Gildore Edward Parent
Who is Gildore Parent? That was the question that I kept asking myself when I realized that Maurice Gauvin was not my father. Who is Gildore Parent? Fortunately, my newly found cousin, Leonard Parent, actually remembered something of Gildore. It was not a lot but at least it was something. Leonard is about ten years older than me so he would he would remember things that I would not even be aware of and he did meet my father many times when he was young.
Leonard told me that my father was very friendly, he like to talk and he told Leonard stories about the war. He told me that my father stayed on in France after the war and was part of a clean up crew. I am not sure that entailed but I imagine that there was plenty of cleaning up to do after the war. My father told Leonard that the French were very happy that Canadian soldiers were helping them and because my father could speak French he got along quite well with the French. he also said that they had very good wine. Leonard told me that my father taught him how to throw a knife. Apparently my father was very good at throwing a knife and hitting a target.
Leonard told me that he remembered me, my mother and two sisters when we went to Hinton, Alberta. That bit of information surprised me because I have absolutely no memory of going to Hinton, Alberta.
This past Christmas, I asked my sister, Claudette if she remembers going to Hinton, Alberta and meeting Leonard. She told me that she remembered going to Hinton but she didn't remember meeting Leonard. Claudette said that someone picked us up at the training station and took us to our grandparents farm. My father was not there because he was in Uranium City starting a job. We were going to Uranium City after visiting my grandparents. This was the first time that I have ever heard that I had actually met my grandparents. My grandparents knew about me but unfortunately I do not remember anything about them.
Here are the facts that I know about my father. He was born on June 11, 1924 in Zenon Park, Saskatchewan. He died on April 1, 1984 in Smithville, Ontario. His parents were Nicklous Parent and Corinne Lalonde, my grandparents. My father had six brothers and two sisters. Now that I know who his brothers and sisters were thanks to having access to Leonard's family tree I realize that I heard some of these names when I was young; Ralph, Irene, Wilfred without knowing that they were my aunts and uncles. Maybe I did know at the time but I later forgot about them, what a terrible thought that is!
As I mentioned before my father was in the army during WWII as were thousands of young, Canadians. My father served with The Royal Winnipeg Rifles. I recently found out that The Royal Winnipeg Rifles were part of the first wave to land in Normandy on D-Day. I have applied for my father's military record from Archives Canada. They informed me that it could take up to eighteen months to receive my father's military record because there are so many requests and their resources to process all of the requests is limited. Since I applied for his military record in March of last year I may not see the information until August of 2019, just in time for the Parent family reunion in August. I was invited to attend so I will be going with my wife, and my son and his wife. This will be my first opportunity to meet someone other than my my cousin Leonard. I will have to wait to learn about my father's involvement in WWII.
I did find out through Canada voters lists that my father was living in Hamilton in 1968 and in 1972. Those were the two years that I found his name on Canada voters lists. In 1968 he was living at 20 Arthur Ave. in Hamilton. His occupation was listed as painter. In 1972 he was living at 69 Emerald St. in Hamilton which is only a few blocks away from his residence in 1968. The east end of Hamilton is a working - class area so the rent would be relatively inexpressive. During all of the years that I was growing up there was only once time when he met me, I was eight years old. There are a series of picture with me and my father. Until recently I did not know who the man was in the pictures with me.
There are so many questions that I have about my father. I guess this is were my family research begins.
Leonard told me that my father was very friendly, he like to talk and he told Leonard stories about the war. He told me that my father stayed on in France after the war and was part of a clean up crew. I am not sure that entailed but I imagine that there was plenty of cleaning up to do after the war. My father told Leonard that the French were very happy that Canadian soldiers were helping them and because my father could speak French he got along quite well with the French. he also said that they had very good wine. Leonard told me that my father taught him how to throw a knife. Apparently my father was very good at throwing a knife and hitting a target.
Leonard told me that he remembered me, my mother and two sisters when we went to Hinton, Alberta. That bit of information surprised me because I have absolutely no memory of going to Hinton, Alberta.
This past Christmas, I asked my sister, Claudette if she remembers going to Hinton, Alberta and meeting Leonard. She told me that she remembered going to Hinton but she didn't remember meeting Leonard. Claudette said that someone picked us up at the training station and took us to our grandparents farm. My father was not there because he was in Uranium City starting a job. We were going to Uranium City after visiting my grandparents. This was the first time that I have ever heard that I had actually met my grandparents. My grandparents knew about me but unfortunately I do not remember anything about them.
Here are the facts that I know about my father. He was born on June 11, 1924 in Zenon Park, Saskatchewan. He died on April 1, 1984 in Smithville, Ontario. His parents were Nicklous Parent and Corinne Lalonde, my grandparents. My father had six brothers and two sisters. Now that I know who his brothers and sisters were thanks to having access to Leonard's family tree I realize that I heard some of these names when I was young; Ralph, Irene, Wilfred without knowing that they were my aunts and uncles. Maybe I did know at the time but I later forgot about them, what a terrible thought that is!
As I mentioned before my father was in the army during WWII as were thousands of young, Canadians. My father served with The Royal Winnipeg Rifles. I recently found out that The Royal Winnipeg Rifles were part of the first wave to land in Normandy on D-Day. I have applied for my father's military record from Archives Canada. They informed me that it could take up to eighteen months to receive my father's military record because there are so many requests and their resources to process all of the requests is limited. Since I applied for his military record in March of last year I may not see the information until August of 2019, just in time for the Parent family reunion in August. I was invited to attend so I will be going with my wife, and my son and his wife. This will be my first opportunity to meet someone other than my my cousin Leonard. I will have to wait to learn about my father's involvement in WWII.
I did find out through Canada voters lists that my father was living in Hamilton in 1968 and in 1972. Those were the two years that I found his name on Canada voters lists. In 1968 he was living at 20 Arthur Ave. in Hamilton. His occupation was listed as painter. In 1972 he was living at 69 Emerald St. in Hamilton which is only a few blocks away from his residence in 1968. The east end of Hamilton is a working - class area so the rent would be relatively inexpressive. During all of the years that I was growing up there was only once time when he met me, I was eight years old. There are a series of picture with me and my father. Until recently I did not know who the man was in the pictures with me.
There are so many questions that I have about my father. I guess this is were my family research begins.
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