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In my long career as a journalist, I collected memorabilia ranging from hundreds of newspapers clippings and photographs to pieces of historic wooden type like this big E — for Elinor, of course!

My mother’s estate has wrapped up, so I’m disposing of her possessions, which carry many family memories. And that means dragging home no fewer than 25 cardboard cartons filled with photographs, letters, china, books, and keepsakes. In a box of old knitting patterns, I found this original! She knit this sweater for me about thirty […]

In the farmhouse kitchen described in my novel Wildwood, my Irish heroine Mary Margaret receives this Belleek shamrock tea set from her grandmother as a wedding gift when she emigrates to northern Alberta in 1923. * * * * * My Childhood Home I grew up on a farm about fifteen kilometres east of North Battleford, Saskatchewan. […]

I’m enjoying sunny days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and feeling sympathy for my fellow Canadians, who are suffering under an icy white blanket. This is our granddaughter Juliet, aged two, who visited us with her family. * * * * * My Best Buy in Mexico Shopping is a foreign country is always fun, and […]

Welcome to your very first Letters From Windermere, an old-fashioned letter from my house to yours, a collection of news, notes, and nostalgia where I chat about History, Writing, and Books. From 2013 to 2018, I wrote more than 100 wartime stories, and you can find them all under the category called Lest We Forget. […]

Willa Walker rose rapidly through the ranks in 1941 to become head of the newly-formed Royal Canadian Air Force Women’s Division. Only 28 years old, grieving the recent death of her baby son, her husband locked away in a German prison camp, Willa rose to the challenge with courage and dignity, breaking down barriers for future generations of women […]

Named for the future British prime minister, Winston Churchill Parker of Okotoks, Alberta, joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, served as a Wireless Air Gunner in a Wellington bomber, was shot down on his unlucky thirteenth mission, and spent the rest of the war as a WW2 POW in a German prison camp. Note to […]

Jean Hubbard joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corps (CWAC) on the day she turned eighteen. Wearing her red and white polka-dotted dress, she is likely the only recruit ever welcomed into the armed forces with a birthday cake!

For your reading enjoyment, here’s a collection of five strange wartime stories — starting with this delightful picture of Samantha Kot, who re-enacted an old photo she discovered here on my website! Wartime Stories: Aviation Fan Recreates Photo Samantha Kot of Orangeville, Ontario comes from an aviation-mad family that restores old aircraft and takes them […]

Canadian Army veteran Russell Thompson of Seeley’s Bay, Ontario, who will turn 99 in a few months, is one of the reasons they call his The Greatest Generation. The sons of Russell Thompson, Earle and Steve, collaborated to prepare this blog post about their father, a role model whom they love and respect. They describe […]