World War II Women 3-Book Bundle

The Accidental Captives / Greatcoats and Glamour Boots / Props on Her Sleeves

Carolyn Gossage, Mary Hawkins Buch

• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781459738515
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

Bravery, patriotism, and sacrifice marked the women caught up in conflict during the Second World War. This special collection of three books tells the stories of a young airwoman, prisoners of war, and women in service. Includes:
The Accidental Captives: The Story of Seven Women Along in Nazi Germany
In April 1941, a passenger ship sailing from New York to Cape Town was attacked and sunk by a German raider. The passengers were pulled from the water and transported to Nazi-occupied France, where the majority were released. Among those left behind were seven Canadian women. This is the tale of the year they spent together in Germany. Greatcoats and Glamour Boots: Canadian Women at War, 1939-1945
The colourful story of Canada's forgotten women who volunteered for service during the Second World War. Props on Her Sleeves: The Wartime Letters of a Canadian Airwoman
A first-hand account of the experiences of a young Canadian airwoman who served both in Canada and on overseas duty, this series of 150 letters brings home the day-to-day immediacy of life in uniform during the Second World War.

Greatcoats and Glamour Boots

Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword by Roberta L. Bondar

Preface: From the Sidelines . . .

Introduction

One Onward and Upward: The Pre-Mobilization Years (1938-1941)

Two Joining Up

Three Preparing to Serve

Four All in Together, Girls

Five On Duty at Home and Overseas

Six Off Duty

Seven Phasing Out

Notes

Related Sources

Acknowledgments

Initially, my appreciation and thanks go out to the many individuals who contributed in one way or another to making this new edition of Greatcoats and Glamour Boots a reality. This applies, in particular, to my publisher, J. Kirk Howard, who made the decision that the original book should be expanded and revitalized, as well as to all those at Dundurn Press, who were instrumental in the production process.

Much of the research for the original 1991 edition was facilitated through grants from the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council. In addition, I continue to be grateful for the unqualified cooperation of the staff of the Directorate of History, National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa with particular thanks to Brereton “Ben” Greenhous, senior historian; W.A.B. Douglas, director; and Phillip Chaplin for their personal interest and encouragement. Dr. K. Jean Cottam was also most helpful in providing me with extensive information on Soviet women in combat.

My appreciation extends, as well, to Karen Graham of the Canadian War Museum and the Canadian Museum of Civilization and to Terresa McIntosh and her colleagues at the National Archives of Canada for their interest and efforts in connection with Molly Lamb Bobak’s wartime sketchbooks, paintings, and drawings — a number of which serve as chapter divisions in this book. At the age of twenty-three, Molly Bobak became the first and only Canadian servicewoman to be designated as an official war artist, and the unique quality of her work speaks for itself.

At the Canadian Forces Photographic Unit, the obliging assistance given by Janet Lacroix and Raymond Gagnon was also most gratifying, as was that of Felicia Cukier of the Art Gallery of Ontario. My thanks also to Mark Cuddy of the City of Toronto Archives for re-introducing me to the inner workings of archival photo research earlier this year.

For her inestimable contribution to the realization of this second edition of Greatcoats and Glamour Boots, I extend to my good friend Wendy Wright my heartfelt gratitude. Her keyboarding and editorial skills remain in a class of their own. An ongoing thanks, as well, to Caird F. Wilson for her patience in attempting to cram basic computer skills into the cranium of a techno-peasant and for the countless hours spent putting the bulk of the original manuscript onto disk. The late David J. Wood’s willingness to drop everything and come to my rescue at a moment’s notice will never be forgotten, nor his generosity in providing me with the use of an IBM laptop during my first tentative ventures into the wonderful world of word processing.

The research for both editions of this book has been a truly cooperative effort. More than ever, I recognize the extent of my debt of gratitude to Catherine Shepard, formerly of the Archives of Ontario, for the benefit of her advice, practical assistance and friendship. The same can be said for the hospitality extended to me by Helen Murphy et al. during my frequent and often lengthy stays in Ottawa. I also remain grateful to Carol Martin for endorsing my proposal to undertake the original research for this project. For arranging interviews with former Canadian servicewomen and for moral support along the way, to my lifelong “croney” Alison Prentice, my eternal thanks. M. Joan Chalmers and M.W. “Pat” Patterson are also in my debt for their many helpful suggestions and introductions. Marian Engel, too, was extremely supportive from the outset and we still miss her greatly. And last but not least, I wish to offer my sincere thanks to Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman to have been — quite literally — “in another space,” for writing the introduction to this new edition of Greatcoats and Glamour Boots.

Beyond this there are my immediate family — Michael, and my children, Valerie and Graeme — as well as the many other relatives and friends who have encouraged me along the way.

The following is a partial list of those to whom I am especially indebted for interviews, conversations, and letters; and for the sharing of photos, snapshots, scrapbooks, and wartime reminiscences.

