The following is a brief overview of the life of my parents, Gordon Wesley Udell and Kathleen Mummery.

My father’s great-great-great-grandfather Mathew Udell, had come from Ellastone, Staffordshire to Canada with the British Army in 1787. His son John Udell, “the hunter” received crown land in 1795 in Beverley Township in southern, Ontario and then relocated, along with his father-in-law James Brown, to Pickering and Markham, Ontario in the first decades of the 19^th century.

My father’s great-grandparents John and Eunice Spencer Udell were married on the 23^rd of December 1840 in Pickering, Ontario. Both were born in the area. Eunice Spencer’s ancestors came to North America , arguably by 1586, but for sure by 1629, they are listed as founders of Stonington and Hartford, Connecticut (Thomas Spencer and Walter Palmer).

My father’s grandparents John and Margaret (Degeer) Udell are recorded in the 1891 census as living in Orillia, Simcoe County, Ontario. They were married on the 5^th of November 1874 in Stouffville, Ontario. Great-grandfather, John Udell, is listed as being 28 years of age and the son of John and Eunice (Spencer) Udell. Great-grandmother Margaret Degeer is listed as 24 years old and the daughter of William Pearson and “Fanny” (Degeer) Pearson. Their birth locations are listed as Pickering and Markham, Ontario respectively. My grandfather is listed as George Wesley Udell, the youngest child at 5 years of age, along with his older siblings Lance, Mary M. and John.

The 1901 census lists my grandfather’s birthdate as 24 July 1886 and his birth place as Ontario, which aligns with the 1891 census and our understanding of his day and month of birth. Again, his name is listed as George Wesley Udell. Their racial origin is listed as Irish. His ancestry was actually primarily English on the Udell side and Dutch/English on his mother’s side. The family is listed as follows:

                                                            John Udell                             57

                                                            Maggie Udell                        54

                                                            Lance Udell                          26

                                                            Mary Udell                            24

                                                            John Udell                             21

                                                            George Udell                        14

                                                            Jane Udell                             9

                                                            William Udell                        4

My grandmother, Rose Mary Harper, is listed in the 1881 census as daughter of Samuel and Lily (Easton) Harper and as being 4 years of age living in Lanark, Ontario. In the 1901 census she is listed at 24 and still with the family, now with 11 children. I suspect that grandmother, as the eldest child had a lot of work in helping to raise her siblings.

   Samuel & Lillian (Easton) Harper   

My grandparents, George Wesley and Rose Mary (Harper) Udell, were married on the 29^th of October 1909 in Lanark, Ontario. So, my grandmother was 33 and my grandfather 23 when they married, although they fudged the marriage record by changing their age. They went on to have seven children, two born in Ontario and the rest in western Canada.

     George Wesley and Rosemary (Harper) Udell

    Marriage 29^th of October 1909

Their children were as follows:

                                    John Harper              born, 18 July 1910

                                    Samuel George        born, 24 February 1912

                                    Margaret Lillian        born, 8 August 1913

                                    Elizabeth Irene         born, 2 May 1915

                                    Mary Olive                 born, 20 January 1917

                                    Gordon Welsey        born, 5 September 1918

                                    Doris Irene                born, 22 April 1921

The 1911 census indicates that Grandpa was a Tailor and Grandma was a dressmaker. They are recorded as living at that time in Chesley, Ontario and Rose’s sister Jennie was living with them, her occupation was weaver.  So, in some respect they were all involved in the clothing industry. I should say that Fanny Degeer, my great-great-grandmother was a seamstress as recorded in the 1861 census.

While my grandparents were living in Chelsey, Ontario their first son John Harper Udell was born on the 18^th of July 1910. In the 1911 census uncle John is listed as 11 months old and therefore the census would have been taken in early summer of 1911. Family tradition says that by 1912 they had moved to Sault Saint Marie, where Samuel George was born. However, Sam’s birth record indicates he was born on the 24^th of February 1912 in Saint Marys division in Perth County down by London, Ontario.

