Transport yourself back to 1947– young women, many with children in tow, were climbing aboard ships at Southampton and Liverpool bound for Canada to join men they had married during World War II. This fall, the Chestermere Historical Foundation will be bringing to Chestermere stories of some of these women as presented by the players from Aspen Crossing www.aspencrossing.com.
There is a Chestermere connection here and to whet your appetite for this Remembrance Day production, here is the story of Rita Drake (nee King), mother of Richard Drake and aunt of Steve King , both local residents.
If you were a young British woman, already married to a Canadian or Newfoundlander, you would have permission to join your spouse. However Rita was not yet married. She went to #11 Downing Street to have the Deputy Prime Minister write a letter, which he did, giving permission to buy passage to Canada. Rita then left England intending to marry a man who, on her arrival could not marry her. Her brother John went with her on the train from London to Liverpool and bade her farewell as she set off on for her new life in Canada. A resilient woman, Rita had made contact with a doctor in London who had given her a reference should she ever need one for employment as a nurse in Canada. Rita arrived in St. John’s Newfoundland expecting to travel immediately to Twillingate, north of Gander. However, she was stuck for two weeks awaiting passage to this remote area. It was no surprise that this little hospital needed her help, there were many returning and injured soldiers and sailors requiring care. Whilst there Rita met Peter Drake a ship’s captain wounded in a winch accident where he lost part of his hand. Peter fell in love with this energetic and caring Englishwoman and married her shortly after being discharged from hospital. They lived most of their lives in Conception Bay and St Johns. Rita recently celebrated her 90th birthday. Though not a war bride story like many, Rita epitomizes the essence of the hundreds of women who came to Canada not knowing what their lives would be like.
The stories of many more of these women will be presented on November 2nd, at the Chestermere Multi-Purpose room, hosted by The Chestermere Historical Foundation and brought to us by the by Aspen Crossing players. Tickets are available from Audrey 272 9280, Jen 272 3764, at the Town of Chestermere Library ( $35 per person includes play and dessert). Doors open/cash bar 5:30pm and play at 7pm.
Readers of this article may also know stories of war brides and are invited to submit these via the Contact Us link at www.chestermerehistory.org for future articles or inclusion on the webpage.
