Re-adjusting to civilian life

Heroes Remember

Re-adjusting to civilian life

Transcript

Oh... didn't I, and it's the same when I retired, I was all confused, I thought, oh what do I do, where do I go, cause I mean well my mom passed away in ‘51 but my dad was still living and I just thought, well what do I do, where do I go and I was talking to someone and they said, "Kay, go down to Hayward's. They're looking for people down there." So, I thought, well I'll make a break and go. So I did. I went down there and they interviewed me and they hired me because Bill Hayward - he had been in the service - and he said, "You're coming out of the service." So he said, "No," he said, " I'm gonna look after you." So I worked with him for three years, three and a half years. Interviewer: Did your service years change you? Yes they did to a certain extent. I can't say how or what but I mean I, I got a different outlook on life. As I say, I went in, I was 18 in March and I went in in November and then I thought, well, gee-whiz I've seen part of the country and I've done this and I've done this so I can't really say, you know what it's, what it's done. Really the camaraderie that I had with some of the people, in fact, I'm still friends with, with 4 or 5 that I correspond with. In fact, I still, she lives in Oromocto and I'm still friends with her. She comes down, we go away together. Once in a while we go away together. We were down to see the Tattoo in June or July, sorry. And I correspond with a gal out West and there's one in Ontario that I still correspond with.

Description

Ms. Stevens talks about finding a job at Hayward's and maintaining contact with the many friends she made during her wartime service in the navy.

Katherine Stevens

Katherine Stevens was born on March 17, 1924. She grew up during the depression years in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She decided to join the navy in 1942 and worked as a wardroom assistant with the WRENs. She served mostly in Esquimalt, British Columbia and when the war ended in 1945, she returned to Halifax.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 01:54
Person Interviewed:: Katherine Stevens
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Home front
Branch:: Navy
Rank:: Wren - Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS)
Occupation:: Wardroom Assistant (WRA)

Language selection

Re-adjusting to civilian life

Heroes Remember