A Wartime Romance
A tale of a chance meeting, love and service to one’s country
In the spring of 1921, my dad, Dr. James Patterson Whyte, an eager young dentist from Eganville, Ont., stepped off the train in Swift Current, Sask. He planned to begin a six-month term in a dental office in the little town and then journey to India with the Imperial British Dental Service. That program was cancelled, however, so Dad stayed in Swift Current.
He quickly became very involved in the life of this small Prairie community. Even though World War II took him to Europe, he returned to the community that he considered home and where he’d spend the rest of his life.
Dad had enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I but was not called to active service. During the 1920s and ‘30s he was active in the 14th Canadian Light Horse Brigade, through which he engaged in various types of military training.
In February 1941, Dad enlisted in the Royal Canadian Dental Corps, with the rank of Captain, to serve in World War II. He trained in Canada and by 1942 he was sent to England. It was at this time that he began to command 12 Company of the Canadian Dental Corps, and did so until July 1945. In this role, about six weeks after D-day, on August 1, 1944, Dad and his company landed on Juno Beach.
He established their first field hospital in an apple orchard at Banville just inland from Courseulles-sur-mer, France.
Mum’s Story
In 1943, my mum, Gladys (Poulton) Blake, a young British nurse, answered the call to sign up as an army nurse. She trained near York and then was staged near Portsmouth as a member of Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service. In June 1944, with great anticipation, Mum crossed the Channel to Normandy, landing on Gold Beach. As an operating theatre nurse, she worked two weeks directly behind the front lines
and then two weeks back, while another unit leap-frogged ahead.
As the Allies advanced, the medical members of the armed forces followed the liberation trail.
In September 1944, the Canadian dentists stationed in Ghent, Belgium, hosted a party, inviting the nurses stationed nearby. As the officer in charge, my dad sent his jeep to bring the nurses over. Mum was one of those nurses. There was an instant connection as Dad played the piano and Mum, who was hoisted up onto the top of the piano, sang along. It is hard for me to imagine the Mum I knew in that scenario. Yet, I can easily visualize Dad, as he was a man who loved people and being involved in whatever was happening. This first meeting produced a friendship that grew during the next several months as they spent many hours together at every opportunity they could.
Romance Flourishes
In addition to being in France and Belgium, Dad spent time in Holland and Allied-occupied Westphalia-rhineland, Germany. By November 1944, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and in 1945, he became assistant director of dental services at Army Headquarters in the Netherlands. In 1946, he was transferred back to London to C.M.H.Q. as director of dental services overseas. He retired from active service on December 31, 1946. I have a precious photographic diary of his journey across Europe that details his life at the time.
Mum also followed the liberation trail. I have a ten-franc note to Mum signed by Dad, which shows that they both were in Ghent on VE Day on May 8, 1945.
Mum went back to nurse in London in 1946 after being demobilized. The romance between Mum and Dad flourished and they became engaged. Dad returned to Swift Current in 1948. Mum followed in 1949 and they were married in 1950.
A Life Well-lived
Dad remained actively involved in the reserves and continued military training with the 14th Canadian Hussars until the early 1960s when he retired. He was promoted to Colonel in the Militia Prairie Command in December 1951. I remember as a small child going along to military training in places like Comox and Petawawa, and we would stay somewhere nearby. From 1958 to 1960, Dad was appointed the Queen’s Honourary Dental Surgeon.
The war had a great impact on both my parents and that made it real for me. I’m part of the last generation that is directly connected to someone who was part of World War II. Before COVID happened, my husband, a niece and I were planning a spring trip to Normandy and other places that Dad depicted in his journal. When this is over, we will complete our trip of Remembrance.
Unfortunately, Dad died too young at the age of 71 in 1970. He was a proud Canadian who led a busy, productive life serving his community, providing leadership to many organizations and to the country he loved. Mum had the wonderful opportunity to live a full active life, passing away in 2013 at the age of 95.
Resulting from this chance meeting between a Canadian dentist and a British nurse in Belgium during World War II is a family that includes me, my brother Michael, nine grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. We all know and treasure the war story of Grandpa and Grandma.