            Uncle John Harper Udell circa 1911

Likely Chesley, Ontario

A little over a year after Sam was born the family had made their way to Saskatchewan where Margaret was born on the 8th of August of 1913 in Anglia, Saskatchewan. The history book for Pleasant Valley Saskatchewan notes that “Mr. Udell operated a tailor shop there before 1915.” The following picture is, I believe, taken outside of that shop and shows grandma, John, Sam and Margaret. Note the “Gents ???” in the window.

Pleasant Valley Saskatchewan circa 1914

Grandma Udell and John, Sam and Margaret

Elizabeth Irene Udell is listed as being born in Maland in May of 1915 on her registration of death certificate, or as the family tradition would say Maryland, Alberta. The family do not know where Maryland is located, but it is probably in the area east of Stettler. Another daughter, Mary Olive Udell, “Pheobe” was born by family tradition in New Brigden on 20 January 1917. They were living in New Brigden in June 1917 when on the 11th Grandpa applied for a homestead and received 93 acres in Kirriemuir Alberta, which is located about 20 kilometres north and slightly east of New Brigden, both near the border with Saskatchewan.

Margaret, John, Irene and Sam

Circa 1917

The family were living in Kirriemuir, Alberta in October of 1917 when Elizabeth Irene was killed in a barn fire at the tender age of two and a half years. Had the family relocated to the land that grandpa had sought to homestead? Or, were they share cropping someone else’s farm? Kirriemuir is just inside the Alberta border on highway 12, which continues western some 180 kilometres to Stettler, Alberta. Irene is recorded as being buried on section 11 township 34 range 3 west of meridian 4. Grandpa never did enough of the required work to claim the property, or the memories of the death of Irene may have affected things and the property was lost back to the government.

Olive on Horse about 1920
 

The next number of years the following names are associated with the family, Stettler, Erskine, Ewing Lake, Red Willow, all of these places surround the town of Stettler. Gordon Wesley Udell, my father was born on the 5^th of September 1918 at “Stettler”, or according to family tradition at home near Stettler. Aunt Margaret remembered running in her bare feet to get the neighbour to help deliver Dad, and when she got back home with help, Dad was wrapped in blanket next to Grandma.

Aunt Doris was born at Erskine, just a short distance away from Stettler in 1921. Yet in the 1921 census the family are recorded as living in Waverley in the Red Deer district. In that census grandpa said both his parents were born in the USA, which was not true. He also continued with his name reversed and his birth year as 1880, rather than his actual birth year of 1886.  

Red Deer was about 80 kilometres west of Stettler. At that time the family believe they lived just off the end of Ewing lake near the old school. Aunt Olive says she started school there in 1923 at 6 years old. In 1923 Aunt Olive and Dad were alone on the farm and were hungry. I do not know where Grandma and Grandpa were but the kids were hungry. They decided to go out and milk a young cow. The cow was too young to produce milk so they were unsuccessful. The cow grew up to be a good milk cow providing milk for a long time, they called the cow “Spotty”.  

Dad recalls they lived there until he was approximately 5 years old, in other words they moved in late 1923 or the summer of 1924. He could still remember the farm and that they had plenty of stock, horses and cattle. Some of his memories include his oldest brother John breaking a horse in the corral and the time his older brother Sam managed to obtain a bike albeit without a chain. Sam spent time fixing the bike up but still did not have a chain. He tried the bike out on a hill in the neighbourhood and went straight into a river at the bottom of the hill since he had no brakes.

The next place they are recorded in 1924 is Red Willow about 10 kilometres north-east of Stettler. It was there that Dad was in the wagon with Grandma, she handed him the reins, got down and opened the gate, and the horses took off full tilt for the barn with a small boy holding the reins. This isn’t the only time that dad had this experience as will be discussed later.

Straight north of Knob Hill is Yeoford Alberta where the Udells’ received their mail. In 1925, Aunts Olive and Margaret had their tonsils out at the Yeoford hall. Aunt Olive recalls hollering at Dad "get me out of here" to no avail.  

