This thesis analyzes the life histories of women who served in the Second World War
British auxiliary services (the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the Women’s Auxiliary Air
Force, and the Women’s Royal Naval Service) who migrated to Canada as war brides (the
wives or fiancées of Canadian servicemen). It argues that understandings of womanhood
which connect ideal femininity with domesticity operate on the ways in which war bride
veterans view themselves as veterans and how they remember their experiences as
servicewomen. In their oral histories, these women portrayed themselves both in
accordance with and in opposition to traditional feminine roles. However, identities
associated with traditional femininity such as ‘sweetheart,’ ‘wife,’ ‘mother,’ and
‘grandmother’ were frequently most prevalent. My findings indicate that war brides who
had more satisfying and smooth transitions to Canadian life generally remember and
emphasize their war bride past over their military history and view themselves as having a
Canadian identity. Alternatively, those who had more difficult experiences of migration
gain composure in remembering their experiences as servicewomen since these
experiences were less troubling and complicated. These women tend to assert their British
identities. This project contributes to scholarship in gender history, memory studies, and
studies of migration though unpacking how cultural discourses regarding gender in
wartime and national identity intersect with stories of migration in the life history
narratives of war bride veterans. It provides a new framework for the study of women in
war in Britain, as well as war bride history in Canada. This thesis produced and draws from
eighteen comprehensive life history interviews with war bride veterans. Part I begins with
a chapter exploring theoretical concepts setting out the combined material and cultural
epistemology of this project, including popular memory theory, as well as understandings
of gender and nationality that assisted the methodology developed for analyzing war bride
veterans’ narratives in relation to historical and cultural research. This methodology based
on the work of T.G. Ashplant, Graham Dawson, Michael Roper, and Richard Johnson,
recognizes the circular and nuanced relationships people have with cultural codes and
memories. The historical context chapter examines historical understandings regarding
appropriate roles for men and women in wartime through primary source research and
contemporary gender historical theory. It also examines how war brides have been
recognized in Canadian cultural memory. Part II applies this work with three chapters
centred on life history interviews with Wendy Turner, Victoria Sparrow, and Penny
MacDonald (pseudonyms).
Date of Award | Jun 2017 |
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Original language | English |
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Awarding Institution | |
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Supervisor | Lucy Noakes (Supervisor) & Graham Dawson (Supervisor) |
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“That’s My Story.” Unpacking Canadian War Bride Veterans’ Life Histories
Auger, L. B. (Author). Jun 2017
Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis