Overnight Honeymoon

Heroes Remember

Overnight Honeymoon

Transcript

Interviewer: Something special happened in 1944. VE-day... or D-day! Interviewer: No... Oh yeah, when I got married yeah. Interviewer: Tell us about that. Well I had some, I was supposed to have a trip off and I was on one of the Lady boats. And certainly we got . . . I was only home for a few days, well I was home for a week, and we got married at six o'clock Saturday evening and Sunday morning, when Captain Kohler come to the door. Well, I heard the doorbell ring. My mother-in-law went down and then she come into the room, we were sleeping downstairs, Thelma and I, and she said "Thelma, there's a man out there with a whole lot of gold braid, scrambled eggs on his cap, and he wants Ben " So I went out, and he said "Mr. Pike." I said "Yes." He said "I want you to come with me." I said "When?" "Right away," he said "we're sailing in the seven o'clock convoy." So I went back into the room. By this time mom was in bed with Thelma and the both of them with their arms locked around one another and crying. And Thelma said "Ben dear where are you going?" I said "Sea." She said "When will you be back?" I said " I don't know", "And where are you going?" I said "I have no idea my dear." So your always had your sea bag ready anyway. Didn't take me long to get ready. And he had a car there, someone drove him up and when I got back down to the ship he said "Now," when we went aboard the gangway he said, "you go to your room, change your clothes and then come up to the bridge." So I went back to my room and I, I heard the engines going. And I changed my clothes and the next thing I looked , I was going to the bridge and we were going out through the torpedo nets. And I thought to myself, I just got married and dear Thelma, is home crying. And so 3 months and 19 days after I got back. So we went to North Africa, he had a load that had to go to North Africa. So that was it, but we've been on a honeymoon ever since, even now when she's sick in the manor, you know.

Description

Mr. Pike recalls being called back to the ship, the morning after being married.

Ernest Pike

Mr. Ernest Pike was born in Newfoundland on September 17, 1921. With both parents being dead by 1934, Mr. Pike began to work at sea, sailing for seven months of the year and attending school in between. Wanting to fight for Canada, Mr. Pike immigrated from Newfoundland in 1941. Already sailing with Canadian National Steamship Lines, he signed up for the Merchant Navy. Mr. Pike remained with the Merchant Navy for the course of the war, sailing with numerous ships including the Chomedy, Lady Rodney, and Lady Nelson. Fracturing his skull in heavy action, Mr. Pike was laid up for three months but recovered and quickly returned to active service. Mr. Pike remained at sea after the war, eventually becoming master of the Abegweit, a P.E.I.- N.B. ferry and settling in Summerside, P.E.I., In 1966, he retired in 1978 after 35 years of service.

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