Elinor Florence's Blog, page 21

Brotherly Love

For almost one hundred years, a story has circulated in our family about how my grandfather Charlie, right, was saved from certain death on the battlefields of France during the Great War by his younger brother Jack, left. But several family members have expressed skepticism about whether it really happened.

My Dad's Best Christmas: 1945

A few years before he died, I asked my father Douglas Florence what was the very best Christmas he could remember. I expected him to recall his childhood, or a time when his own children were young. But without hesitation, he answered: “Christmas 1945!” I asked him why, and here’s what he told me, in his own words.

Sacrifices Honoured in Stained Glass

Homesick servicemen found comfort and community inside churches during the war years, especially at Christmas time. And after the war ended, hundreds of churches, both large and small, installed stained glass windows to thank their defenders. This lovely example erected in the Welsh town of Pembroke Dock features the badges of units from the British and Commonwealth air forces, and the U.S. Navy.

RCAF “Rancherette” Blazed the Trail

When war broke out, Canada’s Parliament refused point blank to allow women into the armed forces. Two years later, it finally gave in and women flocked to recruiting centres by the thousand. But only a small percentage earned the coveted overseas posting. Nancy Lee, from a remote ranch in the Rocky Mountains, was one of the fortunate few.

Letters From a Lonely Airman

Damn this war anyhow, why can’t people just get along?

This was the heartfelt question posed in a letter written the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, by a young Canadian airman who didn’t want to fight but was determined to do his duty.

The Star Weekly At War

As a child, I loved to pore through the colourful, patriotic and often amusing images pasted into my mother's wartime scrapbook. Most of them were clipped from the covers of the popular Star Weekly newsmagazine, published by the Toronto Star.

Dambusters Doghas Unspeakable Name

What shall we call the dog?

That’s the dilemma facing the makers of the new Dambusters movie, who must choose between historical fact and racial sensitivity.

Hobbit Movie Producerto Remake 'Dambusters'

When the third Hobbit movie is finished next year, veteran producer Peter Jackson of New Zealand will tackle a remake of that wartime classic, The Dambusters.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mum:'The most dangerous woman in Europe'

This sweet-faced woman boosted morale so vigorously during the Second World War that Adolf Hitler himself called her “the most dangerous woman in Europe.”