Grace Clark, World War One War Bride, Voyage of the Melita

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Contributed by Annette Fulford, granddaughter of Grace Clark. This article is NOT to be duplicated in any form without the express permission of Annette Fulford who can be contacted at Annette@CanadianWarBrides.com

In the autumn of 1919 my grandmother, Grace Clark, 21, a war bride, made the journey with her husband, Hugh, 24, a returning Canadian soldier, to her new home in Canada. The ship set sail from Liverpool, England on 17 September and arrived at the Port of Quebec on 25 September 1919.

The following is a true copy of the original letter she wrote (or as she describes it - her "epistle") to her family back in Sheffield, England of her trip on board the ship Melita.

The letter was more like a journal of her trip. It was written in pencil on both sides of 5 x 8-inch paper, more than 68 pages in all. Although some of the pages are missing or tattered, the majority of the letter is still intact and is very interesting to read.

Grace Gibson was born prematurely on 05 May 1898 at Clydebank, Scotland to Francis Oliver Gibson and Jane McCalman. She was the eldest child of four. Shortly after her birth the family moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland where they lived for Grace’s early years. Her family moved to Sheffield, England circa 1911. This is where Grace met Hugh when he was stationed nearby during World War One.

Thursday — September 18, 1919

…. night, and felt quite rested this morning. Last night our watches had to be put back an hour, as there is no "daylight savings" recognised after we leave English shores.

Some were up very early this morning, at four & five o’clock, I was up a six and had to "queue" for first sitting "breakfast". — We are able to have all meals together which makes it so much more pleasant.

At present I am sitting on the upper deck and the waves are continually spraying us with "showers of blessing."

The sea is awfully rough and has been for some hours. — Quite a large number of people have been sick already, but I am pleased to say I feel o.k. I eat a hearty breakfast consisting of bacon & liver. Of course that does not say I shall not be sick but I am hoping not.

The sun is shining gloriously, although the wind is very sharp & piercing, thanks to my nice warm coat mother, dear, I don’t feel cold.

Hugh is sitting beside me reading one of the books you bought him.

There is no doubt about it, the "Melita" is a very fine boat, and "runs" along fairly smoothly.

We sailed round by the north of Ireland, and this morning we could just see the coast away in the distance.

The young man who was so chatty yesterday was singing in the dining hall last night, and has a very good tenor voice.

We are not spending much time below, as one feels so much better up on deck, in the fresh air. —

It’s a wonderful sight, gazing on such a wide expanse of water, and to see other ships in sight.

The boat is fairly smoothly going at present....

Click here to download the full letter, (or "epistle" as Grace Clark called it then), in Microsoft Word format.

This article is NOT to be duplicated in any form without the express permission of Annette Fulford who can be contacted at Annette@CanadianWarBrides.com