Things were generally pretty good until they had to move in the mid-twenties. My father remembers his sister Olive getting kicked by a cow; she still bears the scar. The later 1920's and early 1930's were economically barren years. During these times things went from bad to worse. The family moved many times when the children were little. They moved to Knob Hill where my father started school at the age of seven. His father was farming but was having trouble making ends meet. Approximately one year later they moved to Wetaskiwin. It was not uncommon to miss school frequently. Each time the family moved the children would miss from two to three months of school.

Knob Hill School

Then they appear to have gone back to Ponoka. Dad used to tell me he didn’t understand why his father would go backwards. They lived down by the Battle River next to a community hall. They left Ponoka for Breton in June of 1930, with John driving the team, Olive, Doris and Dad in the wagon. Grandpa and Grandma stayed in Ponoka working for a bachelor by the name of Mr. Becky. Aunt Margaret was there working for a family by the name of Dorn. Mrs. Dorn had bad legs. They had two children by the names of Laura and Buster. Dad used to tell the story of how Buster was killed as a cowboy at Ponoka (Bull Riding).

There is another history book that states the Udells were living in Twin Lakes Alberta with the Platt family. This is very close to Knob Hill, Alberta. The book said 4 adults and 12 children were living in a big log house on the Battle river. It’s there that Aunt Olive tells the story of walking home with Virgil Platts and when they got home Virgil told the adults he heard "a wampus cat", Olive believed they had been followed home by a cougar.

They also lived somewhere between Millet and Wetaskiwin. Dad fell off a horse onto some glass and had the scar recorded in his army records. He claimed he was 11 when it happened. That would make it 1929.  

In 1929 things got even tougher with the crash. They relocated to Ponoka where they homesteaded on the southwest 12-48-5 W5 in 1929. While my father could not remember the school, he knows he attended for a while. A terrible storm struck that fall lifting the roof off the barn. After the hail and wind had passed through the stubble field “looked like it had been ploughed. A piece of stubble was found sticking in a board, just like it had been nailed there.”  

Uncle Sam worked for a lot of years in Forestburg, Alberta for a man by the name of Mr. Voss. He treated Sam really well. He sent Sam at one point to Edmonton to learn the retail business. Sam got his first car while working for Mr. Voss. He travelled to Breton, picked up Aunt Olive, Aunt Margaret and Dad, and took them to their first show at the theatre in Wetaskiwin.

Moose Hill School

  In 1930 the family moved to the Moose Hill district near Breton.  My Aunt Margaret remembered they travelled with all their belongings from the Ponoka district to Moose Hill by horse and wagon in 3 or 4 days.  It was a long hard trip, which included a terrible electric storm accompanied by a downpour of rain. There were no roads into the homesteads, making progress slow. According to the history book for “Forest to Grain fields”  “During this time, our neighbours, Tom Hill and his two sons, Tom and John, Walter Williams, Mr. Sogaard, Mr. Hoiem, Ernest Snelgar, Ted Manning, Bailey Cook, Bogarts and Udells’ built a log school. It was situated two and a half miles south-west of our place on S.W.13-48-5-W5. They named it New Moose Hill, District 4453. On the first of March 1932, the school was ready for classes. Miss Mary Hunka from Riley, Alberta was our teacher. There were three boys and seven girls to register. They were Cecile Manning, Louise Bogart, Olive and Doris Udell, Norma Moen, my sister Hazel and myself. The boys were Gordon Udell, Willard (Bill) and Lawrence Bogart.”

Grandpa & His Team circa 1930

Udell Homestead near Breton Alberta

The family remembers the good times they had at the little Moose Hill School at dances, Christmas concerts and the wonderful picnics at the end of the school terms.  Each mother brought delicious food for everyone to eat.

No one in the family was working in 1934, there were no jobs to be had. My father left school in 1934 at the age of sixteen to try and help support the family. He went to work for Carl Johnson pulling the crosscut saw falling in the bush. The wage was 90 cents per day. Living was hard. The family survived on whatever they could find, including a lot of wild fruit. My father worked for Carl through the winter. In March of 1935 father walked seventy miles to Bentley in southern Alberta and found a job on a farm.

