“Don’t talk to those Canadians!” (The War Brides, Part 2)

By Terrie Todd

“Don’t talk to those Canadians!” Evelyn Nicholson’s mother warned her. Evelyn, almost 18, was setting off for a week’s holiday with relatives near Bognor Regis, Sussex, England, in September 1942. Southern England was teeming with Canadian soldiers, stationed nearby for training while they awaited their orders.

Evelyn tried to heed the parental advice. Returning from an evening at the pictures with her cousin, the upper deck of their dimly lit bus began to fill with noisy, happy Canadian soldiers—many fresh from the local pub. The empty seat beside Evelyn caused a clatter of army boots as two men dashed for the seat. When the winner tried to engage Evelyn in conversation, she answered in monosyllables and stared out the window. To her surprise, he followed her and her cousin home, where her aunt invited him in. For the first time, Evelyn got a good look at the handsome Nick. During her stay, their friendship grew and Evelyn gave Nick her home address in Balham.

The first time Nick visited Evelyn’s home, he received a frosty reception. Her mother had reason to distrust him. She knew of women during the previous war who’d married Canadian soldiers, only to find out later that they were already married. Some brides were left with children to raise on their own. Even after her parents warmed to Nick—who always complimented Evelyn’s mother on her delicious apple pie—no parents wanted their daughter to move away to Canada. It was the other end of the world.

A year later, Nick and Evelyn began talking about marriage. Her parents agreed to the engagement only if they waited until Evelyn turned 21 and only if they planned to stay in England afterward.

Soon, the war heated up. Nick was shipped to France shortly after D-Day. When word came that he’d been wounded, Evelyn wondered if they’d ever marry. Eventually, she received a letter from Nick in an English hospital.

They married in June 1945, four months before Evelyn’s 21^st birthday. With clothing coupons from her grandmother, Evelyn bought a plain white dress and wore a borrowed veil and shoes. Her parents hosted a reception over her father’s shop, providing a feast in those days of rationing. Her mother even managed to make a wedding cake.

Edgeley, Saskatchewan United Church

Nick’s parents wrote when the war ended, begging him to come home. They’d not seen their son for six years. Much to his parents-in-law’s disappointment, he sailed home in June 1946 and Evelyn followed in July. After a ten-day sail and a three-day train trip, Evelyn found herself living with her new in-laws on a farm near Edgeley, Saskatchewan—population 50. While the community was warm toward her, Evelyn had much to learn.

 

 

Evelyn's first view of her new home may have looked much like this.

Adapting to life without electricity or running water proved a huge learning curve. Using an outhouse, doing farm chores, drawing well water for drinking, melting snow for bathing, and reading or writing by kerosene lamp were all difficult to explain to her family back home. Evelyn also missed the hustle and bustle of city life and her job at the bank. When Nick developed an allergy to cows, the couple decided to return to England in 1947.

Had Evelyn even heard of Saskatchewan before?

Four years later, it was Nick who missed home. By now they had a daughter with whom Evelyn’s parents had bonded. One of them had to give in, however, and in 1951, the little family returned to Canada to stay, leaving Evelyn’s heartbroken family behind.

As transatlantic flights became more commonplace, the world became smaller. Each time Evelyn flew home to England, she said her heart would leap as the plane circled in for a landing. Although she felt sad to leave again, once she and Nick boarded their plane, she truly felt she was headed home. Awaiting them there were now three children, seven grandchildren, loving in-laws, and lots of friends. With her husband at her side, Evelyn Nicholson nursed no regrets about the night she “talked to one of those Canadians.”

Sources:

Promise You’ll Take Care of My Daughter: The Remarkable War Brides of World War II, by Ben Wicks, Stoddart Publishing, Toronto 1993

Some puzzles refused to be solved.

Ray Matthews’ dream is shattered when his father’s death during the Great Depression forces him to drop out of art school and support his mother and sister by selling his paintings to a jigsaw puzzle maker.  Ray vows never to sell one personal masterpiece: a portrait of his sweetheart, Sarah. When compelled to break his oath, Ray speaks a prophecy over the puzzle— that no one will be able to finish it before he and Sarah are reunited. Over 80 years, the puzzle passes through four different households, profoundly affecting each until one decision unleashes a peculiar chain of events.

 

Terrie Todd’s novels are set mostly in Manitoba, Canada where she lives with her husband, Jon, in Portage la Prairie. They have three adult children and five grandsons. Her next novel, Even If I Perish, releases in November 2025.

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