Marg Ackroyd, Jessie Allen, Phyllis Arnoldi, Grace Arrell, Hélène L’Espérance Baldwin, Mary E. Barker, Janet Barr Beames, Anne-Marie Bélanger, Doreen Bennett, Molly Lamb Bobak, Audrey Bouler, Kathleen Barclay Bowley, Betty Legg Brown, Mona Kennerley Brown, Edith Bruckland, Mary Hawkins Buch, Margaret Clark, Sherry Close, Margaret “Pat” Cooke, Beatrice Grant Corbett, Gwen Crawford, Isabel Cronyn, Rachel Crossey, Enid Hunt Dahl, Dorothy H. Davis, Isabel Davis, Jessie Cameron Deresno, Frieda Binman Dougherty, Connie Duncan, Margaret Eaton Dunn, Barbara Cole Feiden, Helen Hunt Ford, Margot Frazier, Frances Gage, Al Gasparini, Tony German, Mabel Glaser, Bunnie O’Donnell Graf, C. Graham, Ruth Grant, Peggy Gray, Nan Gregg, Frances Hallis, Frances Halpenny, Alfred Hanson, O.G. Heck, Shirley Heesaker, Claire Loranger Heise, Marguerite Hill, Mary Eileen Hogg, C.M., Gordon J. Hopkins, Mary Fairclough Houston, Jean Houston, Nancy Gigot Hughson, Jean Jamieson, Lois Johnston, Tracy Johnston, Donald Kidd, Elizabeth Madigan Kilbride, Helen King, Rosemary Kowalsky, Edwin Michael Lally, Ruby Lang, Barbara Lee, Susan Leggat, Elsa Lessard, Betty MacDonald, Joy MacDonald, Lena Stevenson MacGillivray, Betty MacLean, Ruth McCullough Markowitz, Florence McAleese, Lillian K. McCullough, Hilda B. McMartin, Melodie Willis-O’Connor Massey, Eva Miller, Anne Mitchell, Phyllis Montagnon, Norma Law Morrow, Thelma Thompson Murdoch, Margot Murray, Lois Anthony Norr, M.W. “Pat” Patterson, Barbara Good Power, Henrietta Rea, Jennie Lee Ricketts, Margaret Roach, Lilian Roe, Grace Rose, Jill Rosling, Ann Rowe, Helen Rutherford, Charmaine Sampson Scott, Martha Scott, Georgie Ridout Seeley, Marjorie Seeton, Marie Battle Shadgett, Brian Sheppard, Marg Sheppard, Agnes I. Shreve, Betty Simone, Jean Skoggard, Joy Dunham Smith, Lee Thirwall, Elizabeth Titus, Margaret M. Toth, “Pat” Vaisey, Barbara Walker, Mabel Ware, Wayne Warwick, Lottie Watson, Lorna Mary West, Agnes Wezner, Margaret Wallace-Whatley, Owen S. Williams, Mildred Young, Nora Young.

* Sadly, a number of those whose names are listed above have died in the intervening years since the original edition of this book was published. Fortunately, their many anecdotes, impressions and photos remain refreshingly alive and accessible to future generations of young Canadians.

Author’s Note: Just to set the record straight, in the original edition of this book, the Notebook sections at the end of each chapter did not identify the source of personal anecdotes or observations by name. Instead, only the service in which the individual in question had enlisted was noted. There is a valid reason for this. In the course of taping some of the early interviews, I quickly became aware of a degree of reluctance on the part of certain subjects to speak candidly unless anonymity was assured. Had I not agreed to this condition, in my view, the anecdotal aspect of the book would have been diminished considerably. Once I had committed myself to honour these requests, there was no turning back and I hope the results of this compromise speak for themselves.

CG

Foreword
by Roberta L. Bondar

In times of war, humans are capable of accomplishing extraordinary things. In the two world wars of the twentieth century, the balance was struck in favour of good over evil. Fewer books have been written and movies made, however, on the atrocities of war than on heroic deeds or men of action. This perhaps reflects our repulsion of war with its attendant horrors and our need to find something redemptive in the morass of human suffering and destruction. As a nation, Canadians don’t like war, but neither do we want to shy away from our responsibility to promote the concept of world peace.

The three themes of war, patriotism, and of individual Canadians accomplishing extraordinary things are captured in Greatcoats and Glamour Boots. This book is about a segment of the population of Canada that might otherwise be buried in the sands of time and the Department of National Defence archives. More often than not female heroes remain unsung. The women who comprise the subject matter of this revised edition overcame so many obstacles and frustrations that flying in space almost pales by comparison.

These were women who lived in a unique time and accomplished remarkable things during the most precious years of their lives. Although they were from different backgrounds and had different expectations they all wanted to live and experience life with the same degree of opportunity and responsibility afforded to men. And why not?

It is impossible for those of us born in 1945 or later to feel the isolation from loved ones imposed by wartime service or the ever-present possibility of death. We can’t imagine the roles that women were expected to assume in the advent of World War II, although in part many of us may relate to the frustration of not being heard, believed in, or accepted as equals. What spirit and determination these women in the 1940s must have had — to try to be all they wanted to be and to have leaders who would go to the wall for change! And it wasn’t only women in uniform who felt the time was right, but others, not serving in the military, who realized that they, too, should expect equality of opportunity. The truth is that women are constantly evolving — philosophically, spiritually, emotionally, and most recently, defiantly, in the face of inequality.

As a society, today, we are attempting to incorporate gender equality in practice as well as in ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Props On Her Sleeve
• The Accidental Captives: The Story of Seven Women Alone in Nazi Germany
• Greatcoats and Glamour Boots
• Copyright