We recently looked closely at the Christmas and new year holiday seasons of 1914 and 1939, as these marked the first such celebrations after the declarations of the First and Second World Wars in those years.
Local people in early 1940 were watching, with varying degrees of apprehension, the daily reports of the war that dominated the community newspaper’s front pages and headlines. Many folks would have been thinking back over the few weeks and the quieter holiday festivities and wondering how things might turn out over the weeks and months to come.
Those with connections to the Westminster Regiment were well aware that the regiment’s Armoury on Sixth Street was a centre of attention just as it had been previously. They likely smiled at the memories of the Christmas party for the regiment’s members and their families, as well as entertainment for the men in the barracks that had been put on by the members of their Ladies’ Auxiliary.
Now that the calendar for the town of 1940 had moved into the new year, they were fully aware that life for many members of the regiment had changed and they were now in a military camp in the city. They remembered that the paper reported late in the previous month that the “Regiment is transferred to new quarters” and “Officers and men of the Westminster Regiment (MG) moved into their brand-new army hut ‘town’ on 8th Street and 10th Avenue this morning.” This had happened on Dec. 23, while many men continued to work in the Armoury, and Christmas leave was over for most others. This site in today’s terms is the location of New Westminster Secondary School.
Although most of the annual community support programs such as the fundraising carried out by the Elks Club were now over, there were ongoing efforts to continue the help directed towards the “holiday” period’s needs for “families, children, the single needy, those out of work, transients and hoboes.”
One particular item offered for sale as a potential gift for Christmas 1939 was promoted in terms of its connection to the “theatre of war.” As 1940 moved along and the war continued with family, friends, and fellow residents overseas, it might have remained of interest. It was an item for sale at the Phillips Radio and Electric store which drew this vital link. The item was an “all wave radio” which they claimed could achieve “reception from Europe direct.” Personal interviews have told us that such news was always eagerly sought out, and no doubt such a radio would have been a wonderful potential source of information.
It is important to remember the community’s history of 75 years ago. Even seasonal wishes could hold somber emotions. One example noted: (we) “Wish for you in these disturbing times, health and happiness, assured that you will face the coming year with faith and courage.”
