Search results

Title: Agriculture in British Columbia
Description: Four different images of agricultural scenes in British Columbia.
Date: ,

Title: Interview of William T. Strachan
Description: Jan 9 2012 William “Bill” Thomson Strachan Born: St. Fergus, Scotland on March 8, 1921. The house was built in the 1700’s. He was the oldest of 3 boys: William, Sandy? & Peter. His mom remarried after his father passed, and had 3 girls: Isabella, Sheila, & Lilas. [Step]Father: Peter Strachan. Father: William Dunbar. Born in Crimond. Grandfather:
Show moreJan 9 2012 William “Bill” Thomson Strachan Born: St. Fergus, Scotland on March 8, 1921. The house was built in the 1700’s. He was the oldest of 3 boys: William, Sandy? & Peter. His mom remarried after his father passed, and had 3 girls: Isabella, Sheila, & Lilas. [Step]Father: Peter Strachan. Father: William Dunbar. Born in Crimond. Grandfather: William Thomson. Harbour master in Peterhead. William’s great-grandfather [Thomson] died one day short of his 100th birthday. Mother: Isabella Thomson. Born in St. Fergus. Siblings: 3 sisters & 2 brothers. 1 brother moved to Australia, the other to Canada. Nobody in his family spoke Gaelic; they were Doric speakers [dialect of NE Scotland, Scandinavian roots]. William was raised as a farmboy. He went to school in Crimond. They were large classes; he went through until his Qualifying, then quit at age 12. He recalls getting the strap as discipline at school. He kept in contact with one of his former school teachers by letter when he was in the military in Singapore. He joined the military at age 17, after working on the family farm. William had a cousin who was a Regimental Sergeant Major. William later joined the Gordon Highlanders, serving in WWII. His brother was in the Royal Engineers. William didn’t want any promotion during his time in the Highlanders. He preferred the lower ranks. William was taken as a Prisoner of War in 1942, at the fall of Singapore. It was “meant to fall” to save Australia. He remembers his officer’s attitudes on the Japanese soldiers who were taking over Singapore. The Japanese military surprised them by attacking from behind, coming in on bicycles. William has two tattoos from his time in the war, before the fall of Singapore. While others would go to the brothels, he would go to get a tattoo. He was taken prisoner for several years – until the war ended in 1945. There were 1200 Gordon Highlanders captured, along with other regiments held as prisoners. They were made to build the “Death Railroad”, as they called it. The camp was in Kanchanaburi. They also built the bridge over the Mae Klong River. He remembers learning they were free – a plane landed with 12 men in uniforms they didn’t recognize. One prisoner died from the shock of being freed. A man from the plane asked William whether he remembered him, as they had met before. These men were secret service agents. Life in the POW camp was “bloody awful”. There were frequent beatings. Sometimes they would have bamboo platforms to sleep on, but other times they slept under the sky. The prisoners wore loincloths and no shoes. They were only fed rice. He learned to make rice wine, by layering it with brown sugar he stole from the Japanese. He never keeps rice in his house to this day. He tells a story of a man nodding to him, before walking into the trees nearby. He followed the man’s path, and found a dead steer. He managed to get it back to camp, and they cooked it in a big kettle into stew, which each man got to have with their rice. He remembers another time when a lion and her cub came within an arm’s length of him. At night, the prisoners had freedom of movement, because the Japanese troops were afraid to enter the jungle in darkness. William and others would venture out to Thai camps, where generous locals risked their lives by providing them with food and supplies to take back to camp. Alex Vanderleck – Dutch engineer who knew the local jungle, and showed other men what they could eat in the wild – bamboo shoots, etc. He called William “The Red Devil”, because of William’s red hair and the fact his skin would go bright red in the sun. Alex had said he was going to write a book by the same name, which William searched for after the War, and learned Alex never made it out of the camp. They walked barefoot to their work each day, sometimes up to 300 miles. The troops would push the prisoners to keep moving. The prisoners tried to make the railroad “as rough as they could”, striving to make things uneven so it would be less useful to the Japanese. The Thai government later repaired these sections after the war so it could function. William saw the fictional movie “Bridge on the River Kwai”, loosely based on the construction of the Burma railroad, and felt it was “awful”. They slaved for 15 hours a day working on the railroads; William estimates that the temperature was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. There was no thought or planning of escapes, because they knew they wouldn’t survive the snakes and other creatures in the jungle. They encountered lions and elephants while they worked. He knew one man from his regiment who just fell over and died. He was so emaciated “you could play the xylophone on his ribs”. Anyone who was caught providing aid to prisoners would be shot on the spot. Many local Thai people would give them soup and dry peanuts. There was a sergeant major who told him, “Watch what you say, a lot of them can speak English.” He later learned that man was an American living in Japan at the time of the War who had been conscripted by the Japanese military. When William and his fellow POWs were liberated, the first thing that the Allied soldiers did was provide them with pen and paper to write letters to their loved ones; however, the men had forgotten how to write properly, so it was a challenge. They came for the 12 men who were the sickest first, of which William was 1. They were flown to the hospital in Burma. One of the men’s wives flew to the hospital herself to see whether he was