Hop To It, Matilda!
On Sept. 10, 1939, when Canada declared war on Germany, I was living in Halifax and was employed by the Halifax Hotel, where I worked as a waitress.
By June 4th 1942, I was living in Brownsburg, Quebec, where I was employed by the Munitions Dept.of the government of Canada. I was working on the munitions assembly line, making 303 shells. My pay was twenty cents per day. I worked ten hour shifts.
Wren Poem
I signed up in Halifax with the WRCNS on April 14, 1943. My rank was Probationery Wren, WRCNS. I went to Galt to HMCS Conestoga to train. There we had an Chief Petty Officer named Phyllis Sanderson, from Vancouver, BC who taught us to march among other things. Well, you can imagine all of us Probies trying desperately to stay in step and march in an orderly fashion! Phyllis would holler "Hop to it, Matilda!" when any of us lagged or got out of step.We were going to learn to march by golly, or else! She had a huge Great Dane named Angus by her side at all times. He was our official mascot.
Wren Newspaper Article
After becoming a Wren, I was posted to HMCS Chatham in Prince Rupert, BC in 1944, where I met my future husband Jack Morrison through friends, on a blind date.We all went for a drive, and Jack and I sat together in the rumble seat of our friend's car.
Xmas dinner at HMCS Chatham, Prince Rupert, B.C. 1944
Right side: Daisy Hendrickson, May MacKeag (Piglet),
Marg Pattison (Pat), Wendy Wearne, Mildred Langton, (Mike), Rena Down,
Beatrice Fredricks (Freddie), Joy Newman, Doris Griffiths, Helen Purvis,
Ma Neal, Cicely Reed, Florence Godson, Lillian Lyons, Claire Ferguson,
Marion Brown, Pat Kemp.
Left side: Betty Maxwell Smith, Marie Drape, Marie
Gilmartin, Isabel Smith (Smitty), Wilda Beckett, Claire Gingras (Ginger),
Jean Reid, Jean Bostedo, Ruth Lisson, Marie Elder, Jenny Bjirke, Ruby
Shea, Marj McDoanld (Mac), Leanne Sauve, Marion Merryfield, Marie Kovach,
Lucy Cox
Across top : Lt. D. Christie, Cmdr. CM (Charlie)
Cree, PO Linda Adams, Lt. Marg Jess, Lt. Chivers
Later on when I was posted back to Halifax, and Jack was on leave from HMCS Avalon, we were married at St. Matthew's United Church on March 15, 1945,. After we were married, Jack and I stayed at my Mom's place. I was attached to the HMCS Stadacona, (Stad).
The Halifax Trolleys
The poplation of Halifax before the war was 20,000 and swelled to 115,000 during the war years. People complained that there was nowhere to sleep, but where could they expect to go? The service men and women would complain that they couldn't even get a seat in the trolleys or a seat in a restaurant either.All this was true, but Halifax just could not handle this number of people, and the government had made no extra provision for this influx of humanity. They complained the most about the trolleys. I used to go from my home at Mom's to the docks, literally from one end of Halifax to the other by trolley. There were too many people and not enough trolleys. The old trolleys back then only held about 30 people, not as many as the new ones do today..
People would become impatient with the trolleys and wreck them. Each trolley had a long pole going up from the car to a wire, and they would break these off. They'd just jump up on the side and pull the pole down. Then it would take the trolley driver about 15 minutes to get his equipment and fix it.
It was a major procedure to get across Halifax during wartime!
Newspaper Article
Newspaper article from Halifax of Trams in the Snow
The VE Day Riots
By the time VE Day happened, I was attached to HMCS Stadacona, "Stad", working as Officer's Steward, having received my Leading WRCNS designation on July 1, 1944. When VE Day was announced I was at home, and all of a sudden I coud hear screaming and all sorts of loud noises outside. People were yelling "The war is over, the war is over!!" . The ships in the harbour were tooting their horns, whistles were blowing and people poured into the streets til every street was filled to capacity. Everyone was anxious to celebrate, but the stores were all closed. Almost immediately the Liquor Store down the street had it's windows smashed and all the booze was taken. People hauled the booze up to the Cemetary, which dated from 1749, so was a very large cemetary. They pushed the gravestones over and made tables to set their drinks on. It was terrible to see the destruction at the cemetary and through the town; people were looting, not just the service people, not just the poor people, but everyone including the wealthy residents of Halifax were at it too!
Surpisingly, no one was injured that night in Halifax....maybe it was because no one was driving. No service people had cars back then. The next day, Halifax looked like it had been through a battle!
I was discharged from the WCRNS on November 30, 1945 in Calgary at HMCS Tecumseh.
Jean's Service Record
Jeannie and Jack at home in Kimberly, B.C., 2005
