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Dashed Dreams — VE Day

My story begins in Steyning, a small market town snuggling in the South Downs of Sussex.

In 1943 The North Nova Scotia Highlanders were billeted locally. These friendly Canadians soon won the friendship and in some cases the hearts of the local Steyning people.

In the August of 1943 Steyning was holding a ‘Holidays at Home’ event which also included a Garden Fete (the war wasn’t going to stop Steyning from enjoying itself ). The Pipe Band of the North Novas was invited to join in and marched up Steyning High Street with kilts swirling, pipes playing and drums beating. A young woman, Gwen Wood, was watching from her drawing room window and immediately noticed a handsome, blonde haired drummer..

Later, in the Market Field the Fete was in full swing where Gwen and her friend Sally were running the Hoopla Stall when along came two good looking Canadians and asked if they were Gwen and Sally as they had been told these two ladies were the best dancers in Steyning! Sure enough one of the men was the tall blonde Gwen had seen in the Parade! Ken Buchanan! Ken and Pipe Major Ross Stone had just been judging the Best Legs competition!

Gwen’s Brother-in-law, Lewis entertained the Band for tea in his back garden. Gwen and Ken ended up washing up together! Over the next several months Ken and my mother, Gwen, met whenever he was given leave.

Ken realized that his unit was training for something big, the training was arduous and at times dangerous, it was the build up towards D Day.

The North Nova Scotia Highlanders (part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division) landed on Juno beach Normandy on D Day June 6th 1944.

Ken and Gwen were married on 4th May 1944 and spent as much time as they could together. During their times apart they would telephone each other and write letters practically every day, sometimes more than one a day. I was born on February 14th 1945. My father was fighting somewhere in Western Europe. He came home on leave for my Christening when I was 6 weeks old then returned to his unit in Europe. He and my Mother had great plans for after the war — going to Canada, starting up a new home etc. It was all very exciting.

In May the end of the war in Europe was declared. Everyone was ecstatic. My father was hoping to celebrate the victory with his brother Jack, just a short journey away. In the meantime the men were busy cleaning their weapons. Suddenly my father’s best friend accidentally shot him. Pte Ken Buchanan died within half an hour.

As one can imagine, my mother was devastated and has never remarried. Now, all these years later, she has given me the letters my Father wrote to her and I am in the process of cataloguing and typing them up. When I started reading them I just could not put them down, they are so interesting, like a diary — they have made me laugh and made me cry! Through these letters I have now got to know and love my Father who so tragically died when I was 3 months old.

He is buried alongside 1354 Canadian servicemen in Holten Cemetery, Holland. In May this year, my Mother and I (she is now 86) went over on a coach trip with other Canadian Veterans to visit three of the Canadian Cemeteries where Remembrance Services were to be held; Groesbeek, Apeldoorn and Holten. Many veterans had come over from Canada and there were at least 6000 people at each ceremony, many of them Dutch who do an absolutely fantastic job looking after all the graves.

On May 4th (the day my parents were married) Mum and I walked together for the first time into Holten Cemetery for the Service and to visit my Father’s grave. We had been before separately but not together, so this particular 60th Anniversary is and has been a very very emotional time for me.

Lindsay Buchanan
(Daughter)

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