alive. He had to stand up and walk over to her because he was so emaciated, she couldn’t recognize him at all. William said nurses commented he looked like a “living skeleton” himself. He had been suffering from malaria and dysentery. He still suffers from malingering episodes of malaria to the time of the interview. William remembers saluting the crowd as they boarded the ship back to Britain. The skipper of the ship was told to take the 12 prisoners off, and instead, to bring 12 nurses home. He refused. They pulled into Sri Lanka, and the skipper handed them all a kit bag which they could fill with local goods for their family. William bought 2 handbags, for his sisters, and special tea for his mother. When they arrived at the British port in Southampton, there was a Japanese flag flying. The former POWs refused to disembark until it was lowered from their line of sight. William’s family didn’t know he was arriving. He took two trains to get home; 1 to Edinburgh, and another to Aberdeen. His mother didn’t recognize him when he returned to Ft. Angus. He walked in the back door, and didn’t say a word. His sisters didn’t recognize him either. He married his childhood sweetheart upon returning. He didn’t have to work upon returning, as the military paid him to support recovery. Wife: Margaret Wallace. Her brother passed away in a POW camp during the War. They were married Dec. 21st, 1945-1946? William knew he had an uncle in Canada, but didn’t know where he was; he moved here in order to locate him. Arriving with his wife, he spoke to the mayor of the town, Wakaw, Saskatchewan, and put an ad in the paper. This led to a cousin, which led to his uncle, William Thompson, living in New Westminster. He remembers his uncle Willie lived in a “cutterhouse” prior to moving to Canada. William came to Canada with his wife Margaret on a ship called the Churchill. They arrived in Nova Scotia, and took the train to Oyen, Alberta. William worked on a ranch, where he was a “cowboy”. A cook was needed at a ranch in Wakaw, and Margaret took the job, so they moved there, where William continued to ranch. He remembers learning to lasso for the first time. They moved to New Westminster, B.C. in the late 1950’s; they lived across the street from a couple. This is how he met his current wife; they got together later in life after experiencing the loss of their spouses. William worked at Swift Canadian in New Westminster, and became president of the Meat Processing Workers Credit Union. He has served as president for 20 years, and was elected for another 4 just prior to retiring from Swift. Bill Cruz was the treasurer of the Credit Union. He still keeps in contact with his sister in Scotland and her offspring. William’s mother was a farmer back in Scotland. They raised cattle and grew oats. Their farm was at least 100 acres. It had a greenhouse, where his grandfather had grown fruit. There was a lake on the property. William worked as a “horseman” during the summers on other farms, ploughing fields. Politics & religion were not issues in his family. William himself is non-religious. His family was very close. His favourite family members were the ones who lived close and came to visit for Easter. His mother would boil turkey and hen eggs for them. The trip to Canada took about a week. They knew they were moving to Canada permanently, and said goodbye to their family. He remembers his first day in Oyen, Alberta, speaking to two local German immigrants. He laughs that his Doric accent was not too different from their German accents, and they understood each other. His farm experience got him a job on the ranch. He never experienced any trouble integrating into Canada. He was struck by how big the country was when riding the train across. William’s oldest son (also named Bill) was the longest serving soldier in the Canadian military, serving 40 years before retiring. His son (William’s grandson) is now in the military as well. Children: Oldest son also named William (Bill). Son Sandy was a chef at the King Neptune. Now works as a truck driver. Daughters Sheila and Isabelle have both since passed away. Youngest daughter, Betty, is still alive and well, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. William and his second wife (Jean) were members of the Sons of Scotland. He has gone back to visit Scotland. They celebrate Robbie Burns dinners, and make & dress haggis. At the time of the interview, the Scottish Nationalist Party was calling for a referendum on Scotland’s independence from the U.K. – William says most people he knows are in support of an independent Scottish nation. He feels there’s a good chance it will come about. William was starting to learn bagpiping from a friend while he was in the military, prior to becoming a POW. He attends the Highland Games, and used to work in the Heavy events. William’s favourite part of Scottish culture is the history and the music. His favourite Scottish food is haggis, scones and oat cakes. If he could do his life over, he would join the Gordon Highlanders again, but wishes he could avoid the experience of being a POW. He remembers being handed the controls as they flew out of the camp and over “Death Railway”, which brought tears to his eyes - a “heartwarming” moment of freedom. He returned to the area with his wife Jean in the late 1970’s, as a healing trip, and rode the railway themselves. He spoke with a man who used to feed the prisoners. There are 2 pieces of writing which William wrote himself, describing War experiences in detail (from his planned memoirs). These were scanned/digitized and included with the oral history collection. His wife Jean speaks briefly about her life at the end of the tape. She worked during the War engraving the sides of bombs. Born and raised in Toronto, later moving to B.C. William speaks of meeting Diefenbaker by chance. He also met Tommy Douglas several times. He tells the story of a bombing that occurred while he was a POW. Sadly, a boxcar full of young local girls (used as sex slaves by the Japanese military) were killed.
