Coral Eswyn (née Ellinor) Lyster, (September 27, 1923 – July 18, 2009) was a British-born Canadian author best known for writing extensively on the Canadian

war bride War brides are women who married military personnel from other countries in times of war or during military occupations, a practice that occurred in great frequency during World War I and World War II. Allies of World War II, Allied servicemen ...

experience. She also published articles on the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was a disastrous Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a ...

in World War II, as well as a book on

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

Biography

Eswyn Ellinor was born in London, England, to Stanley Ellinor (a newsagent) and Coral Winifred (née Stuart) Ellinor. During World War II, she served in the

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the World War I, First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in ...

(WRNS), informally known as the Wrens, which was the women's branch of the Royal Navy. In 1943 she met

Company Sergeant Major The company sergeant major (CSM) is the senior non-commissioned soldier of a company in the armies of many Commonwealth countries, responsible for administration, standards and discipline. In combat, their prime responsibility is the supply of ...

(CSM) Bill Lyster of the Calgary Highlanders, a Canadian regiment stationed in her home town of

Aldwick Aldwick is a seaside village and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England. Bognor Regis is to the east of the village. The ecclesiastical parish, formerly part of Pagham includes the smaller settlement of Rose Green. There ar ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. They were married later in the year. In April 1945, Bill, now commissioned and with the rank of captain, was badly wounded and repatriated to Canada. In February 1946, Eswyn and her infant son joined the stream of 44,000 war brides travelling to Canada. Many ships, like the Queen Mary, were pressed into service for this massive emigration: Eswyn crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the '' RMS Mauretania (1938)'', the first dedicated war bride crossing, to Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bill was from Empress, Alberta, and she and her son traveled by train from Halifax to join his family there.Most Excellent Citizens
/ref> Following emigration, her family lived in Regina and

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

when her daughter and younger son were born. In the 1950s, Eswyn began writing about her experiences and family. From 1956 to 1969 she lived in North Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1969 she and her husband retired to

Qualicum Beach Qualicum Beach () is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the foot of Mount Arrowsmith, along the Strait of Georgia on Vancouver Island's northeastern ...

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

where she maintained an active writing career. She was a long-time member of the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

, an avid alpine gardener, and a member of several gardening clubs. She died in Victoria General Hospital July 18, 2009.

Bibliography and writing associations

Eswyn wrote ''Most Excellent Citizens, A History of the Canadian War Brides of World War II'' (title taken from a comment by the war historian C.P. Stacey). It was published posthumously in May 2010 by Trafford Press. Under the name Eswyn Ellinor-Lyster, she wrote ''Lyster Pioneers of Lower Canada and the West: The story of the Lysters of the old Queen's County, Ireland, who settled in Canada early in the nineteenth century''. Her articl
"A Bloody Miracle"
an account of the Calgary Highlanders' Mortar Platoon's experience on the

, was chosen as the lead story by ''Legion Magazine'' to mark the fortieth anniversary of that unhappy event. It has been frequently reprinted, notably in the book, ''True Canadian War Stories'', from the pages of the ''Legion Magazine''. In the same book is "Ten Days and Seven Thousand Miles", her account of her journey to Canada on the first all-warbride sailing of the RMS Mauretania (1938) in February 1946. She was a member of th
Federation of BC Writers
as well as a long-time member of Spindrift Writers of Parksville and Qualicum Beach.

Notable events and webpage

* Royal BC Museum - A portrait of her wedding day was featured in the

Royal British Columbia Museum The Royal British Columbia Museum (or Royal BC Museum), founded in 1886, is a history museum in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The "Royal" title was approved by Queen Elizabeth II and bestowed by Prince Philip in 1987, to coincide with a ...

exhibit called ''War Brides: One-Way Passage'', in Victoria, B.C. Running from May until September 2008, it was a collection of 81 paintings by Calgary artis
Bev Tosh
who is herself the daughter of a war bride. Eswyn was a featured guest at its opening on May 10–11, 2008 (

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

). * Canadian Citizenship issues - Eswyn also became an advocate for those caught in the Lost Canadian debate, giving testimony at
Canadian Parliamentary committee hearing
on citizenship. She has collaborated with historian and researcher Melynda Jarratt on war bride and Canadian citizenship issue

* War bride anniversaries - Eswyn was a speaker at "The Year of the War Bride" event, held at and sponsored by Pier 21, February 5, 2006. (The then- List of Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia, Lieutenant-Governor of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Her Honour The Honourable Myra Freeman was the keynote speaker.) * Webpage - He
webpage
includes an interactive message board for those seeking information about war brides - either for themselves or for relatives. Eswyn was also compiling an extensive war bride database of those in contact with her.

External links

Most Excellent Citizens

Eswyn's Canadian War Brides page

* ttp://cmte.parl.gc.ca/cmte/CommitteePublication.aspx?SourceId=111774 Parliamentary Committee on Citizenship - Eswyn's testimony

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyster, Eswyn Canadian Anglicans Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian women non-fiction writers 1923 births Writers from British Columbia 2009 deaths British emigrants to Canada 20th-century non-fiction writers

Biography

Bibliography and writing associations

Notable events and webpage

See also

External links

References