By Michelle Cochrane
BELLEVILLE, Ont. (13/02/12) Gordon and Alice Cook recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. The couple married in England on Jan. 17 1942 during World War 2 after exchanging letters for one year. Photo by Michelle Cochrane
After 70 Valentine’s Days, love is no longer a battlefield for a local couple.
The Second World War brought difficult times but nothing could stop the making of an everlasting love match. From pen pals to lovers, a romance was made.
Born and raised in Belleville Gordon Cook, now 91, met his war bride, Alice, on July 31, 1940 in London, England in the midst of a global conflict.
In an era where emails and eHarmony were non-existent, the pair exchanged addresses in Trafalgar Square and proceeded to write each other.
“This happened with all kinds of service people, I met Polish, Australians and they all wanted to know where I lived and if they could write,” said Alice.
For Canadian soldiers, local women in Britain offered friendship and peace during overwhelming situations, this relationship typically carried on through letters.
“There were all kinds of soldiers writing. I answered back because it was all that they could think of, that they were in touch with people.”
Gordon consistently wrote to Alice while he was stationed in Surrey, England.
“[Gordon] continued to write and I’d write back. I let the other letters go and some of them quit writing.”
“We wrote each other for about a year and then we got engaged … He proposed through a letter because he couldn’t get away too much” said Alice.
With very few opportunities to see one another prior to their engagement, the courting phase of their relationship consisted of a pen, paper and a postage stamp.
Although Alice never imagined she would one day marry Gordon because she had no intention of coming to Canada, his letters won her over.
“He’s a good writer, he could make letters lovely. His writing was perfect,” explained Alice.
Within a year and a half of meeting, the twosome married on Jan. 17, 1942, in England without delay.
“We made arrangements to get married and the night before, the church windows blew out from a bomb raid. There were no windows in the church,” said Alice.
Unlike typical marriages, the Cook’s beginning was a challenge but not even the war discouraged them from making their relationship survive.
“We knew it had to be possible, when you stayed alive with the bombing that went on,” said Alice. As strong as they were, she still struggled with the thought of her future with her husband. “It was on a daily basis, you didn’t know whether he was going to be alive or not.”
“1943 was the last time I saw him before he went overseas in June 1944 for D-Day, so we didn’t see each other for two years,” said Alice.
After the war, Gordon returned back to Belleville and Alice followed one month later by boat in 1945.
Approximately 48,000 women from Europe met and married Canadian servicemen during the war. These women, for the love of their husbands, followed their veterans back to Canada.
The couple continued to live life in the military as Gordon later joined the air force to be a military policeman.
Their whirlwind romance covered the world. Moving to places such as England, Germany and France but they always returned back to Trenton.
“At the time it was quite exciting, going overseas and not knowing where you were going to live.”
The pair finally settled in Trenton in 1967 and Gordon was required to retire from the air force at age 50 in 1971.
Returning home and facing retirement was an adjustment but they had new, exciting adventures ahead with grandchildren on the way.
Celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary this year, Gordon and Alice cook say they wouldn’t have had things any other way.
Their letters have not survived all these years, but their love still carries on.