A fire went through the district in 1937.  The younger men were taken to fight the fire, leaving the homesteaders on their own. With the fire approaching the farm the family moved all the household effects they could out of the house and put them in the middle of a freshly cultivated field. Wet blankets and rugs were placed over the goods to no avail. The fire burnt the barn and the household goods in the field.  Ironically the house was saved when some of the men fighting the fire came along. Pails and tubs from a spring a short distance from the house provided water. My father recalls they used to have a picture of his uncle Lance Udell in a frame on the wall, this was destroyed in the fire.

In 1939 someone talked Dad into working on a ranch in Bassano, Alberta. It was a working ranch with cattle, horses, and a riding range. He stayed for periods of time in a range cabin, tending and branded cattle amongst other duties.

Dad Working on Ranch at Bassano

The following year the family built a new house for which they had a house-warming dance.  Friends and neighbours came from all around the district and all had a good time.  Gordon Welda and his orchestra provided the music.

In the winter of 1940 my father returned to Breton and drove truck for Carl Johnson hauling lumber seven miles and logs 14 miles. The pay was much better at five dollars per day. This money greatly helped in the support of the family, particularly since he was the sole support of five family members at that time. Fortunately, he was able to have fairly steady work through the depression.

 My parents tell me grandfather was not particularly enamoured with Englishmen.  References to Englishmen were sure to draw a string of rather negative comments.  Yet in point of fact his ancestry was primarily English.  His death certificate indicates that both of his parents were French.  My father's passport and his army records indicated he was French.  As children we were always advised we were "French".  I speculate that this distrust of "Englishmen" was a direct result of his family history and in particular the rebellion of 1837/38 in Ontario.  My Grandfather's father, John Eli Udell, would have been a young boy when his father and other family members emigrated to the States in the mid 1800's.  There undoubtedly would have been a lingering resentment over the events of the 1830's and 1840's, particularly what had happened to Mathew and Joseph, both of whom spent time in jail.  Other cousins such at the Wixson and Mathews were also impacted by the rebellion, with one of the Wixson’s being exiled to Van Diemen’s land and three to the USA. This resentment may have been passed down from John, whose brothers were directly involved, to John Eli to my grandfather George Wesley as a boy.  It is also interesting to note that family tradition, according to Jon Udell of Madison, is that the family were descendant from a French soldier from Quebec.

Dad, Margaret and Doris on the left

Aunt Olive married Walter D. Johnston from Athabasca Landing, Alberta. He was a steam engineer and had worked on the Mackenzie River on the boats, first as a deck hand lining the boats up the river, then as a fireman and eventually as a steam engineer.  It was while on the boats that he met Millen of the R.C.M.P.  It was Millen who was shot by the "Mad Trapper of Rat River" in 1932 in the Northwest Territories close to the Arctic Ocean.  Uncle Walter related how he had tried to talk to the Mad Trapper while he built a boat on the landing in the north and how unresponsive the trapper had been. Breton is located in Brazeau County, named after Uncle Walter’s great-grandfather Joseph Edward Brazeau.

Uncle Walter

 Uncle Walter's sister, Alice, was married to Noel Verville who participated in the manhunt for the mad trapper and is referred to as a rough tough trapper in the books on the Mad Trapper.

Uncle Walter’s Father and Mother and Siblings

Uncle Walter moved to Chisholm Mills in the early 1950's and worked in the steam plant at the mill.  Lesley, Reg and I spent some time visiting them in 1955 at Chisholm.  I particularly remember the night the large equipment shed burnt down.  We sat in the car and watched as the men, including Uncle Walter, attempted to subdue the fire.

 Uncle Walter was a big man with a hearty laugh and took much pleasure with children and pulling practical jokes on people.  One of his standard refrains was "Timmy dance", in reference to the behaviour of my younger brother Tim.

Uncle Walter and Aunt Olive Johnstone

Dad and his cousin Deed Tuttie

In the summer of 1941 my father went to the Edmonton Exhibition. Many of his friends had gone into the service and he was hearing on the radio how hard things were for them. He decided he should enlist and did so on 17 July 1941 at the Prince of Wales Armoury in Edmonton. Three weeks later he was sent to Camrose for three months of basic training.

