Women at war: 100-year-old veteran reflects on Second World War service [Video]

Looking back, she reflected, “After I graduated from Grade 12, I worked for my dad on the farm for a year and a half because all the young fellows had gone. They had all joined up and were gone in the military.”

During the Second World War, many young Canadians left their homes to serve, leaving a noticeable void in communities like hers. Temple took on the role of a hired man, helping her father manage the farm.

As the months went by, the absence of her loved ones weighed heavily on her heart, igniting a growing sense of duty within her.

“All my cousins had gone, my sister had gone… So I thought, ‘Ah, what the heck — I’m going to join up, too.”

Temple was 21 years old when she enlisted in March 1944. (Alex Brown/650 CKOM)

Temple enlisted in March 1944, and even the first step of her new adventure was memorable. Having only driven around the farm previously, she …