Wilderness Dad
1930's, before WWII and before meeting Patricia's Mum. He was aka Chicken Legs when a Lumberjake, and aka "Moose" during and after WWII. His last nickname came from his great difficulty fitting his large frame into the small cockpit of a Spitfire.
Wing Commander Pilot Dad
1941, in the Royal Canadian Airforce (RCAF), nightfighter in WWII. Aka "Moose." Shot down 16 German airplanes at night, first defending the English Channel, and secondly, defending Malta, a critical point of the entrance to the Mediterranean.
British Radar Controller Mum
1941, in the women's Royal Airforce (WRAF), in nt a ticket to Canada after the war, by Moose, she boarded a ship heading for Canada, married him, and had five children with him.
Pool Time!
The family kids at their second Toronto home, in their dad's hand-assembled swimming pool in the fromt yard of the house. Far left, Patricia, aka Paddy Peanut, age 6, with pool toy in her grips; to her right, Maureen, aged 12, reaching for the toy; middle right, Richard, aged 9; far right, Gail aged 8. Debbie has not yet been born.
EXCURSION TO ALGONQUIN PARK, Northern Ontario, Canada
Left: a buke (male) deer, with large antlers at Algonquin Park: right left: Paddy (5), shyly and a bit nervously, feeds the buck; and to the her right, her Mum reassures her and also Gail (7 1/2), who looks on.
Informal Family Portrait
Family KiDs TOGETHER.
PADDY PEANUT, AGED 10, IS SECOND FROM THE LEFT.
PROFESSIONAL FAMILY PORTRAIT
From top left, Gail c.14; Richard, c.15; Maureen, c.18; lower, left to right, Debbie, c. 6; Dad and Mum center, and far right, Paddy, c. 12. Formal family portraits were very common among the middle class after WWII. Once the fighters returned from the war, they often married and had large families of which they were proud.
FATHER AND SON: COTTAGE FISHING,
AND MORE COTTAGE FISHING
Dad, Big Richard, and MANY fish
Dad, Litte Richard, and Very BIG Fish
DAUGHTER AND AUTHOR M0M
Lian, author’s daughter, at age 10.