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Battlefords author releases anthology of Canadian veterans

Aug 29, 2016 | 10:00 AM

The author of a book immortalizing the Battlefords has released another about the true stories of Canadian families during the Second World War.

Elinor Florence’s first novel Bird’s Eye View is about a farm girl from small town Saskatchewan who joins the air force. Using the interviews she conducted, she released a second book called My Favourite Veterans. The book tells 28 stories about Canada during the WWII.

Florence said the title wrote itself.

“I called it My Favourite Veterans because that’s really what they are. They’re my favourite people in the world,” Florence said. “I did so much research to write my novel and talked to so many World War Two veterans. I decided to take these true stories, some which have never been told before, and compile them into an anthology.”

Florence decided to self-publish the book because she felt it was time sensitive. Of the 28 veterans she interviewed only 13 are still alive and she wanted to make sure they saw their stories on paper for everyone to read.

Doreen Gilles, of Battleford, was one of the people Florence interviewed and is in her 80’s. She was the youngest daughter of John Ballendine. John and his brother James were snipers in the First World War. Florence named them “The Fighting Ballendines” because John’s eight sons all served in the Second World War as well.

Florence also used stories from her own family background. Her grandfather Charles Light, former Battleford postmaster, and his brother Jack both fought in WWI. She also tells the tale of her father Douglas Florence, who grew up in Richard, Sask. and served in Ottawa, England, and India during WWII.

All these stories and more helped Florence write her novel Bird’s Eye View which she claims is “the only novel ever written about a Canadian woman in uniform.”

The novel follows a girl from Saskatchewan who joins the air force after her farm town becomes a British Commonwealth air training base. If it sounds familiar it’s because it is based on North Battleford where a British Commonwealth air training base was built in the Second World War.

Florence changed the name of North Battleford to Touchwood in her novel.

“I wanted something that sounded lucky and it’s lucky to touch wood,” Florence said. “I also changed it because the buildings aren’t necessarily all geographically correct and I didn’t want people correcting me.”

Florence said she probably spent more time in the base than any trainee.  She was interested in WWII at a young age because she grew up on a wartime airport.

Florence left the Battlefords to attend the University of Saskatchewan where she received her degree in English. She returned to become the first reporter hired at The Battlefords Advertiser-Post. She fell in love with journalism from there and has worked at newspapers all across the country.

After selling the Columbia Valley Pioneer, a newspaper in Invermere, B.C., Florence turned her attention to a manuscript which had been collecting dust.

“I’d work on it a little bit and then put it away and then bring it out,” Florence said. “Then I finally took it out and finished it.”

It ended up being Bird’s Eye View, which along with My Favourite Veterans are both available for purchase. 

 

Greg Higgins is battlefordsNOW’s city municipal affairs and health reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.caor tweet him @realgreghiggins. 

Editor’s Note: This story was edited for clarity at 3:12 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2016.