The Bride Ships
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- Опубликовано: 2 авг 2024
- In 1944, Paul Kovitz was a young engineering officer on an American airbase in England. It was love at first sight when he saw a local girl named Hilda Edwards at a dance. They were soon married but their life together was interrupted when the war in Europe ended and Paul was sent back to the United States. After 9 frustrating months of trying to reunite with Paul, the US government decided to send ships to the UK the carry the English war brides to America. This is the story of the Bride Ships as told by Hilda Kovitz.
A beautiful interview and lady! As an Englishman myself, I’d say our loss was your gain in Hilda.
I hope we don’t ever forget the sacrifice of the generations which fought for democracy, freedom, our rights, our way of life and goodness. We are close to losing them now in 2021.
This was a very beautiful interview that gave insight to the human side of the war. I was very pleased how our country fought for the fine people of Western Europe and took care of the brides of our service men. No doubt, this lady was one of England’s finest. Thanks for another great facet of our airmen’s service with this interview!
very nice story, I'll bet Hilda was a knockout in her youth, she is still a fine looking lady, Paul struck gold when he met her
A beautiful woman with a beautiful and loving soul. We always looked forward to seeing Paul and Hilda at the WWII reunions. Thanks for watching.
This interview with Hilda Kovitz is beyond excellent, partially because I learned something new (the story of the bride ships) and partially because of Hilda herself. What an utterly lovely lady.
THANK YOU....
You're welcome!
Women of the world, hear what this beautiful lady has to say!
British are such a collection of good qualities and also good looks. My 2nd wife was half English. Im half Spanish..
Thnx very much furr posting this interview..
I was born into a military family...Korea was hot and heavy at this time..i went over with dad as a dependent stationed in Yokohama..Dad was air force mechanic on F86 fighters..
We went through a typhoons ..successfully on the way..
RIP pop
You're very welcome. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for another wonderful story from another prospective. My mother worked at Pacific Vanier a plywood mill in New west Minster B.C. Canada . That generation called it the war effort . The plywood mill was making wood for planes barracks etc. She Married my Dad in October of 1943 left her job while he logged timber . They had two daughters by wars end and 7 more boys and girls tow more girls and 5 boys. Got a old photo of her in her coveralls and hair net taken in 1942 she was 20.
Ron - thanks for sharing your family story. If you are interested in viewing Hilda's husband's perspective, you can find his interview (Paul Kovitz) at the following link: ruclips.net/video/G9z_FvD3OL8/видео.html
Superb! So insightful. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! If you would like to see the husbands perspective (Paul Kovitz), he is in my playlist - ruclips.net/video/G9z_FvD3OL8/видео.html Thanks for watching.
A guy from where I'm from was in England during WW2. He married an English lady and brought her to Oklahoma. She was the nicest lady I've ever knew. They never had any children. Sad.
Once Hilda arrived in the US, she and her husband got on with life and had 5 kids. Thanks for watching.
She is absolutely adorable!!! So fascinating!
yes, she is. You can watch her husband's interview at the following link: ruclips.net/video/G9z_FvD3OL8/видео.html
@@raymondmcfalone26 just watched your video with "Betty" the Wasp pilot. She is also adorable! Cant believe what they did back then. Incredible
What a wonderful interview. Wonderful lady.
Paul made a good choice.
Dad was a gunner on a B17 bomber flying somewhere out of England. He was dating a local girl too, they were planning a wedding, but the Germans changed that plan by shooting him down, unfortunately, when the war ended he was repatriated directly back to the States, never being able to return to England, so I muse sometimes if things had gone different I might have been addressing my mother as "Mum" instead of "Ma".😀
A very sweet interview, and a lovely reassurance of happy ever after.
I did 6 months researching WW2 brides but a lot of my research was through newspapers, so the very happy, quietly ever after, almost never appeared. Simply because they rarely made the news...
I read some truly awful stories of murders.
Sometimes it seemed it might have been PTSD, but sometimes, it was really awful to read - like a horror story. You could see what was going to happen - but of course, had no way to prevent it.
Such a beautiful woman, so happy to hear her story.
Hilda was an absolute gem. If you're interested, you can watch her husband's interview at the following link: ruclips.net/video/G9z_FvD3OL8/видео.html
@@raymondmcfalone26 That’s how I got to her channel or her interview. June 2023
Just realised I have heard this. I just listened to her husband's memories.