Basic Training Camrose, Alberta

Gordon Udell Second from Right, Middle Row

After basic training he was sent to Calgary for more schooling. The school at Calgary was full so the Army sent him to Lethbridge where he took three months of mechanical training.

Lethbridge Mechanical Training

Gordon Udell 4^th from Left, Middle Row

He was then sent to Red Deer where he spent the winter in field training on such things as gunnery range. They trained anywhere from 4 a.m. until lockup at 10 p.m. in the evening. Every day was varied and the food was good. Occasionally the soldiers got to go to a show.

In April of 1942 he got a furlough to allow him to go home. After being home for nine days he received a wire to report immediately for service overseas.

Grandma & Dad

Visiting Home just before going Overseas

In May of 1942 they left Red Deer for England. They travelled four days and five nights by train to get to Halifax. The passage over to England was on the "Andes". In March of 1942 the Andes had been in Melbourne, Australia and left to return to Britain. The Andes had reached Boston Massachusetts by mid-April where she was drydocked for repairs before reaching Halifax the next day, where she became one of five troopships in Convoy NA 8. 

 Convoy NA 8 left Halifax on 3 May, escorted by the Carrier HMS Avenger and eight US Navy destroyers. There were thirty-eight ships in the convoy. Eight days out of Halifax submarines attacked them. One Jamaican family on the ship reported they had been torpedoed three times. The convoy crossed the North Atlantic without loss and reached the Clyde on 11 or 12 May.

 The Andes

The ship landed at Liverpool and they went by train to Farnborough. There my father received four weeks of parade square training, three weeks of motorcycle training and two-weeks driver and maintenance training. He remained for nine months at Farnborough as a motor transport instructor. 

Dad in England, Upper Left Person

He requested a field posting and joined the 39th Reconnaissance Wing, 1st Air Liaison Group in Dunsfold, England as a driver. This was a new group just being formed between the Army and the Air Force. He was put in charge of motor transport for 18 Army groups and Air Force squadrons. They had nine vehicles and two Harleys.

My father and his friend Junior requested dispatch rider positions as their friends would go out and get lost or crack up, never coming back. They were transferred to the 430 Squadron, which took pictures of anything that would be of interest to the military.

Dad and Lloyd 

White “Junior”

On the 12^th of June 1943, (D plus 6) he landed in Normandy. Most of the group arrived in France later in June. While he never told me why he was there first it was likely to allow him to get familiar with the roads in the area of Bayeaux or that there was an urgent need for dispatch riders at that time. The fact that several people in the group went over first is attested to in their magazine “Flap”. The 39^th’s first air field was Airfield B8 in Sommervieu, located close to Bayeux. He did relate standing on a hill overlooking Caen on the 29th of June with thousands of other men while aircraft carried out a massive raid on the city. They stayed at Sommervieu until August 12^th, at which time they moved to Ste. Honorine-de-Ducy (Airfield B21).

Gordon Udell, Front Row Right Side

 On 30 August they left Airfield 21 and headed to Avrilly, (Airfield B34) where they stayed until 22 September 1944. While at Avrilly, as Paris was being liberated, some of the men took the opportunity to hitch-hike to Paris for a day or two.

Fighter Plane 

Flying under the Eiffel Tower 

On the 23th of September the 39^th arrived at Diest in Belgium (Airfield B64). A couple of weeks later they landed at Eindhoven, Holland on 5 October at Airfield B78, where they stayed until 7 March 1945.

           Attack on 39^th Recce Airfield in Eindhoven, Holland:  1 January 1945

They were living in tents and found it chilly until they moved into barracks on New Year’s day. Dad had the opportunity to move in with a Dutch family, I believe the Vander Linden family.

