Hugh and Jean Smith

By Linda Moore, North Vancouver

World War I interrupted my grandparents’ plans to marry and immigrate to Canada, postponing their eventual arrival in Vancouver for twelve years! Talk about a very long engagement.

They gave me a bundle of postcards when I was ten years old that spanned the years 1910 to 1919. The postcard craze was in full swing, the Instagram and text messages of its day. Having tucked the collection away in various drawers since first receiving them, a few years ago I wondered why I was holding onto them. Were they really worth anything? I started to catalogue them across dates and places. Hugh’s travels across Canada, his war experience and my grandparents’ courtship sprang to life! What a treasure these cards became!

Early in 1913, Hugh made his way alone to Canada, as did many young men to establish themselves in the promising Dominion of Canada. Postcards between Jean and Hugh showed images of life on the two continents. He got a job with the Menzies family on Pender Island in 1914 working with prize-winning Jersey cows. In March 1915, on his twenty-sixth birthday, Hugh, along with five other fellows from Pender, signed up with the CEF. As a farmer, farrier and shoesmith, it made sense that Hugh joined the 11th Canadian Mounted Regiment (CMR). He knew horses extremely well from his life in Scotland, where he was known as a horse-whisperer who could calm these magnificent animals when danger was near.

Courtesy of Linda Moore

October 1, 1915, from Vernon Camp: “Just a card to let you see Jean that I am still soldiering. I just got back from Pender yesterday. I was rather sorry to leave but I will soon get down to it again. Will write you soon.”

January 1917: Hugh was with the 2nd Division Ammunition Column in France, preparing for the battle of Vimy Ridge. They worked under the cover of night skies, trudging uphill through the mud and driving rain, using light rail lines and wooden walkways, coaxing warhorses and mules, to deliver ammunition to the front line. This work was an essential link to the Canadians’ breakthrough at Vimy.

April 11, 1917: Jean turned thirty-one years old. Hugh had purchased one of the intricate hand-embroidered silk cards that the French and Belgian women were making at the time, providing something special for the men at the front who were writing to family and loved ones. The hope expressed in the design is clear: 1914–1917, with the fl ags of the Allies of the time. A poem inside includes the words “May every breeze that fans thy brow, my fondest blessing whisper now.”

However, the war didn’t end at Vimy. Hugh proposed to Jean on his annual leave in October 1917. Another long year later, November 5, 1918, they were married in Scotland. While Canadian soldiers returned home, Hugh stayed with the Occupation forces for yet another six months just so he could finally be reunited with Jean in Scotland. They immigrated to Canada with their three children in October 1927, and settled in Vancouver.

HMCS Rainbow leaving Portsmouth for Canada. City of Vancouver Archives, LP 21

In spite of the tumultuous times that my grandparents endured, what I remember is their constant peaceful and loving presence. In Vancouver and Victoria they grew abundant gardens. In the peaceful light today in my community garden, I often remember picking soft red raspberries and collecting warm eggs with my grandparents. Knowing what I do about them gives me strength to deal with inevitable conflicts that I encounter in today’s world. What would I do without the garden? Surely, finding peace within is the key.

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