The ship rocked as Lilian Dudfield carried her son on board the Athlone Castle.

It had been a luxury liner, before the Second War War broke out, but it was now a troop ship. The glamour of the ballroom had disappeared, replaced with three-tiered bunks.

Instead of well-dressed travellers, the ship was filled with wounded soldiers returning home and war brides going to Canada.

It was April 30, 1945, and Lilian, who was born and raised in England, was ready to start a new life in Canada at the age of 25.

Her husband, Al Peters, had always spoken fondly of his country, and Lilian decided it was time to get away from the war and devastation in Europe, and to meet Al’s family in Saskatchewan. But he wouldn’t be with her when she did.

•••••

Lilian met Al through letters. Her parents offered shelter to soldiers on leave with nowhere to go. Lilian met many soldiers this way and started writing to one of them. But Al decided to take over for that soldier instead.

Lilian and Al met for the first time at the Oxford Circus Underground station in London. She was a petite woman with beautiful long hair, and a passion for adventure. Al was tall with broad shoulders, dark hair and very good looking.

They spent as much time as they could together and were madly in love.

And in November 1941, Al proposed.

•••••

In 1936, many people had speculated war with Germany was inevitable. Lilian, who had left school two years earlier to help earn money for the family, felt she had to do something, and joined the Red Cross Society. She received First Aid and Home Nursing certificates.

Lilian was a member of the Air Raid Precaution and spent many hours at drills, such as how to put out an incendiary bomb or use a gas mask, and going through mustard and tear gas exercises.

She also worked as a volunteer at a local hospital to gain experience as a nurse’s aid. Lilian was on one of her shifts when war was declared on Sept. 3, 1939.

She gave up her typing job to work at the hospital in the civil defense unit, giving patients baths, dressing wounds, and being the new one on the floor, she also had to wash out the urinals the the end of the beds.

Lilian was released from civil defence and joined the armed forces in 1941 when Germany stopped their daylight bombings and started with night raids. She aspired to be in the air force because they had nice uniforms, but she was placed in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women’s army, instead.

•••••

Al and Lilian were married on May 29, 1943, and had a celebration at her parents’ home. The newlyweds couldn’t get enough of each other and tried to get home as often as they could. It wasn’t long before Lilian found out she was with child. Al was thrilled, and so was she. Lilian was given an honourable discharge from the army in September 1943.

Al continued to take leave whenever he could, by saying he had family problems, and surprising his wife on his visits.

Lilian was evacuated to the north during the last month of her pregnancy because it was safer there. She was billeted in private homes and stayed with a woman who treated her well and fed her too much.

Michael Albert was born in February 1944. Since there were no telephones, Lilian had to write Al and her family to tell them about her son.

Al took some time off to meet his boy, and he visited once more before all leaves were cancelled. The Allies were preparing for D Day and the invasion of Normandy.

Lilian knew her husband was involved, but she didn’t know exactly where.

•••••

Lilian was at the hairdressers the morning the invasion began, June 6, 1944.

She nervously waited for news from her husband, and was comforted when people told her “no news is good news.”

She worried when her friends received messages from their loved ones at war, and still she waited.

She grew more anxious every time she checked the mailbox. One day in late June, a telegram arrived. Lilian thought Al had been wounded, but the words on the piece of paper stated otherwise.

“We regret to inform you that your husband, Rifleman A.J. Peters was killed in action on June 8, 1944.”

•••••

After Michael turned one, Lilian attended a school for war brides. She had decided it was time for a change. Her mother pleaded for her to stay, but she had her mind made up.

Lilian learned about Canada and the lifestyle it offered. She was impressed there were washing machines and dryers – something England didn’t have at the time.

She had heard of ships sinking in the Atlantic, but the dangers of crossing it never occurred to her until it was too late.

The Athlone Castle met up with a convoy, and had to constantly try to dodge the german U-boats, which seemed to chase them all the way to Canada. Lilian feared she would be drowned at sea.

She met many people on the ship, including a soldier from the Regina Rifles, who was in battle with Al. He told Lilian Al was killed by a sniper when he was laying down telephone lines.

Al was buried at a temporary location, and now lies in the Canadian cemetery at Beny-sur-mer in Normandy.

About halfway through the journey to Canada, the war in Europe ended. To celebrate, the ladies were given a glass of sherry and soldiers had two bottles of beer.

•••••

When the ship pulled into the Halifax harbour, Lilian was surprised to see shops and buildings boarded up as the celebrations had turned to riots. The town seemed deserted as Lilian and Michael boarded a train to Saskatchewan. She didn’t realize how big Canada was.

Lilian and Michael stayed with Al’s family for a year, before boarding another train to Vancouver, where one of Al’s sisters lived.

The Old Vancouver Hotel at the corner of Granville and Georgia streets was being rented out to ex-servicemen, and that’s where Lilian and Michael settled.

Lilian made friends, found herself a job and even started dating.

She met Bert Dudfield, and married him in 1949.

Lilian and Bert started expanded their family, and moved to Mission in 1974. Lilian now has six children.

Bert passed away in 1979, and Lilian continues to make a difference in the community as a volunteer.

•••••

Every Remembrance Day, Lilian wears a poppy and watches the ceremonies. It’s a sad time, but one that should not be forgotten.

Remembrance Day is observed at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to perpetuate the memory and the deeds of the fallen of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, United Nations Peace Keeping Missions and NATO operations in Afghanistan.

Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Clark Theatre Program:

10 a.m. Parade fall in

10:15 a.m. Parade marches

10:40 a.m. Remembrance Service begins

11 a.m. Last Post - Silence - Reveille

11:20 a.m. Laying of wreaths

After the ceremonies there will be a social gathering for Legion members, veterans serving and past, guests and the public in the Legion lounge on Logan Avenue. All are invited to stop by for an afternoon of Remembrance, refreshments and entertainment.