Elinor Florence, Author

Bestselling Historical Fiction Author

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Wonderful Wartime Weddings

February 12, 2014
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No wonder thousands of wartime weddings and passionate love affairs took place during those heady years. Was there ever a period in history when romance was so exciting, so terrifying, and yet so wonderful as during wartime? Here are photographs of some lovely wartime weddings, just in time for Valentine’s Day. I included all the […]

Canada: A Perilous Place for a Pilot

February 5, 2014
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Air force accidents in wartime involving new recruits training under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan were almost commonplace in Canada. Here’s one example. On September 8th, 1944, a Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft was flying near the air training base at North Battleford, Saskatchewan when it went into a spin. Killed was Flight-Sergeant William […]

Sacrifices Honoured in Stained Glass

December 18, 2013
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Hundreds of churches, both large and small, installed stained glass windows to thank their defenders after the war ended. This was especially appropriate because so many homesick servicemen found comfort and community in church, especially at Christmas time. This lovely example, in the Welsh town of Pembroke Dock, features the badges of units from the […]

Letters From a Lonely Airman

December 18, 2013
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A heartfelt question was posed in one of his wartime letters, 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. “Damn this war anyhow, why can’t people just get along?” Raymond James Barnes of Battleford, Saskatchewan joined the […]

Star Weekly at War

November 27, 2013
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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 covers of the Star Weekly magazine, published by the Toronto Star. (Note: To see ALL my covers, scroll to the bottom of the page). The scrapbook created by my mother, […]

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

November 6, 2013
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This sweet-faced woman later known as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, boosted morale so vigorously during the Second World War that Adolf Hitler himself called her “the most dangerous woman in Europe.” The young Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Queen Elizabeth, mother of the current queen, died in 2002 at the age of one hundred […]

About Elinor Florence<br>

Letters From Windermere

I’m a lover of history and all things vintage. My passion for the past is reflected in my novels, my collections, my travels, my home on Lake Windermere, and the monthly letter that I have been sending to my dear followers for the past eleven years. You are warmly invited to join my list. I don’t ask for anything but your email address. However, you are welcome to tell me something about yourself because I love hearing from my readers.
Sending since 2013.
Subscribers: 1,600.
Expect your letter the third Wednesday of every month.

Lest We Forget

While researching my wartime novel Bird’s Eye View, I interviewed people who lived through the greatest conflict the world has ever known, both on the home front and overseas.
I uncovered some truly inspirational stories, indexed here by subject.
Please feel free to read, reflect, and share.
Please Note: All stories and photos are copyrighted to Elinor Florence unless otherwise indicated. You are welcome to copy and share them as long as you give me proper credit.

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