Emigration is the act of leaving one's resident country with the intent to settle elsewhere, usually in the hopes of finding a better life (dictionary. com). This is something both my grandparents did in order to successfully achieve a higher quality of life; however, this was not done without struggles along the way. In 1957, my grandpa on my mum’s side started his journey to Canada. Then, both my grandparents on my dad's side emigrated from England in 1964, not knowing each other, making me three/fourths British. Overall, I have discovered that my life would not be much different in England if my grandparents had not emigrated to Canada, however, the expenses of life would be hard to handle considering my family today.
As my investigation on my family history started, I noticed that both sides of my family came to Canada for like reasons, the promise and opportunity that laid ahead. My maternal grandpa passed away in 2013 so I never got the opportunity to talk to him about his past. However, through talking to my grandma, who comes from a long line of Canadian descent, I found out my Grandpa had some struggles along the way. He was born in 1930 in London, England. When he was just nine years old World War II broke out and my grandfather and his brother were a part “Operation Pied Piper”. This is when England evacuated children from urban areas and sent them to the rural countryside for safety, as they believed the Germans would attack London first. As wartime bombing returned throughout the countryside my grandpa and his brother moved back to London to be with their family. I also learned that their parents were civil defense workers, and were most active during these bombings. As a result, my grandpa was sent to bomb shelters to wait out the end of the war.
After joining the Navy in 1945, and travelling to various ports in the U.K. and Europe, he then joined the Army until 1950. Desperate to find employment and to seek out better opportunities as much of Europe was still being rebuilt, my grandpa immigrated to Canada. He tried the East Coast then settled in Barrie, Ontario, until he later transferred to Montreal. In England, at this time, life was very hard. Constantly living in fear and without money, my grandpa knew he had to leave. When I asked my grandma why he chose Canada she said, “ Your grandpa had applied for many different visas, and Canada was the one that accepted him first. He also had no money whatsoever so he was desperate.” (Bonney).
My Grandpa’s air force papers His army reserve papers His navy certificate and papers
In contrast, through talking with my paternal granny, who now lives in Montreal, I discovered that she came directly to Canada by boat with her friend because she wanted to get more experience in her nursing career she had back in England; she came looking for better opportunities that could widen her experience and perspective on life: “I came to Toronto because my friend had parents there that we could stay with while we worked. I immediately got a job at the Toronto Western Hospital, because in that time you had to get a job if you wanted to emigrate. It took us seven days to sail across the sea, five of which I spent in the bunk because I was sea sick ” (Brookman). When asked why she chose Canada over other countries, she said it was because her friend had family here and it was the easiest way to move. “It wasn't bad in England at this time for me, I just wanted different opportunities” (Brookman).
My Granny then met my paternal Grandpa in Toronto through mutual friends but were later separated when he took a job in the United States. Years later they reconnected in Montreal and got married in 1966. My Grandpa, who passed away before I was born, came to Canada for better opportunities as well. He traveled with a friend from England and obtained a job at city hall in Toronto. Therefore, opportunities and work were major pull factors for both sides of my family.
My Granny and Grandpa in 1966.
After finding out about my grandparents lives I did some research on what life would be like if I lived in England today. I discovered it would be similar however much more expensive. First off, I looked into the schooling system, since this is something that is important to me. In England they have a wide variety of education programs available. The most common are boarding school, private schools and public schools. Since I currently go to a public school I believe I would continue to do so if I moved. Also, as stated on International Students.com, public schools are the only free option as far as primary and secondary education goes. Education is mandatory until the age of eighteen, however, schooling is not, so I could be homeschooled considering my mum is a teacher. I also found out that England has a $9000 price cap per year at universities but tend to charge higher amounts. For a three year program in England the average cost is around $26000. Whereas in Canada, the average tuition is $5959, around the cap. Considering my parents are divorced, and I have to pay for part of my post secondary education, I do believe it would be hard to handle the prices of education in England.
Finally, since I work part-time afterschool and weekends this would be something I would need to maintain if I moved especially looking at the cost of education. In England there are special laws to protect the employment rights of young workers. This means if they are broken, the employer could face consequences. These laws include restrictions on what jobs you can do, health and safety and how many hours one can work. I would not be able to exceed eighteen hours a day or forty hours a week. Therefore, my work situation would stay pretty much the same as it is now.
In conclusion, I believe my life would be about the same with the exception of higher expenses. My work load and schooling would remain similar. If I were ever planning on emigrating, England would be a good place to start because it is similar to my life today and I could return to my country of origin . I am glad however that my grandparents emigrated to Canada because if they had not, I would not be who I am today.
Works Cited
Bonney, Sheila. Interview. 13 Dec. 2016.
---. Merchant Navy/Army Reserve.
Brookman, Janet Ann. Video conference interview. 6 Dec. 2016.
Brookman, Mark. Wedding Day.
Brookman, Mark Allen. Interview. 7 Dec. 2016.
“Education in England.” Wiki, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_England. Accessed 9 Jan. 2017.
Education: Initiative, Individual, Inspirational. British Council, www.educationuk.org/global/articles/16-and-under-education-path/. Accessed 9 Jan. 2017.
"Emigrate". Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 26 Dec. 2016.
Eryn, your grandparents are resilient people. It seems as if their decision to leave England was made easier by the war; they were displaced even before moving across the ocean. Major upheavals in life help us to realize what is truly important, and for them, what mattered was living life to the fullest and seeing what else the world had to offer them. This type of attitude is something that I also see in you; you are clearly following in their footsteps by setting high goals for yourself and putting in the time necessary in order to achieve them. Although your life may not be all that different if you were living in England, you are benefitting from the optimism that most Canadians have about the world. This is something my own grandparents taught their children and their grandchildren. Life is what you make it, and in Canada, we can make it what we want. Hopefully we don't need a war to spur us on to do.
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