Elinor Florence's Blog, page 19

Heroic family hid Jews from Nazis

A Jewish couple spent two terrifying years hiding inside the Scheffer household, in a small town in Holland. Casey Scheffer, who moved to Canada after the war, told me how his courageous family pulled it off without being caught and executed by the Nazis.

Rations and Recipes

For five long years, meat, sugar and other products were rationed in Canada. But there were few complaints. Not only were we feeding the desperate British population, we were shipping enormous quantities of food to our own armed forces, and our prisoners of war.

The German Jew Who Bombed Berlin

Georg Hein, who was sent to England as a boy to escape certain death in a concentration camp, changed his name to Peter Stevens and became a decorated RAF pilot. This daring young man was shot down, captured, and spent almost four terrifying years as a German POW.

War Veteran Wears a Crown

Princess Elizabeth was born eighty-eight years ago, on April 21, 1926. Just six months after her thirteenth birthday, the world went to war. This determined teenager threw herself into the war effort, and over her father’s objections, she even joined the armed forces and trained as a mechanic.

Inside the Star Weekly at War

After reading about my love for the old Star Weekly magazine, a local collector of all things vintage named Ken Hatt lent me eight original wartime issues for my reading pleasure! Here's a peek inside.

Tales From an Old Tar

It’s still puzzling why so many prairie boys went to sea in World War Two – including George Crewe of landlocked Lethbridge, Alberta, who had never even seen the ocean until he joined the Royal Canadian Navy at age seventeen to train as a Boy Telegraphist.

Love Those Lancasters

More than seven thousand Lancasters were built, and almost half survived the war. Yet today, only two of these iconic bombers are still flying – one of them right here in Canada. This August, our own Lancaster will cross the Atlantic to join her British sister aircraft for a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

Boat-Busting in Burma

Jim Ashworth of British Columbia wanted to become a fighter pilot – so badly that when the Royal Air Force ordered him to become a flight instructor, he deliberately failed the test – twice! His plan worked. He was sent to India, where he flew his Hurricane 11D fighter over occupied Burma, strafing Japanese supply boats.

Top Ten Wartime Tunes

When I was a kid, my mother played wartime tunes on the piano as I was falling asleep. So I think my fascination with that era began with its wonderful, evocative music: lilting love songs, morale-boosting melodies, big band swing and sweet songs of separation that wring your heartstrings. Here are ten of my favourites.

Girls primed to defend the home front

Fearing an enemy invasion, thousands of Canadian girls as young as sixteen joined volunteer militia groups in wartime, learning how to conduct air raid patrols, use firearms and incredibly, how to handle exploding bombs. And two of them still live right here in my little town.