A voyage around my family; ANNIVERSARY: Son of Brummie 'GI bride' travels to England by liner 60 years on.Byline: By Tony Collins THE Queen Mary Queen Mary, Queen Marie, or Queen Maria may refer to: Queens Britain England
The luxury liner was converted into a troop ship bringing American servicemen over to Britain in advance of the Allied invasions of Italy and France during World War II. Among the many thousands of nervous young soldiers in 1942 was one Edmund J Mazur. Little did he know that four years later, his GI bride June Tye, from Birmingham, would be making the return voyage across the Atlantic on board the same ship following the war's end. Sixty years on from that memorable journey, the couple's son, Paul, has made an emotional pilgrimage aboard its successor, the Queen Mary II "Queen Mary II" could mean:
Paul, accompanied by his wife Linda of 37 years, said: "It was always one of my goals to cross the Atlantic by sea, and what better way to do it than on the Queen Mary 60 years after my mom. "The boat is pretty special to this family because my dad came over on the Queen Mary when it was converted into a troop ship." The couple married at Birmingham Register Office on 15 September, 1945, after meeting at a war-time dance while Edmund was serving with the US 1st Armoured Division. June was living at the time in Station Road, Kings Heath Kings Heath is a suburb of Birmingham, England, three miles south of the city centre. It is the next 'village' south from Moseley on the Alcester Road. The central shopping area runs along the High Street and Alcester Road, and the shops include branches of national chain stores, , with her sister Beryl and brother Paul. She passed away at the age of 72 in 1997, 13 years after Edmund's death, but Beryl, now 86, from Olton, Solihull, recalled: "June could do the jitterbug jitterbug Dance variation of the two-step in which couples swing, balance, and twirl in standardized patterns to syncopated music in ⁴⁄₄ time. It originated in the U.S. in the mid 1930s and became internationally popular in the 1940s. and ended up dancing with this American chap at a place in Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield, city (1991 pop. 102,572), Birmingham metropolitan district, central England. The city is a residential suburb of Birmingham with a metal products industry and a large television transmitting station. . "They later won a jitterbug competition which gave them their honeymoon in Skegness." Edmund, who took part in the Normandy D-Day landings, returned to America after the war, followed by his new bride in 1946. Maintenance electrician Paul, aged 59, who has three children - Scott, 36, and twins Jeffrey and Jennifer, 33 - has been enjoying a flavour of England during his whistle-stop visit. "Stonehenge was a high point, but I also got to watch a cricket match after this gentleman came into the pub we were in, dressed in all white. "He was a cricketer and invited us to watch a match,. Unfortunately, I'm still no clearer about the rules!" Paul, who has a brother, Scott, 51, in Utah, also visited his mom's old house in Kings Heath, which survived a war-time bomb landing on St Dunstan's Church just two doors away. He added: "My mom didn't know anyone when she got to America so she and a friend from Birmingham, who she met on the Queen Mary, used to visit Marks & Spencer in Canada. "She would make regular trips to buy Cadbury chocolate, HP Sauce, Birds custard and Bisto gravy." CAPTION(S): QUEEN MARY CONNECTION. Paul in 2006, mother June in 1946.' GET-TOGETHER... American Paul and his wife Linda (right) meet his cousin David Tye (left), aunt Beryl, and David's wife Gaye.' SAGA... the Mazurs on honeymoon in 1945, and in later life' and baby Paul with mom in 1947. Main picture: Loretta Brennan |
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