Margaret Armstrong, Sharing Her Story by Peri Hayes
Living a memorable life thus far, Margaret Armstrong introduces her story: “I was born in Portobello, Edinburgh. I enjoy painting the water, as it reminds me of my seaside hometown.” Margaret would blissfully wander along the beach, detailing, “There were no scary monsters in our childhood. What reared its ugly head was WWII. During mass evacuation from Britain, ships were bombed and children were lost. You could hear the planes flying above to get to Glasgow.” Residing in a tenement at the time and the youngest of eight, Margaret reveals, “I’m sure we were a little congested, but I don’t remember that. At school one day, however, I recall being marched up to the train station along with my classmates. Our teachers put us on the train. Periodically, the train would stop and kids would get off. I proceeded to live with a family for six
months and without my siblings. I moved closer to the village, where I stayed with a young couple for another six months before they moved. In the village where the school was, I ended up living for three years with an elderly lady, Mrs. Grieve.” Margaret was only five years old the day she got on that train. Upon meeting Mrs. Grieve, Margaret shares that she felt afraid: “We were just told that this is where we were going. Nobody explained.” Meanwhile, Margaret’s eldest brother stayed home to refurbish the plumbing in bombed or torpedoed ships. Margaret’s proclaimed ‘Bevan Boy’ brother was sent into the mines to dig coal, while another battled in Burma. Having zero communication with her mother and isolated from her siblings, Margaret believes this to be when she began growing her independence. As she humbly offers, “I’m not the only one, and I consider myself lucky. I do sometimes think I should write a book on the war’s effect on a family.” At the age of nine, Margaret returned to the city of Portobello and reconnected with her family. She would study in a one-room schoolhouse, beginning high school at age 11 and graduating at 15. Inspired by her mother’s healthcare profession, Margaret decided to pursue nursing as her career at 17: “I hope that I’m my mother’s daughter. She was so nice and welcoming.” Following her midwifery finals, Margaret set sail that evening for the next six months to join her sister and brother-in-law in Canada. With a focus on bedside care and ‘well-baby check- ups’, a patient of hers even named their baby after the influential Margaret. She would become a mother to two daughters, all three having worked at Victoria Hospital simultaneously.
"They who for their country die shall fill an honoured grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb and beauty weeps the brave." Joseph Drake We Remember
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Page 6 Port Stanley Villager • November 2024
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