'They deserve to be remembered': Sask. war brides share stories to preserve legacy
On July 11, Saskatchewan's lieutenant governor, the province and the Royal United Services Institute of Regina unveiled a new pedestal at the cenotaph in the city's Victoria Park.
The commemorative pedestal was created to honour war brides — women who married Canadian servicemen overseas during the wars and emigrated to Canada with their husbands.
Various speakers at the ceremony mentioned there were likely just two war brides left in Saskatchewan. But shortly after CBC published a story on that ceremony, another war bride, and the son of another, reached out.
Sylvia Power, a 98-year-old British veteran and war bride, said she was sad to hear that so few are left in the province.
"I was shocked really. I thought, surely there must be more. People seem to be living longer these days," Power said.
Doug and Sylvia Power's British Army photos. (Submitted by Sylvia Power)
Sylvia met Canadian soldier Doug Power in 1944 when she 18 years old and in the women's branch of the British Army. The attraction was instant, she said.
"I met him just at the time of D-Day when the Canadian troops were coming to the ordnance depot where I was stationed to pick up their supplies," she said.
"I knew right away he was a gentleman and he treated me very respectfully, which doesn't always happen when you're wearing the uniform."
Sylvia said that when Doug left the depot, she didn't know if she would ever see him again. But they wrote each other for several months while he was away in France and Belgium. On one of his visits to London in 1945, Doug proposed.
War brides arriving in Halifax from London in November 1946. Sylvia Power is seen on the far left. (Submitted by Sylvia Power)
The journey begins
After the war ended in September 1945, Canadian soldiers were gradually being sent back to Canada. Sylvia and Doug got married in August 1946 and he was sent home only 11 days later.
Sylvia got the call to join him overseas three months later. They settled just outside of Halifax. At that time, war brides were able to come to Canada on the government's dime if they were married overseas first. They automatically became Canadian citizens.
Despite the war-torn surroundings, leaving her home in southwest London, near Wimbledon, was extremely difficult for Sylvia, who adored her city.
"That's when it got scary, my first little while [in Canada], until I gradually got used to it," Sylvia said.
"I felt very insecure because, you know, you feel that everybody was looking at you all the time, which they were. You just had a totally different way of life. But at the time, anybody speaking with an English accent, people looked at you as though you were putting it on. So I felt very self-conscious about it."
Sylvia Power with her husband Doug Power at Veterans Village Saskatoon in the last days of his life. Power captions this picture: 'In love always.' (Submitted by Sylvia Power)
She said she never regretted her decision to start a new life with her husband in Canada.
Over the years the Powers had seven children, and the war bride grew to love Nova Scotia. Once the children grew up they started to move west. Sylvia and Doug followed, moving to Saskatoon in 1983.
Sylvia knew about the war brides association in Saskatoon, but never joined. She said the meetings always conflicted with volunteer work she was doing, and she and her husband kept busy with other veteran-related commitments.
However, Sylvia did meet with other war brides from time to time. She noticed that her experience on the East Coast as a young immigrant was different from those who landed in Saskatchewan in the 1940s.
"I was sort of a newcomer to Saskatoon, and all those girls that were going to the war brides group were all Prairie war brides. And I sort of felt a bit different from them. I didn't seem to share their experiences."
Doug and Sylvia Power with their children in Nova Scotia. (Submitted by Sylvia Power)
A new life in Regina
When he heard there may only be two war brides left in Saskatchewan, Glenn Wilton of Moosomin reached out to CBC about his mother Liliann Wilton, a British war bride who met her husband — Canadian soldier Alan Wilton— during the Second World War in London while out dancing in 1942.
Alan was on a six-day leave from his duties when he met the then-18-year-old.
"I didn't know it would just click like that. We just hit it off and that was it," said Liliann, who now lives in a care home in Regina.
After they were engaged, Liliann joined the British Women's Land Army to learn about farming, knowing that's what Alan's family did back in Canada.
Liliann Wilton served her country during the Second World War as a farmer in the Land Army. (Submitted by Glenn Wilton)
Liliann married Alan months later in 1942, and soon gave birth to her first son. Raising a little one during the London Blitz was no easy feat, but Liliann said she "took things as they came" during all the change and hard times.
After the war ended in 1945, Alan was sent back home to Saskatchewan late that year. Liliann gave birth to her second son in London in April 1946 and then travelled to Canada by boat with both little boys just three months later.
Alan was from Dilke, Sask., but got a job in Regina, which is where the young family settled. While Liliann said she missed London dearly, she was happy in her new home and threw herself into fostering young children.
"People were always very friendly. So I have no complaints, nothing I can complain about. Canada's been very good to me. And I've enjoyed living here."
Liliann Wilton with her two sons in Saskatchewan. She emigrated to Canada from England to be with her husband Alan. (Submitted by Glenn Wilton)
Not the last of the war brides
Anna-Lynn Sanche, secretary of the Canadian War Brides and Families Association, was at the pedestal unveiling in Regina on July 11. When some of the dignitaries said there may only be two of these women left in Saskatchewan, she didn't agree.
"I was surprised and befuddled, because I know from experience that others have come out of the woodwork," Sanche said.
She said the speakers may have only been counting women associated with war brides clubs and meetings in the province. Neither Sylvia Power or Liliann Wilton had been. CBC tried to find out where the number came through the Royal United Services Institute of Regina, but could not find confirmation.
Sanche said there are many reasons why some other war brides have flown under the radar.
"I know that in many cases, some of them did not know about any of the war bride associations because they didn't drive, their husbands weren't affiliated with the Legion and social media wasn't what it is nowadays."
Ninety-eight-year-old Sylvia Power, left, and 102-year-old Liliann Wilton, right, in July 2024. (Submitted by Sylvia Power; Laura Sciarpellett/CBC)
Sanche, who is the daughter of a French war bride, said she has heard from many people who still have a war bride in their family.
"None of them even realized that they were important people. They just knew that their grandma or great-grandma were from England, and that they had married their grandpa who was a soldier," Sanche said.
"Because the grandparents never talked about the war or anything, they just never realized the war bride was a special person."
Sanche said it's also likely that there are war brides in Saskatchewan who are unknown because they did not come from England. She said 44,000 of the 48,000 war brides who emigrated to Canada were British.
"So, mom being a French war bride — she wasn't affiliated with a lot of these ladies."
Liliann Wilton surrounded by family, left. Liliann and Alan on a hot summer day. (Submitted by Glenn Wilton)
Sanche said her father didn't go to the Legion, and she has met others who also didn't know about war brides meetings. She said many war brides found each other through word-of-mouth.
She said there are likely more than four Second World War brides left in Saskatchewan, and hopes more come out of the woodwork.
Meanwhile, Power said she feels it's important to share her story now.
"I just feel that we're all dying off, veterans [and] war brides. And there are so many stories to be told. It's such a shame if they're forgotten," Power said.
"I think that they deserve to be remembered. That's why I'm happy to share them. Because I think the younger generation should really know about these things."
Anna-Lynne Sanche says there are likely war brides still alive in Saskatchewan that the public doesn't know about. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC)