Dad second from Left

They moved to Petit Brogel in Belgium on 8 March (Airfield B90) and then crossed the Rhine and landed at Damme, Germany (Airfield B104) on 30 March 1944.  The airborne had crossed the Rhine on the 24^th of March and the 39^th Recce crossed on 30 March, the first Allied airfield to do so.  They relocated to Rheine, Germany (Airfield 108) on the 8^th of April and were there until the 14^th of April, when they moved to Wunstorf (Airfield B116) until the 25^th of April. The next day they arrived at Soltua, Germany (Airfield B154) where they stayed until the 7^th of May. The Germans surrendered the northern front to Montgomery on the 4^th of May and total surrender came on the 8^th of May. The 39^th Recce were the deepest RCAF airfield into Germany at that time.

           Gordon Wesley Udell and his Jeep

On the 8^th of May they moved to Luneberg (Airfield B156) where they stayed until August 7^th.  

My father had copies of "Flap", a magazine produced by the 39th Reconnaissance Wing during their passage through Europe which he packed them in his ruck sack across Europe.

       Gordon Wesley Udell in Luneberg German

 "In May of 1945 when the war had ended, I was stationed at Luneberg, Germany. I was with the 39th Recce Wing. We were given the opportunity of going to Bergen-Belsen; it was a matter of personal choice. I decided to go. We travelled by service truck, about twenty of us went on different days.

The first thing we encountered was the terrible stench of death. We saw what looked like dead bodies, but some of them were moving. Some were propped against clapboard shacks, it was a horrifying sight. In another area we saw German prisoners disposing of bodies into mass graves. We couldn't bear this and quickly left.

It was an awful thing to see, but I'm glad I went, because I know for myself the truth and can refute those who say it never happened. One of the fellows in our Recce Wing (photographic outfit) took pictures and I have copies of them."

Surrender of Luttewaffe Officers to Canadians at Luneberg

Dad was asked to transport three officers from Hamburg to Copenhagen. Copenhagen had just fallen to the allies in early May. Their job was to go through the Nazi headquarters which was located close to the core of the City. My father mentioned that the citizens of Copenhagen where appreciative of the Canadian and British pilots who had bombed the building with Mosquito bombers because they had done that in a precise way which had minimized damage to the surrounding area.  When Corry, Phil, Daphne and I were in Copenhagen in 2012 we took the hop-on-hop-off tour and were surprised to discover that the story was told on the tour. The bus went by the former Nazi headquarters and the guide said that that the Nazi’s had put members of the local constabulary and aircrew that had been captured on the top two floors. The allied planes had managed to bomb the lower 2 floors, occupied by the Nazi’s, the occupants on the upper two floors had managed to escape.

While Dad was in Copenhagen and walking down the street a person came running out of the restaurant and said Canada! Canada! While he did not speak English, he escorted my father around Copenhagen the time he was there and gave him a business card when he left. My father carried that business card in his wallet for many years. Years later when working at Hystad’s planar mill in Valemount, a Danish person told dad that the business card said that the person who had escorted around Copenhagen was the Chief of police for Copenhagen.

Gordon Udell 1945

In front of Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen

 While in England Dad met my mother, Kathleen Mummery, who was born on the 11th of April 1926, the daughter of Leslie William and Mary (Barnes) Mummery. They were married on the 18^th of March 1944 at Northolt. Before they could get married they needed to get permission from the Canadian Army. Dad had to take mother to meet an officer to get the permission. The officer looked at my parents, turned to Dad and said “what did you do get her drunk?”. This of course was a bit of an offense to my father.

Gordon and Kathleen (Mummery) Udell’s Marriage

My maternal great-grandfather William Mummery was born the 25^th of July 1860 in Saint Mildred’s parish, Canterbury, Kent, England, the son of John George Mummery (born 1828), a shoemaker, and Sophia (Ellis) Mummery. His Mummery ancestors had been living in Kent for at least 11 generations before he was born. They had lived in Deal, Caldred, Folkestone, Great-Chart and Ashford, all just a matter of a short distance apart over this 400-year period.

William married Florence Mary Alberta Fisk, born 28 April 1859 in St. Hanover Square, Pimlico, London, England on the 17^th of September 1887. Florence was the daughter of Herbert Stevenson Fisk and Sarah Ann Fell.