Show less
Date: 2012-01-09

Title: Fruit-Growing in British Columbia
Description: Four different images of fruit-growing scenes in British Columbia.
Date: ,

Title: Farming 2001
Date: 2001-07-13

Title: Interview of Ronald Reid
Description: May 11 2012 Ronald Dunlop Reid (b. 1931 in Victoria, BC) is the only child of Kenneth Dunlop Reid (b. 1901) and Margaret Harriet Cullum (b. 1899 in Victoria, BC). His father was the eldest of two boys and his mother had one sister. They married in 1926; his mother stayed home with the children while his father worked for the Victoria street
Show moreMay 11 2012 Ronald Dunlop Reid (b. 1931 in Victoria, BC) is the only child of Kenneth Dunlop Reid (b. 1901) and Margaret Harriet Cullum (b. 1899 in Victoria, BC). His father was the eldest of two boys and his mother had one sister. They married in 1926; his mother stayed home with the children while his father worked for the Victoria street lighting department (prior to this job he had studied electrical engineering at McGill, worked in Ontario, for BC Electric in Vancouver, and for Cominco in Trail, BC). Ron’s father was very active in the Victoria Electrical Club, the McGill Graduate Society, Historical Society, and with the Freemasons (in 1958 he became the Grandmaster of British Columbia); his other interests were archery and fishing. Ron’s paternal grandfather, John Dunlop Reid (b. mid 1860s in Dunlop, Ayrshire) had one brother and two sisters and his paternal grandmother (b. 1879 in Owensboro, Kentucky; d. 1969) had one older sister who died at the age of sixteen in Seattle. John Dunlop Reid’s father, Thomas Reid (b. 1821) married Jane Dunlop, the heiress to property in the village of Dunlop and, together, they had three children. Their eldest son (also Thomas Reid whose eldest son married Mary Ann Kerr Jameson and moved to Owensboro, Kentucky, Seattle, Washington, and finally retired in Victoria, British Columbia) took over the farm while Thomas and Jane built a house on the Dunlop property with the help of their youngest son, John Dunlop Reid. John Dunlop Reid married Helen Muir of Kilmarnock; they had four children, the eldest of whom was Ron’s great-grandfather. There are no known Gaelic speakers in the family. Ron grew up in Victoria. Both of his parents were responsible for discipline. There were no vacations during the war, but afterwards, in 1945, his family toured Portland, the Oregon Coast, Washington State, and the Okanagan. His family was close and regularly saw each other; Ron’s favourite relative was his maternal grandmother who lived very close to him. Ron attended Sir James Douglas Elementary School, Central Junior High School, and Victoria High School before completing one year of college. Sir James Douglas was a “good elementary school,” but he neither enjoyed high school nor the sports. Ron worked for the mapping branch of the provincial government and the instructional department of the provincial emergency program (Civil Defense) before retiring in 1998. In 1954, Ron married his first wife, a nurse, Cora Jone Hansen (b. in Saskatchewan), with whom he had four children. After their divorce he married Kathleen, a widow with three children of her own. Between the two of them they have thirteen grandkids; their children are spread across North America, Asia, and Australasia. Since their respective retirements in 1998, Ron and Kathleen have travelled, bought a house, and taken up gardening, trailering (Vancouver Island, Interior BC, and the USA), and lawn bowling (Central Saanich team). Ron’s impetus for his “Scottishness” was his paternal grandmother who bought him his first kilt (at approximately ten years old). Ron and his wife, Kathleen, have made approximately twenty trips to Britain; her family lives near London and they have often made road trips up to Scotland. After being accidentally misled by the minister of the local church, they found the old Dunlop property on their second trip to the area. Their last trip to Scotland was ten years ago (2000). Ron does not closely follow Scottish politics, but when asked about the upcoming referendum, Ron is not sure whether Scottish separation is a “good thing.” Ron has lost connections to any remaining Scottish relatives. He enjoys reading books by M.C. Beaton. If Ron were to relive his life, he would not change anything; he is “very happy with it.” His biggest satisfaction in life is retirement; he enjoyed his job, but “it has been nice to leave a structured working environment.”
