Pegg, Mary

We met Mary Pegg at the Castle Peak Retirement Suites in Bracebridge, where she presently lives.  Mary is one of several authors/editors who assembled At Your Age, a collection of stories of those who live there.  The residents felt it was important for them to record their stories, which serve as a great entry point into their generation’s collective experiences.

Mary is from England, where she came of age during the war.  She had given nursing a try, but not finding it to her liking, she opted for the air force, and Mary found her wartime role in working with the new technology of radar.  As many in her generation did, she put her own life aside for a few years, and “did her bit”.  her duties included tracking incoming Luftwaffe flights, as well as tracking Allied fighters and bombers.  Mary recalled many good times from the war too, such as going to dances and meeting her husband; she as well recalled the rationing and hunger, and the new American foods that came into England.  She and her husband emigrated to Canada soon afterward, and along with others of their generation, they fell into the new rhythm of civilian life, and helped Canada to forge its postwar identity.