This was Florence Fisk’s second marriage. She had previously been married to Edward O’Leary, born 1855 at St. Pancras, London, England. Edward was with the Royal Artillery, stationed at Tilbury Fort in 1881. They had four children; Edward Herbert (born 1879), Kathleen Frances Margaret (born 1881), Elizabeth (born 1883 at Malta), and Frederick William (born 1886) at Woolwich. Edward O’Leary died in 1886 at Colchester. Edward was a full-time soldier and it has been assumed he was at Colchester Barracks, leaving Florence with 4 children.

William Mummery and Florence’s children were as follows:

                                    Florence                    born, 1889

                                    Reginald                   born, 1890

                                    Bertha                        born, 1892

                                    Edgar Walter             born, 1895

                                    Cecilia Ruth              born, 1897

                                    Leslie William          born, 1900

My mother remembers the battle of Britain. She was living on Bessborough Road in Harrow, Middlesex at the time. She was outside jumping rope when she heard what was for her a strange sound. She entered the house and inquired of her mother, as to the noise. Her mother informed her that Britain was at war with Germany and the noise was an air raid warning being used to familiarize the people with the sound.

Kathy Mummery about 1930

The family moved to 39 South Norwood, Surrey to live with her grandmother Mummery. My mother found this personally very frustrating. Up to that point in time school had been a joy to her, now she was being taught things she had already learned.

In April of 1940 she turned 14 and started her first job in a glass factory for thru-pence an hour, cutting glass with a diamond cutter. She recalls still wearing lysle stocking and cast-off clothing. She had no concept of the value of money, but realized that standing on her feet for thru-pence an hour was not a good deal. So, she found a job in a tin factory doing piecework, a penny a gross. On one occasion she sliced her finger to the bone on the guillotine. On another occasion her hair got caught in a belt and had the roots pulled out of a section of hair. The paycheque was brought home to her mother.

Then German airplanes started coming over in the Battle of Britain. She would stand outside and watch the dogfights, much to the dismay of her mother. Most people spent nights in "Anderson Shelters" in their back yards. The worst day she remembers was September 7th, 1940 coincidentally her sister Joan's wedding day. Her and her mother attended the wedding at "Burnt Oak" in London. She believes this was the first day of the "Battle of Britain", although it started about 3 weeks before this. They had just commenced the trip home when they were forced to leave the train and wait in the underground. Being claustrophobic she refused to stay down there, choosing rather to sit under the glass roof. Eventually they were back on the train, resuming their trip home. By then it seemed as though all London was ablaze. The entire sky was red, the noise of the ack-ack was very frightening to her mother. They had to leave the train early and she recalls taking her mother by the hand and running home.

In November of 1940 her father died. The family moved back to South Harrow with grandmother getting a job delivering mail and mother a job in a screw factory manufacturing shell fuses for the Navy. Two of her brothers and one sister, Lorna had been evacuated to Cornwall at the beginning of the war. Life was a constant round of air raids. Mother had a collection of air-raid shrapnel, which she brought to Canada with her. There were black outs and strict food rationing, but a wonderful spirit of unity in the people. Everyone was working together to bring about peace and to look after each other. A V1 damaged their home twice. My mother remembers her sister Peggy hiding under the oak table while she looked out the window.

Mother met my father in July of 1943. He was stationed at Redhill, Surrey at the time they met. They wrote to each other every day until he returned after the war. They saw each other for four days before returning home. He gave her the first box of chocolates "Smiles and Chuckles" she ever received. At the train station he gave her his watch as insurance against his return. My mother says that his accent, gentleness and his strength fascinated her. They did not see each other very often. On one occasion, against the rules, he made a detour on one of his deliveries and came to see her on his Harley.

Father came home on leave with paperwork for permission to marry. The Canadian government took very good care of their men. The girl had to have a medical exam, character references and the like. After Major Fish signed their papers they still were required to wait for two months to marry. They were married at St. Mary the Virgin, Northholt, on the 18th of March 1944. Father got a two-week furlough and they spent their honeymoon in the village of Lanivet Cornwall.