Wow what an experience the difference between the UK and the USA in the post war years it must have been a culture shock
My neighbor was a war bride from England. She never lost her English accent.
Such a lovely lady. There she was, appreciating and enjoying all the good food she had access to in the US, and yet thinking about her own family in England, still having their own food rationed (which didn't end until 1954, by the way). Also, what a great husband in Paul, so understanding of Hilda's desire to help her family.
Yvonne - if you would like to watch Paul's video here is the link: ruclips.net/video/G9z_FvD3OL8/видео.html
One of the biggest nightmare situations I've read about for at least a handful of war brides (whether British, Australian, French, Polynesian, etc.) was when their GI husbands entered the US Army or Navy Reserve rather than fully retiring from the military (since they could get more income IIRC)...only to get called back to duty during the Korean War several years later (which a number of those fellows never thought could happen). So there they'd be, on their own, maybe with a young kid or two, with only his family or hopefully caring neighbors to help, and not knowing if their husband would come home from Korea alive. That's rough enough for any wartime spouse, MUCH more so for a young lady in a new country. Thankfully, many war brides did not have this problem since if their WWII vet husband left the military entirely or was beyond a certain age, he could not be called up again. But for those that did and succeeded despite it...WOW, my respect for them goes even higher.
Hilda is a diamond!
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
..just wonderfull..
My English mother came over with my RCAF father in late 1944 (He had been serving since 1939) on the Queen Elizabeth. She had no idea about her soon to be new home (Toronto, Canada) and she believed my father when he told her the city was a large fort and they closed the gates up at night in case of an Indian attack. Here is a typical letter home he sent from Croydon Airfield:
Letter from Gord to his sister Gwen, dated England August 1st, 1942
(with one hole cut-out by the war-time censors)
Darling Gwen,
Ruth sent some snaps of you and her and young Billie. Wish I could find a girl here as pretty. But I guess they don’t make many like you.
Well, honey, I hear that cigs cost $4.50 for a thousand now. Anyways they ration us. You see, if more than 1,000 arrives in a month they keep them and give them to somebody else. So -------- don’t send any more cigs.
But send a pound of makings will you honey? So much stuff gets sunk [by U boats] or stolen that a pound of Sweet Cap makings per week means four chances-a-month of coming through, while 1,000 Sweet Caps per month can go in one bang.
It has been nice weather here but I am really too tired to enjoy it. We have been extremely busy this past while. But I hope to catch up on sleep this week.
There have been some lovely fireworks lately. Stray German planes coming around. And the guns open up and paint the sky. A beautiful sight. The night-fighters got a German near here the other night. Who wouldn’t join the Air Force, eh. But it ain’t no shame to take the pay. That is all for now.
I have had no mail or cigs (except 1,000 three weeks ago) for ages. What is wrong with Lloyd, Keith, Mum, Dad, etc?
Loads of love, hon,
Gord
P.S. Jean says that rum and maple tastes like ice-cream. I say, “Each cig has the food value of a full course meal. Here are 9. Your ration for the next three days.”
Gord
P.P.S. I often try to remember how girls legs look inside stockings.
P.P.P.S. The new guys are yelling about which month they came over. And me and Graham try to remember which year we came over - 1940 or 1840?
G.
P.P.P.P.S. For God’s sake send tobacco regular.
G.
Ah, that's lovely. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Here in Australia every decent sized town had a Chinese restaurant. The families had been here since the Gold rush. The only Asian people you saw. They made the most delicious food. Now owed by others and not great any more. Sad. My workmate went to East Germany, they didn't have bananas either, well they did if they lined up half the day. My friend told the family to eat the bananas coz he could buy as many as he liked. The German parents just winked, but the brainwashed Commie kids called him a liar.
Interesting story but it’s odd and disturbing how many men in these comments are saying “I bet she was beautiful” as if the only way to praise women, the only thing that ever makes them valuable, is their looks and for older women it’s something they had and lost and so are only valued in the past tense.
It’s the ultimate bailout. What do you think the men wanted? They were valued for their looks, fertility, and availability.
Beyond that, they were dependents.
Lovely lady 😊 but there were also young girls completely in awe of the GIs who eventually arrived in our country with our British young men already having fought the Battle of Britain 🇬🇧 there was an old saying then “over paid over sexed and over here” I am glad she had a happy ever after quite a few young girls didn’t ! Quite a few of these GIs were already married ! 🇬🇧
The part about her sister-in-law shows how ignorant most Americans were and in many places, and still are about the rest of the world and how they live.