In 1942, 11-year-old Tom Taylor got his first job, delivering the West Van News.
The weekly newspaper was the precursor of the Lions Gate Times and the North Shore News.
In 1933, Betty Taylor came home to West Vancouver from San Francisco, a widow with two boys, Tom and his brother Chris. Her parents, Helen Cain Matheson and magistrate Mackenzie Matheson, had resided in Caulfeild since 1914.
The Matheson's second home, built in 1940, is now the rectory of St.
Francis-in-the-Wood.
In 1936, Betty married Frederick William "Pep" Pepper, a driver for Pacific Stage Lines and later, a West Vancouver councillor. The family lived first at 1373 24th St., still standing, and at 1479 Ottawa Ave.
For Tom and his friends, delivering papers and playing in the West Vancouver Band, attending school at Pauline Johnson and Hollyburn, the war was remote.
"We grew up in innocence - too young to fight, as were most of our parents too old - perhaps the luckiest generation ever," Tom wrote in the prologue to his book, Glimpses: World War II West Vancouver through the eyes of the papers and the paperboy. In fact, the First World War still cast its shadow and the Second World War touched everyone, young and old, in the close-knit community.
The Vancouver papers covered the war news; the local paper recorded the war's effect on the community. Reports of casualties, servicemen home on leave and civil defense work were interspersed with community events.
Betty was a founder of the Red Cross Treasure House, which raised funds for the war effort and Pep, a First World War veteran, shared his interest in both wars and in community life with young Tom.
Tom graduated from West Vancouver high school in 1949, met Margaret MacLane at the University of British Columbia and they married in 1955 at St. Francis-in-the-Wood. He started his teaching career at Inglewood in 1956, going on to Sentinel, Hillside and West Vancouver secondary schools until he retired in 1988.
The retired teacher became a student of local history and began his research for Glimpses, published in 2004. Tom calls Glimpses a scrapbook, with scraps gleaned from the Vancouver Daily Province and from the West Van News. "Inserted at intervals in the text are some of the major events of the war.
"These, like the announcements of casualties, are threaded unbuffered into the peaceful flow of community events of the day."
One entry, dated August 8, 1940, notes that "Mrs. Finlay, of Garrow
Bay, who is 82 years old, has knitted (60 plus pairs of socks for the war effort). Had she not been sick for some time this year, she would have knitted more, but as it is, she has made a wonderful record." The next entry, August 10, 1940, records the beginning of the Battle of Britain.
Personal stories, memories and photographs, with commentary from the paperboy broaden the scope of Glimpses. From the perspective of 60 years on, Tom presents the face of war as well: the shortages and the sacrifices, the young men who would never come home, the removal of the Japanese from their homes.
He writes, "There would be no refuge either in fantasy or place for those who had to face the storm. This account is in large measure a tribute to them."
Glimpses tells the story of West Vancouver during the long years that the Second World War marched on, far removed from the daily round of school and band practice and paper routes, but never far from the hearts and minds of the people.
Tom continues to support his community. He served on the board of the West Vancouver Museum and Archives and is an honorary life member of the West Vancouver Historical Society.
He and Margaret enjoy their children and grandchildren and pursue their interest in music. Every week, they sing with the Londoners choir at seniors residences across the North Shore.
Tom and Margaret Taylor have directed proceeds from the sales of Glimpses to an annual student scholarship at West Vancouver secondary. To purchase a copy and help support the scholarship, call Margaret at 604-921-9605.
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. 778-279-2275 [email protected]
