A Trip Half Way Around the World
As a young child, I could not fathom what my mother went through to venture half way around the world to marry my father. Rosemarie and James met in Australia in the late 1940’s through a mutual friend. My father, born in Connecticut, USA spent much of his time in Australia with family. His father, Henry, was a manager for Bon Ami Soap Company. My mother was born in Sydney, as were her parents and two sisters. The Korean War began in 1950 and my father came back to the United States to enlist in the Army. James was a corporal in the 1st Battallion, 278 Infantry, Regimental Combat Team. While he was preparing for service, my mother was preparing to leave her family behind to start a new adventure.
December, 1950 was an eventful time for Rosemarie. She turned 21 years old the day after Christmas. Her family and friends threw a combined birthday and bon voyage party, and bridal shower. I still have the family recipe book that was given to her at this party. It is filled with handwritten recipes, along with some of my own scribbles that I added when I was very young and did not know better. I never knew the exact details or the trip and had always wondered what route she took. I had always assumed that it took her almost five months to get to Canada from Australia, (but you know what assuming does).
Recently, I asked my sister to dig up any old documents that she could find. Unbeknowst to me, my mother kept a travel diary of her trip. It turns out that she left Australia 3 March, 1951 aboard the RMS “Strathaird” at 11:30am. Once I got the journal in my hands, I could not put it down.
Postcards To and From Home
Momentos collected along the journey
The Adventure Begins – From Australia to Canada
It turns out that she was sick for most of the journey. Mom did not let that get in the way of having a good time. Rosemarie played deck sports, including deck tennis, table tennis and peg quoits. I had to research that, as I had not heard of this game. It is similar to horseshoes, but with a ring instead of a horseshoe. I learned that she was quite competitive, as she entered most of the tournaments and won quite often. She watched the cartoon “Mighty Mouse”, danced, socialized, and swam.
On some occassions when she was feeling the worst, she slept on deck to get some fresh air. One day adrift the Indian Ocean, a generator failed in the engine room and she ate dinner in the dark. This was the same day that a “cyclonic disturbance” was making for rough seas and caused some flooding on Decks, F, G, and H. While onboard, she attended church services when she was on time. She dressed as an absent minded secretary for the ship gala one evening.
The trip started in Sydney and went around the southern side of Australia, with stops in Adelaide, The Great Australian Bight, and Perth before heading into the Indian Ocean. The first port of call, outside Australia was Columbo, the capital of Sri Lanka. Mom did some sightseeing and shopping, as well as took in some native food and visited the Garden of the Mohammaden Temple. From here, she went to Bombay via the Arabian Sea, then to Aden. She traveled through the Suez canal into Port Said. The next port of call was Marseille on 4 April, 1951, after several days on the Mediterranean Sea. The diary stops here, but I know she eventually boarded the SS Franconia and sailed for Canada.
A Small Wedding to Start an American Family
American soldiers were not allowed to marry foreigners on American soil during the war, so he and my mother were married in Ontario, Canada on 29 May, 1951. She wore a beautiful, borrowed gown and he donned his Army uniform. It was a small church wedding with just a few family members from my dad’s side and the couple that my mother knew. They honeymooned in Niagara Falls, and my grandmother and aunt went along. They had to accompany my father back to the Army base in NY, while my mum stayed behind in Canada. It was another four months before she entered The United States for the very first time. On FindMyPast.com, I found her border crossing document that shows she crossed the Thousand Island Bridge on 22 September, 1951, with $40 in her pocket.
Once in America, she stayed on a farm owned by the Bacon family in NY. My parents ended up at Fort Benning, GA, where my eldest sister and her twin was born in 1952. James was honorably discharged from the Army in December of 1953 and they moved to CT. Another sister was born in 1954, my brother in 1962, and then me in 1969 after a move to Florida. Rosemarie sadly passed of cancer in the summer of 1977 and left a large hole in the entire family’s heart. While I do think of her every day and miss her greatly, I have found comfort in finding out more about her through the journal that she kept. I somehow feel closer to her now that I have been able to travel with her on a grand journey.
What’s Next?
What journey is out there for you to take with your ancestors?
What journey can you take now (or in the future) with your family to relive some of the moments or trace some steps of your ancestors?
I challenge you to make it happen, just as I am going to. Stay tuned for my adventures, whether from me personally or from my ancestors.
