Jean Wilson

In September 1948, when I was eight years old, my mother Jean, two years old sister Dorothy and I left our home in Broughty Ferry, Scotland, on our journey to Southampton, England. We were to sail on the Aquitania to Halifax and travel on to Dundas, Ontario where we would be met by my father. He had left five months earlier to obtain a job and secure a place for us to stay.

I remember how huge the ship seemed when we boarded in Southampton. Our journey was very rough.Some of my memories were seeing the piano tied down so it would not move around and not being allowed out on deck because of the bad weather. We were all seasick and I remember the kindness of the crew who brought us ginger ale and soda biscuits to our cabin. Many years later I was to discover we sailed across on the tail end of a hurricane.

One of my first memories in landing in Halifax and leaving the ship was to see cookies and sliced bread in plastic packages and also bananas, something I had never seen before.

Eventually we boarded our train and after two and half very long days (a lot of stops), arrived at Union Station in Toronto. My father, however, thought we were coming in to Hamilton and had gone there to meet us. He had sent a friend with a picture to Toronto just in case we landed there. Of course the friend did not recognize us in the crowd and eventually when my father did not show up, friends of my mothers' from the ship drove us to Dundas. (I can only imagine the horror my mother must have felt that day). However it all turned out well with a happy reunion in Dundas and the start of my new life in Canada.

In 1951 my brother was born. He now lives in Tennessee and my sister in Florida. My husband and I were married in 1959, have three sons, four grandchildren and this year celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary.