Claudette Pfingston commented on your post:

"My Mother told me she breast fed a lot of the other mother's babies, because the other mothers were so sea sick. My Mother told me she didn't get sea sick and had a lot of breast milk. - Claudette

Doris Galentine commented on your post:

"I didn't get seasick , we used cloth diapers when we came over, and had to wash them, my daughter was 15 month old and every morning the steward would take her to the kitchen and she would come back with cookies or friut, one day he told me I looked a little green but I didnt get sick."  -Doris

Dealing with babies on the ships.

Can any warbride tell me about how you all managed your babies on board ships, please? I'm writing a book about women on the wartime seas and would love to know how did you cleanse the bottles, launder the diapers, cope with nursing a baby if you yourself were seasick, and make up the formula in hygienic conditions?

In talking about the Argentina's January 1946 voyage from the UK to the US, The Argentina ‘s Lt. Col. Lyle commented that laundry was one of the trip’s problems. Practically all of the 18,000 disposable diapers were used up-on the 170 babies.


This statistic enables us to do some interesting speculation. If there were indeed 170 babies rather than babies and potty-trained children on board then actually each one used 105 nappies on the nine-day trip or eleven a day. Babies are usually changed 6-10 times a day. So maybe some mothers salted away the nappies for future use.


As for laundering terry toweling nappies a ship full of 100 babies would need to process 1200-400 nappies (two day’s supply to allow for drying time). It was surely a logistical nightmare. Not every ship had a laundry; few had endless supplies of fresh rather than salt-water and none were used to supplying such a quantity.

There were three problems soaking to get rid of stains and any remaining faecal matter; boiling to get them, Enviably white as well as reduce bacteria; and a drying time of at lest two hours. Most nappies were 24inches square (61cms)-so 400 would have required 4-800 feet of clothes line, almost a mile. Perhaps one good thing about sailing on a troop ships was that they had massive cooking pots which could now boil nappies instead of potatoes?


Thank you. Dr Jo Stanley , j_v_stanley@hotmail.com.

World War II War Brides Reunion Set

I'm sorry that I having been keeping up with my blog, but I was in Florida taking care of my very sick mother, Louise.  She is doing great now and back in her home.  I must say these war brides are a tough bunch.  Mom was giving a week to live, but she would not have anything to do with that.  She has a reunion to attend in October and she plans on being there.

I hope you will find the time to join us here in St. Louis for our next reunion.  It will be held at the Airport Hilton on October 6 - 10.  You can stop by the Hospitality room anytime. It is open to the public. Check out the displays and visit with our members.  If you would like to join us and all the actives please email me for more information.  We will have the following activities.
Welcome Reception Dinner, War Babies Meeting, My Stories taping, Annual Buiness Meeting for members only, City Tour, Sing-a-long, Tour of Historical St Charles, MO, Banquet Dinner with program and dancing, National Anthems Sungs, Farewell Breakfast.  Here's a picture on the 2009 reunion in San Francisco, Ca.