Revera Stories - Nov. 09, 2017
Call her Ma’am
Meet Margaret Howe - veteran, author & our Remembrance Day face of freedom
Every November, in honour of the veterans who’ve served our country – including many who now call Revera home – we run a special one-page advertisement in national and local newspapers. This year we feature a very special woman, Margaret Howe, who is a resident at our Windermere on the Mount retirement residence, in London, Ontario.
“Why did this new generation not know about what her generation had done, both for the country, and for women?”
Margaret’s tale is one of service and sacrifice, including her stint as a captain in the Second World War, as part of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps – which she later chronicled in her book, Call Me Ma’am. In the book, Margaret recounts seeing recruitment posters urging men to come join the war effort. Each time, she’d feel a pang of patriotism coupled with annoyance – what about women?
The book came about after Margaret attended an International Women’s Day dinner, when she came to realize people didn’t really know about the strides made by feminists – including her – long before the 1960s. Why did this new generation not know about what her generation had done, both for the country, and for women?
And so she set out, at age 98, to write her first book. (A second is on the way, when she can find the time.) It was a fitting response for a person who never cared much for age. “I’ve always been headstrong,” says Margaret, who enrolled into university at age 16, and went on to earn a master’s degree.
As a captain, Margaret spent time in cities including England, Holland, Belgium and Germany.
Listen to her story, and other tales from our veterans:
The book came about after Margaret attended an International Women’s Day dinner, when she came to realize people didn’t really know about the strides made by feminists – including her – long before the 1960s. Why did this new generation not know about what her generation had done, both for the country, and for women?
And so she set out, at age 98, to write her first book. (A second is on the way, when she can find the time.) It was a fitting response for a person who never cared much for age. “I’ve always been headstrong,” says Margaret, who enrolled into university at age 16, and went on to earn a master’s degree.
As a captain, Margaret spent time in cities including England, Holland, Belgium and Germany.
Listen to her story, and other tales from our veterans:
