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Letter from Sadie Muston in Toronto to George Muston May 1919. This letter was our missing link to family in Canada. It was found in my Grandmothers (Nellie, wife of George) possesions with photos of Jim and Sadie. My comments are in italics. Jim and Sadie are children Walter MUSTON, Georges uncle (his fathers brother). Walter immigrated to Toronto Canada where he was a Rose grower and a member of the bowls club. His roses still grow at this club.. It should be noted that many soldiers were held over in England for a long time after the war before they could get a ship home. George left England Feb 9th 1919 after arriving from France on November 4th 1918. This was plenty of time to find a girlfriend as mentioned below: ------------------------------------------------------204 Baelise St, Toronto Dear Cousin George, Many thanks for your most welcome letter. My! but it did take a long time to get here, nearly 2 months (I assume here that George must have sent the letter referred to from England before he left to return to Aust. from the war, which we can also assume was early 1919) I had surely thought you had forgotten about your Canadian cousin. In your letter you say you haven’t heard from me for a long time, well I did send several letters to you in France, but I suppose they were never forwarded on to you. The other day I received a letter returned from France which I had written my beau, I’d promptly sent it to England again as he hadn’t yet arrived home, he is simply furious at the delay but can do nothing. From all accounts I hear you left your heart in England, Ha ! Ha ! It takes the English girls to do it ! Some of the Canadian girls are pretty sore at the fact that so many of our boys are marrying English girls, some Australian ones will be sore too I’m thinking ? eh what ?? (George has been writing to (my grandmother to be) Nellie Smith in Australia from France during the war, this suggests he met a girl in England, perhaps while waiting to be shipped home) Jim as you already knew, I guess, has arrived home early in February. We thought he was looking just great, real fat for him, but since he has been home he has lost 10 or 15 lbs, he says Blyhty agrees with him,. ( Blythy is slang for England I think, she spelt it as above). I do hope you found all your folks well, we are enjoying good health, but not good weather. We are having so much rain it is hard to get our gardens planted. Jim started an a job shortly after he landed home and just finished it yesterday. He hasn’t anything else in view worst luck, and jobs aren’t too plentiful just now. There are a number of unemployed in the city now. Winnipeg our chief western city has been for the last week in the throes of a terrible strike. The foreigners have a lot to do with it we hear. However people are pretty indignant and are taking strong measures to check it. Last weekend 9 girls went for a tramp and had a lovely time, ending up by having tea at a popular tea room, done on the English style and situated far out in the country on the highway. We had lovely thick sandwiches , tea or coffee and cakes. I as well as the rest ate so much that afterwards I wished I had gone into things a little more sparingly. After tea we gathered violets to wear the next day, of course I didn’t need to but did it just for the fun of it. Well dear cousin all the family send best wishes to your folks. I hope you had a good journey or rather voyage home and a warm welcome. I was awfully disappointed you couldn’t come home through Canada. Also I hope the fair one will soon be able to join you in Aussie. (that English girl again!) Jim laughted at the part where you said you were the only one at the table for 6 days. Good for you ! (what does this mean ??) Well Bye Bye for the present, Write soon Your loving Cousin Sadie XXXXXX How do you like your civilian address "Mr" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not dated. Envelope has post mark of May 26 1919 from Toronto at 1.30pm. Addressed to George Muston c/o Mrs Syd Chalmers "Sunnyside", Thomas Street, Victoria, Aust. The town is missing from the address and the post office has written "try Hampton" which was in fact correct. The address is then crossed out, presumably by Mrs Syd Chalmers (Jessie nee Muston, 1st child of our John Muston, and sister to George) and re-addressed to c/o No2 Vere St, Nth Richmond, Melb., and reposted at Hampton P.O. on July 15 1919, almost 2 months after it was sent from Toronto.
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