Eggenberger, Mary: my Cold War recollections (October 31, 2007)
PublicABSTRACT: Interview with Mrs. Mary Eggenberger 31 October 2007 (0:00) Born in northern Alberta, married February 1958. (1:08)History of military involvement: father in World War I, grandfather in war in Europe. (2:20) Did not know anything about military when she married. (2:50) Incident with Commander’s Wife and tea. (4:50) Had to learn proper behaviour, when to wear a hat and gloves. (6:00) Married for 18 months when husband transferred to the DEW line for 13 months, moves to Calgary with in-laws and daughter. (7:29) Husband chooses Europe posting. Boat to Calais. (8:33) I Wing, lived in Belgian village of St. Mard. (12:09) Fears of the Cold War- evacuation plan. (14:10) Posted to 2 Wing, France. Lived in own house off base. (18:56) Posted to 3 Wing, in 4 bedroom PMQ. (19:35) Very affordable to hire German help and time to travel. (20:40) Buys a camper van to travel with children. (21:42) More fears about war- gendarmes stopping cars in France. (22:40) Flies home for brother’s funeral, Airforce provides flight and support. (25:50) Wives all friendly, shopping and travelling together. (30:30) Money not really an issue- Canadian dollar very strong, and didn’t do what they couldn’t afford. (44:08) Difficult for children to be posted back to Canada- called ‘deported persons’ by other children. (47:22) Returned to school for matriculation and University degree after husband retires from the military. (101:09) Family proud when she married her husband, because they knew him before he joined the military.
An interview/narrative of Mary Eggenberger's experiences during the Cold War. Interview took place on October 31, 2007.
Interviewer: Hutchison, Sarah Beth
Interviewee: Eggenberger, Mary
- In Collection:
- Canada--Royal Canadian Air Force--Wing, 1
- Military spouses
- Marville (France)
- DEW Line
- Calgary (Alta.)
- Families of military personnel--Services for
- Air Force spouses
- Families of military personnel--Housing
- Families of military personnel
- Cold War--Personal narratives, Canadian
- Canada--Royal Canadian Air Force--Wing, 2
- Eggenberger, Mary, 1932- --Interviews
- Virton (Belgium)--Saint-Mard
- Canada--Canadian Armed Forces--Barracks and quarters
- Etiquette
- Children of military personnel
- Air Force spouses--Travel
- Canada--Royal Canadian Air Force--Barracks and quarters
- Air Force spouses--Etiquette
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 46, 2
- 60.10867, -113.64258
- Original sound recording (CDA) also available.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- EM_744
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- October 31, 2007
- Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 192 kbps and 44 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2007. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
- Rights
- This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
- DOI
This page supports the Zotero and Mendeley browser extensions simply click on the extension widget in your browser to save the objects citation.
| Thumbnail | Title | Date Uploaded | Visibility | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
SC141_MilitaryOralHistory_GenericThumbnail | Public |
|
|
|
Eggenberger_M_0744_01.mp3 | Public |
|