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Friday, Noember 6, 2020 7 Brooklin Town Crier Brooklin Heritage Society The War Brides By Jennifer Hudgins Nearly 48,000 young women who met and married Canadian servicemen during World War Two became known as the "War Brides." Most came from Britain but a few thousand were also from other areas of Europe. Canada's Department of National Defence established the Canadian Wives' Bureau, a joint effort between Canadian immigration officials, the military, and the Canadian Red Cross. Between 1942 and 1947, this department arranged ship and train travel for war brides and their thousands of children. The voyage and transition were difficult for many and the majority of women who came stuck it out. For some, however, living conditions were too harsh. They missed their families too much or, more tragically, some husbands changed their minds. So these women returned home. Here's what happened to two local war brides. Brooklin farm boy William Hallett Heron met Olive (Bobbie) Elwood in 1943 when he was stationed with his regiment, the 1st Battalion, Canadian Scottish, in Yorkshire, England. They were married, but in December of 1945, William sailed home with his fellow servicemen. Bobbie and baby William arrived on the Queen Mary in Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 8, 1946. They travelled by train to Oshawa and made their family home in Brooklin, later moving to Whitby. The couple were married for 65 years. William Heron, who was born on May 29, 1923 died on November 6, 2012. Bobbie, who was born in October 1926, died on March 26, 2009. Both are buried at Groveside Cemetery. Winston Wilson met Irma Maria Standaert at a dance in Knokke, Belgium, in 1943. Winston wanted to get married but Irma's parents considered her too young and asked him to wait a year. So he returned to Canada on a troop ship and waited until the year was up. On November 23, 1946, Winston went back to Belgium where he married Irma. They took a ship to New York in July 1947, boarded a train to Toronto and were met by his father, Charles and brother, Vernon. They bought a home on Winchester Road in 1950, and raised two daughters. Winston died in 2005 at age 91 while his wife Irma died at age 89 in 2014. The couple is buried at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery on Taunton Rd. in Whitby. Left image: Bobbie and son William. Above image: Robert Heron, Williams's brother, Bobbie and William Heron. Photos courtesy of William Heron.