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Frieda Watt
Frieda Watt loves history. She is one of those people who spends most of her weekends dragging her kids to the museums and National Historic Sites of Canada. She also writes books....view moreFrieda Watt loves history. She is one of those people who spends most of her weekends dragging her kids to the museums and National Historic Sites of Canada. She also writes books. Actually, The Displaced is her first book but she has been writing since before she could spell.
In another life, she studied Fashion Arts at Seneca College, which has nothing to do with the books or subjects she writes about.
When not writing or digging through history, Frieda divides her time between her husband, three daughters, two fish, one cat, and triathlons.
In January of 1945, the Halifax Bomber that Tom Daniel was flying in was shot down over West Germany. It was the group’s fourth bombing mission over Europe. Tom was one of the four airmen to survive, although Tom fractured his neck from whiplash as he jumped out of the plane.
Tom endured four months in a German POW camp before being liberated and returning to civilian life. He frequently shared “the story” in an effort to help others understand the true cost of their freedom.
Tom’s son Doug became an avid history buff. He spent his summers with wife and his three kids packed up in the family station wagon, travelling around Canada. It became the family joke that whenever Doug passed a historic plaque, he had to stop to read it. With the invention of digital cameras, those stops became shorter.
My Grandpa Tom’s story and my Dad’s love of history inspired me to dive deep into history. In school and documentaries, we are shown the “big picture”, what the cost of events are to countries and the world as a whole.
The individual stories of the thousands of people who made up these big events are what fascinate me. While the world is shaped and history is made, ordinary people are trying to live their lives. They do not know or care what impact the events they live through will have on the world. They are living, falling in love, dying, and trying to make their time on this earth matter.view less