Links:
Bev Tosh:
Bev Tosh, MFA, RCA, is a celebrated Calgary‑based artist and member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the Alberta Society of Artists . Her deeply moving series One‑Way Passage began with a monumental portrait of her mother—one of over 150 war‑bride paintings Tosh has created. Each portrait is based on original wedding‑day photographs, bringing to life the strength, frailty, and courage of young women who crossed oceans for love.
Driven by hundreds of personal interviews, letters, photographs, and artifacts, her work weaves together intimate, social, and historical narratives. Exhibited nationally and internationally—from the Royal Canadian War Museum in Ottawa to the Royal Air Force Museum in London—these paintings honour the extraordinary journeys of women whose leap of faith reshaped their identities and those of their descendants.
Sources: Introduction to Bev Tosh. War brides. (n.d.). https://warbrides.com/
Pier 21:
Pier 21 in Halifax served as the arrival point for thousands of war brides and their children after the Second World War. As Canada’s national museum of immigration, Pier 21 now honours their journeys and the many stories of courage, resilience, and love that defined their arrival to a new life in Canada.
Sources: About the museum. About the Museum | Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. (n.d.). https://pier21.ca/about/about-museum