Show less
Date: 2012-05-11

Title: Interview of Jane & Peter Hammond
Description: Dec 23 2011 Jane Hammond (née Jane Elle Campbell; b. 1949 in Toronto) is the youngest of four children. Her father, Albert McTaggart Campbell (b. 1910 in Strathroy, Ontario; d. 1973) was the eldest surviving son of seven-eight children, two of whom died from appendicitis. Growing up in a farming community, he received his Bachelor’s of Science in
Show moreDec 23 2011 Jane Hammond (née Jane Elle Campbell; b. 1949 in Toronto) is the youngest of four children. Her father, Albert McTaggart Campbell (b. 1910 in Strathroy, Ontario; d. 1973) was the eldest surviving son of seven-eight children, two of whom died from appendicitis. Growing up in a farming community, he received his Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture from the University of Guelph before teaching science in northern Ontario. After marrying he moved to South Ontario where he became very involved in local politics; he was on the Scarborough School Board, served as mayor of Scarborough, and, beginning in 1970, became a chairman for metropolitan Toronto. Jane has no memory of her paternal grandfather, John Campbell (d.1952-1953), who was first-generation Canadian. Her paternal great-grandfather was possibly born in Inverurie, Scotland; she has neither information about nor memories of him. Jane’s mother, Helen Emily Huber (b. 1910 in Cobalt, Ontario), had one sister. Her maternal grandfather was Wimund Huber (b. in Bracebridge, Ontario) and her maternal grandmother was Bertha May Cornell (b. 1881). Jane had a “normal upbringing” on a hobby farm. She attended the local public schools before receiving her degree in Psychology from York University. Jane then moved out West where she completed a degree in Social Work; her first job was as a child welfare worker in Victoria. She met Peter while travelling on a freighter, the SS Washington, to Japan; they were married within six months. Peter Hammond was born Phillip Edward Scofield (b. 1948 in San Francisco); at the age of two, after his birth parents’ divorce and his mother’s second marriage to Mr. Hammond, his parents changed his name in order to allow Mr. Hammond to legally adopt Peter/Phillip and thus release Peter/Phillip’s birth father from any child support responsibilities. Because of Mr. Hammond’s involvement in the military, Peter grew up on the island of Guam. He held an appointment as a merchant marine at King’s Point, New York before beginning his studies in marine engineering and, after graduation, sailing for some time. For fourteen years he was the chief engineer for the shipping company American President Lines and, in 1996, he became the director of Calhoon MEBA Engineering School in Maryland, USA, a post that he held for four years before briefly retiring. Peter is currently the chief engineer on the Spirit of Vancouver (BC Ferries); at the time of the interview, he had worked for the company for three years. In 1982, Peter and Jane sold their house in Fairfield and bought Glenrosa. Their reasons for buying the acreage included its location and the spaciousness and peacefulness of the property, especially as a place to raise their four children. Growing up on a farm, Jane was used to the rural life and thus the decision to take up sheep farming was not a stretch. However, at the time of purchase, the Hammonds had no knowledge of the history of Glenrosa and the Dunlop-Reid family; they gradually learned about the house’s past by reading the book Footprints and by speaking with locals and the former owners. They also had a luncheon with the Vine family and others. In 1998/9, after hearing about the newspaper articles and letters that John Dunlop-Reid had written, Peter and Jane travelled to Scotland where they undertook some research about Glenrosa and John Dunlop Reid. They visited the archives in Kilmarnock and the Baird Institute in Cumnock; a woman working at the Baird Institute made copies of the newspaper articles and, eight months later, the Hammonds received a package of them. Entitled “Farming Life in British Columbia,” the Ayrshire Press had published numerous articles by John Dunlop-Reid about the conditions in North America; these were designed to encourage emigration, specifically female. At the time of purchase Glenrosa was lacking a proper foundation and proper central heating. In 2002, the Hammonds began to renovate the house, paying attention to the original design. They saved wood from the original building and ensured that the main room maintained the same dimensions as the original house (30’ by 30’), thus the renovations took a long time. According to Ron Reid, “they did a fabulous job of preservation.” When asked about the Dunlop-Reid’s contact with Native peoples living in Mutchosin, the Footprints book mentions employment for harvesting, construction, and other odd jobs on the Glenrosa acreage. The Hammonds’ future plans for the Glenrosa house include continuing as a Bed and Breakfast and potentially reopening Glenrosa as a teahouse. Although the house is built to commercial standards, expansion and development have proven difficult in a municipality that “resists change."
Show less
Date: 2011-12-23