The War Memories of Mary Walker

One of the nice things about writing for the paper is the opportunity to talk to interesting people.

Mary Walker called me to comment on the piece I did on the D-Day Dodgers last November. (This was a song that the Canadian soldiers sang during the war to humorously protest some unjust comments of Lady Astor.)

As we talked, Mary told me of her teenage friendship with Douglas Walker of Preston. Doug was part of the crowd of young people that Mary kept company with in the town. As a group they would skate, swim, play ball in the park, or just talk about life and the future.

Doug was a couple of years older than Mary. The second war had started with Germany and he made the decision to enlist. A short basic training in Kitchener and he was sent to the west to join the Army Service Corp. The Company was to be his family for the duration of the war.

Doug was sent directly from Manitoba to England to await the troop movements into Europe. He never managed a return to Preston, to visit either family or friends, prior to his disembarkation.

As friends, teenage Mary, and 6 ft 3 Doug agreed to correspond as pen pals. They were both faithful to the promise. The war unfolded for Mary in five years of letters. The news sketchy -- only as much as the censors would allow. Occasionally Doug's letter would be perforated with blank spaces where the censors removed sensitive information.

Doug left England in a convoy bound for Italy aboard the Monterey. The ship ahead of his was hit with a German torpedo near Sardinia in the Mediterranean. The troops abandoned their crippled ship and took to the water. Doug's Company was detained while rescue of their Canadian comrades was undertaken. The rescue efforts put them far behind the main convoy and they were redirected to land in Napoli, Italy. The delays, the landings, the action, the adventures and misadventures were all recorded with pen and paper.

Doug was grateful for the news from home. His spirits were raised and refreshed with each new letter from Mary. To this day, Mary has her little bit of history stored in her 'memory box' -- still wrapped in a frayed and faded ribbon. Fifty penned and weathered envelopes with their treasured contents --they are all cherished and chronologically filed after these fifty plus years.

The reading, and rereading, of the letters brings back the memories of the events as though they were only yesterday's. Doug informed Mary of the orphaned Italian boy that they befriended and kept in the camp, -- a lad left homeless and without a family because of the war. The five year old boy was found near the battle front of Casino. Half naked, with signs of malnutrition, he was found as he sought shelter in a bomb crater. Efforts to find the boy's parents revealed that all of his family had been lost to the fighting. People in the village begged the Canadians to care for him as they could barely feed themselves.

The group embraced him as their own and cared for him as young fathers and uncles would care for their own family. The camaraderie among the soldiers was high to begin with -- the caring for the orphaned boy increased it even further.

Back in Canada, Mary was aware of the boy through the correspondence, - as were many of the Company soldier's girl friends, wives, and pen pals. Mary would include gifts for Gino in her packages to Doug. Like kids everywhere candy was young Gino's favourite gift. Laura Secord treats were at the very top of his list.

Hiding the boy in camp was against military rules of conduct, but all soldiers know that rules are there to be broken and the boy was hidden. The junior NCOs and the junior officers winked at the infraction and turned a blind eye. Schemes were considered on how to steal the boy back to Canada, but these imposing plots failed when a soldier was caught while walking the boy. This particular senior officer was not amused. Those in the upper chain of command may have sympathized, but instructions were given. "Find a home for that boy, we're moving into France and on into Holland".

Gino was left behind -- there was no alternative. The hat was passed around for money and parting gifts --The boy may be left behind, but he would not be left destitute. Money was collected from the soldiers meager military allowance for his immediate needs.

An American soldier, of Italian decent, aided in finding a home for Gino. A young couple named Farneti had just married and agreed to take the boy. They eventually lawfully adopted Gino as their son.

Lloyd (Red) Oliver of Manitoba was the main father figure in the boy's camp life. He, and other soldiers, often kept Gino hidden in their trucks as they delivered supplies and ammunition to the troops. Lloyd would have adopted the orphan but that was not a soldier's option.

The soldiers left. Promises were made to remain in touch, but contact was lost.

In 1978, Lloyd Oliver went to Italy to see if he could find a trace of Gino. After a few blind leads, Gino's adoptive parents were found, but unfortunately Gino himself was working in Morocco at that time. Contact was made however and the correspondence and friendship started anew.

Soldiers develop a camaraderie that often lasts forever. "Red" Oliver found "Red" Walker after 45 plus years to inform him of the D-Day Dodger Reunion being held in Orillia in 1990. They met and renewed a friendship that had lapsed for far too many years.

A second regimental reunion was planned. On this occasion they managed to have Gino come from Italy to visit his personal good Samaritans. There were twelve of the original Company at this soldier's reunion.

Gino visited Canada several times to see again "his" Canadians. Mary recalls with great fondness his last visit to Doug's and her home. Douglas "Red" Walker died two weeks after this warm reunion with Gino.

Gino Farnetti is now retired. As a successful petrochemical engineer, he had the opportunity of working in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, before eventually settling down in a small town in Italy.

Of course Mary and Doug married when he returned from the conflict in Europe. They lived, and raised their family in Preston - forty two years together on Dover Street. Lloyd Oliver is retired in Manitoba.