Kingston, Ont. author writes memoir about mother, a WWII veteran and war bride

An author from Kingston, Ont., has written a book about her mother’s life as a war bride.

The book Three Score and Ten, by Simonne Ferguson, is about her mother, Sheila O’Carroll, who became Sheila Eccles after marrying Ferguson’s father.

Eccles was a veteran of the Second World War, and came to Canada in 1946.

“It started out as kind of a mother-daughter story,” says Ferguson. “As I got into the writing and I learned more about her – I actually learned a lot about my mother as I wrote this book. I realized it didn’t have anything to do with me. It was her story.”

When Eccles came to Canada, she was referred to as a war bride — a term Ferguson says her mother disliked.

“She said ‘I didn’t marry a war, I’m a veteran,'” says Ferguson.

“The second day of World War Two she signed up for the military, and she was in what was then called the ATS – the Auxiliary Territorial Service.”

Ferguson’s mother served as a driver and mechanic in England, and later in Belgium, France and the Netherlands, transporting supplies, prisoners of war and troops.

“Also survivors from concentration camps,” says Ferguson. “That affected her, really, for the rest of her life. She was always appalled at unfairness and prejudice.”

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The book also details Eccles’ life in Canada after the war, and the dramatic change that moving from England to rural Canada entailed.

“Ontario, when my mother arrived and all the other war brides arrived, was pretty Victorian,” says Ferguson. “It was not as open and accepting of people as Europe was.”

Ferguson’s research includes photos, newspaper clippings, documents and unmailed letters collected by Eccles that Ferguson found after her mother’s passing.

“She says in this letter: ‘I wish I had done better for you kids,'” says Ferguson. “When I read that, it broke my heart, because she was a wonderful mother.”

As Remembrance Day approaches, Ferguson recalls how Nov. 11 ceremonies were always observed when she and her siblings were growing up.

“If it was a cold day and we didn’t go see dad march with the legion, at home my mother always had the radio on,” says Ferguson.

“At 11 o’clock on November the 11th, we stood quietly in the kitchen with our heads down for that two-minute silence, so it was always observed.”

Ferguson says it took a decade to research and compile all the information that was her mothers life, and now, with the completion of this book, her mother’s experiences and influence will be immortalized for generations to come.