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ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — On Saturday, Feb. 17, St. John's resident and war bride Sheila Lily Maunder will turn 100.During an interview this week at her home in Tiffany Village, Maunder said both her parents died when she was a young child — her mother from cancer and her father from tuberculosis. She then lived with different caregivers until age 10, and finally settled in to live with her grandmother, Agnes.
“You would hope that the buses and trains were running and one’s place of work was still standing,” she said. “The worst of the bombings came when the London docks were hit — the sky was one red glare. It was quite terrifying.” “One evening I noticed a nice tall sailor dancing with a French WAAF, Women’s Auxiliary Airforce. It was an ‘excuse me’ dance, where one could go up to a couple and excuse the person. Well, this sailor and I seemed to get on quite well together — hadn’t a clue when he told me he came from Newfoundland. After the dance we went for coffee.”
Instead of leaving it to chance, they decided it would be best to marry right away. They were married in a church in London. In attendance were Maunder's grandmother, her aunt and her uncle. Sheila and Leslie"Cam" Maunder in their home on Long Pond Road in St. John's. Together, they raised three children: Brian, Eileen and Lesley. - ContributedIn London, her job was as a typist. Her job in Newfoundland, she said, was as a homemaker. They raised three children — Brian, Eileen and Lesley — in their home on Long Pond Road.
Looking back on her life and time in St. John’s, Maunder said, not once did she feel a desire to return to London to live. She said her life was better in Newfoundland than it ever could have been in England.