 Kathy Udell on left in Cornwall (honeymoon) 

Lanivet, Cornwall, Honeymoon

My mother recalls:

"We spent our wedding night in a coach with seven servicemen travelling overnight. This was the village where my brothers and sister were. I had not seen them in four years. We stayed at a farmhouse, with country food, unavailable to those in the city, eggs and cream, etc. Cornwall will always have a special place in my heart. We spent four hours walking. When we returned to the city Gordon got me a room in Odiham Hampshire County where he was stationed. Three months later he was sent to France.     

 He continued to write whenever he could. He returned on 8 May 1945, the day the war ended, after having travelled through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, with a side trip to Copenhaqen, Denmark. We spent two more weeks in Cornwall, Gordon was very tired. We stayed at Aunt Burden's in the same farmhouse that we had spent our honeymoon in. Aunt Burden saw us standing in the dining room and said, 'I see some beautiful children in the future'. After this visit we only saw each other on a couple of weekend passes before Gordy was shipped over to Canada in September 1945. I worked at a dry cleaner, then at a warehouse in shipping and packing. I continued to live with my mother. Once a month when my allotment check came, I would go to Threadneedle Street in London, taking one of my brothers or sisters with me, cash my cheque and treat them to a dinner and show. I did not see my husband from September of 1945 until April 1946 when I landed in Canada. 

I was nineteen years old when I said goodbye to my mother at Southampton and boarded the "Ile De France", a luxury liner that had been converted to a troop ship. I was filled with great anticipation and couldn't wait to join him. The Canadian Government paid for the trip. They also gave the war brides the gift of citizenship. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip, staying most of the time up on B deck to avoid seasickness. Some of my cabin mates never left the room due to sickness. The crew was French and the passengers a combination of war brides and troops, some with children. We were given two full meals a day. I had never eaten like that in my life. One day out of Halifax we ran into a storm. I thoroughly enjoyed it. When we docked, we were welcomed by a group of women. It was early April and they were wearing full-length fur coats. We were taken to the train, which to our eyes was huge and comfortable. I had an upper berth.

It was five days to my destination, Edmonton Alberta. All the way across the country girls were getting off meeting their husbands. They all looked so strange in their civilian clothing. The big brims on their hats made us laugh. The size of Canada boggled our minds. Miles of nothing but lakes and trees. We were allowed off the train once at Fort Gary, Winnipeg. My excitement knew no bounds at reaching Edmonton. Walter and Olive had loaned Gordy their car to pick me up; it seemed huge to me. Everything seemed bigger in Canada. He brought me a whole hand of Bananas, something unheard of to me. We had three days together in a rented room in the city. He took me to Jasper Avenue and bought me all new clothing including shoes, gloves and hat. 

We left Edmonton for the 80-mile drive to Granada. I was astounded at the magnificence of the countryside. I can still recall one vivid image of a horse standing in a field with his head down. Walter and Olive received me very warmly. Gordon was living with them at that time. We continued to live with them for three months. The people in that small place struck me with their warmth and generosity. I had never heard of a bridal shower, but they gave me one. I was overwhelmed. 

We finally got a little one-room shack of our own. I struggled to learn how to cook and bake bread. Gordy's sisters were all great cooks, known for their pastry. I became increasingly discouraged with my heavy handedness. Olive patiently encouraged me. Gordon was working at the mill and he built on a living and bedroom for us. Those were such happy days for us in our little home. 

     The Johnstone’s and Udell’s, Kathy and Gordon on the right

When the mill burned down in 1950 it was time for us to move on. Gordon took us to the homestead, storing our furniture in the granary and left us with his parents while he looked for work. In two weeks he had a job on the south side of Edmonton for JR Machinery. During his years with this company he got two welding tickets. Initially we rented a house on the north side and later got into veterans housing on the northeast end of the City.

I was now becoming accustomed to my new country. When I first arrived my rosy cheeks and my colouring recognized me as English. I would cry when people laughed at my accent and would beg Gordy to teach me to speak like him. 

On one of his field trips to Grande Prairie, Gordon worked on mill machinery for Bjarne, one of the Hystad brothers. They offered him a job setting up their first planar in Valemount, B.C. He accepted the position, agreeing to try it for five years."

End of Part 1