war-torn times, Richard interviews them to share their stories.
Major James Smith (Ret.)
For James Smith, Remembrance Day is a day to ruminate on what life was like in Toronto during the war years, and how even with the battles taking place thousands of miles away, we still had to take precautions right here at home.
“I remember the blackouts,” he says. “We had to cover our windows not allowing any light to shine through for fear that the enemy would attack us. My father was an air raid warden, and was given a hard metal helmet like the soldiers would wear in battle, and a flashlight to be used only in emergencies. His job was to go out into the street after dark making sure that everyone in the neighbourhood had their blinds pulled down.”
When Canada entered the war in 1939, James was eight years old, one of six children whose parents tried to keep life as normal as possible during a very difficult period.
“I had an uncle who was a soldier in Belgium,” Mr. Smith says. “He was fortunate to survive and come back to his family, but my parents had many friends whose husbands, sons, and sometimes daughters never came home, giving their lives for the freedoms we enjoy today. I can still remember some of their names.”
Although many years have passed since World War II, his thoughts still return to the fallen men and women with every Remembrance Day service he attends or participates in. “I’ll never forget the price that was paid for our freedoms,” he says. “I thank God for the way of life we cherish, appreciate, and enjoy today.”
Ms. Lois Bertram
“I’ll never forget the day that letter came.”
Ms. Lois Bertram wistfully remembers her dear high school friend Gerald Fitzgerald, who left their hometown of Peterborough to go overseas to fight in Europe, but never came home.
At the time, Peterborough was a bustling place, full of soldiers taking training courses before boarding a train to Halifax. Ms. Bertram was a teenager, helping knit sweaters that the Red Cross would send to soldiers actively engaged in the war, giving them a sense of home and comfort while existing in an environment fraught with death and destruction.
“The Salvation Army operated a canteen in Peterborough,” she says. “The soldiers would come up and we’d have wonderful dances. That’s where I met my husband-to-be, Russell Bertram, who was a Band Sargent for the RCMP.”
“Every day we’d hear updates about the war on the radio,” she says. “Our local station would let us know if any of the local boys had been lost. The soldiers started returning home with missing legs or arms or suffering from the effects of battle in other ways. It was such a sad time.”
Then the letter came with the news that Flying Officer Gerald Fitzgerald, who was serving as a navigator on a bomber over Hamburg on August 2nd, 1943, was missing in action.
“You can’t imagine how upsetting that was,” Ms. Bertram says. “But to this day, and especially on Remembrance Day, I still honour his memory and reflect on the good times we shared.”
*Interviews conducted by Richard Todd
*Stories written by Richard Todd