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| 25 July 2007 |
Daily Gleaner Fredericton
July 25, 2007 A1
Author brings war bride stories to life
By MICHAEL STAPLES staples.michael@dailygleaner.com
After 20 years of carrying the idea around in her head, collecting
information and writing each and every spare minute, Melynda Jarratt has
completed her work on war brides.
It's contained in a new book that promises to shed light on what has become
an intriguing part of Canadian history.
The publication, entitled War Brides: The stories of the women who left
everything behind to marry the men they loved, draws on original archival
documents, personal correspondence and key first-hand accounts.
"It was very hard work," a happy Jarratt said Tuesday. "I feel like I have
done everything that I could do."
New Brunswick war brides featured in Jarratt's book include the late Jean
Paul of Tobique, grandmother of T.J. Burke, minister of justice and attorney
general of New Brunswick.
Also featured are Delice Wilby of Fredericton, Madeline Fitzgerald of
Moncton, the late Anne Johnston of Fredericton, Doris Lloyd of Plaster Rock,
Zoe Boone of Rowena, Betty Hillman of Upper Kintore, and Rose Boulay of
Belledune.
There were more than 48,000 marriages to Canadian soldiers alone during the
1940s.
"It's quite an honour to be mentioned in a book," Doris Lloyd said in a
telephone interview from her home in Plaster Rock.
"She wrote a good book and it brings back memories. I have been here for 62
years."
Lloyd said the book complemented the 2006 Year of the War Bride, an event
Jarratt was instrumental in having declared, and she was happy to be part of
it.
"The war brides story is so fabulous, it is not hard to come up with ideas
and there are so many wonderful angles," Jarratt said.
"Instead of following the way that everyone else has done it before, I broke
it up into nine different subjects. I started off with the Maritimes and I
am very proud to say that the first story is Mrs. Jean Paul.
"I talked to myself about it and thought, 'Who is the most Canadian?' If
anyone is the most Canadian of all the war brides, it is someone who married
an aboriginal Canadian."
Jarratt said she was able to cover every province in the book.
Stories reveal how life in Canada brought happiness to many but darker
moments for others.
Included are what Jarratt describes as "astonishing accounts of infidelity,
domestic violence, poverty, alcoholism and divorce."
"After doing it (research) for 20 years, I thought I had heard it all. There
were people who wrote to me amazing stories that, in themselves, would make
great movies. I am hoping that someone will pick up on that."
Jarratt said the big thing about her book is that it's the first of its kind
to be written and published for a British audience. She hopes to travel to
the country this fall for book signings.
"I hope they (the British) understand what kind of a legacy they have left
behind in terms of the sheer numbers of children, grandchildren and great
grandchildren who can claim a war bride in their family tree."
War Brides: The stories of the women who left everything behind to marry the
men they loved is distributed in Canada through Van Well Publishing
www.vanwell.com.
It's available in Fredericton at Westminster Books.
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