Violet May Brenton

Youngest Daughter of Alice Mabel Rebbeck Brenton

Violet May is the youngest of the four Brenton daughters and has had the most eventful of lives. She first married an American soldier, Robert Johnston in England and became one of WWII's GI brides, leaving home and England at a very young age. Her eldest son, Michael, was born in England but her second son, David, was born in Germany. The youngest child and only daughter, Sandra was born in the U.S.A. After being widowed she married Bostonian, Morton Oikle and they are happily living in California.

Vi's own Story written in February 2001.

I was born November 19, 1926 and am now 74 years old. I do not remember much about the first few years of my life until I was 8 or 9 years old. That was when I was sent to stay with Aunt Em and family because Mum and Dad were having a family problem. I do not know what it was but my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins did their best to entertain me. They took me to a fair where I got very sick to my stomach from riding some of the rides there plus they bought me candy and stuff which did not help.

I must have been about 10 when Grandfather died. Grandfather's coffin was in our front room until they buried him. I went in to look at him and was confronted by a large spider hanging above the coffin. I left in a hurry and do not remember the funeral.

I was a little brat while I was growing up. My Dad spoilt me. Once he knocked a doll of mine off my pram and it broke. Dad took me out and bought me a new doll: a bigger one, dressed in pink organdie and which also stood up. At Christmastime he used to take me with him on his delivery trips. I would get all sorts of presents and things from people on his route. The next few years nothing much happened that I can remember other than going to school and climbing out of windows with Kay and Elsie and going down the street after dark to play with friends One time I went with Hazel Percy, my friend who lived next door at 24, Manor Road. We rode to Bournemouth to see her aunt and Hazel got a flat tyre on the way home.

NOTE:- The window in question was on the first floor of the house and overlooked the passageway between 26 and 28 Manor Road. The girls would "chimney" between the walls down to the top of the gate. Somehow they also managed to get back in the same way!

When the War started I did some war work and also worked in Woolworth's for a while, then I met Robert whom I married. We were in Paris for a short wile, then Germany, Switzerland and finally Austria where we lived for about a year. Michael was 8 months old when we left England and I got pregnant with David while in Austria. We were transferred to Munich, Germany where David was born. We left there when he was about 6 or 7 months old and were sent to Bremerhaven where we were put on a boat to return to the U.S.A..

Everything was a new beginning and I never knew where I was going to be. We had to go to Ellis Island where all the immigrants pass through. When we married I did not know that Robert was a gambler and lots of times we had no money. Sandra was born in Rapid City, South Dakota December 15, 1949. My children and I had a rough life. I had to go to work to bring in money for food and bills. I do not know how I made out. I always had a job; I worked in restaurants starting out with washing dishes, then waitress then cooking - dinner cook; I worked very hard. After Robert died I still worked hard and finally decided to move to California . The family were grown up by that time so I packed up my belongings and drove to where I had never been and where I did not know anyone but I found a job managing an apartment complex, about 40 apartments. That was where I met Mort.

The maintenance man came by to see if there was anything that needed repairing and Mort was with him. We made a date to go out that evening, which was Valentine's Day; 33 years ago on February 14, 1978. We were married September 12 in the same year.

Now I do not want for anything and I am afraid to see something that is nice, as he wants to buy it for me. We went to Canada to visit his aunts after we were married; we drove to Montana; also to Victoria to see the Beuchard Gardens and spent a week there. Another time we were going to fly to Virginia to visit our friend but Mort said "No, we will drive because you have never seen that part of the country." So now we have a motor home 26' long; a 19' boat and a 1993 Ford pick-up that we have had for 8 years and still looks new - bright red with a camper shell over the truck bed - and a 1995 Honda Accord. Who would believe that at my age I would go fishing out in the ocean for salmon and other fish!