Latest news with #BarryYeagers
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Scotland's papers: VE day remembered and rise of Reform
This is why it's important to know your history. There's a reason why "history" rhymes with "mystery." Including some huge feet. Local farmers had been digging up hoards of treasure just these have been for centuries. Each year near London, Ont., a group of people from Canada and the United States gather to recreate a war so many Canadians and Americans rarely think about outside of a history class. The War of 1812 raged for three years between Great Britain and the U.S., and saw hostile American troops cross the border into Canada as part of a failed invasion meant to make the fledgling colony of Upper Canada America's newest state. The Battle of Longwoods, fought near the end of the war, in early March of 1 Hardly any other country marks the end of World War II with the same fanfare and fervor as Russia, for which the victory over Nazi Germany 80 years ago remains a source of immense pride and a defining moment of history. Barry Yeagers, 97, recalls leaving the island and moving to Devon with his family, ahead of VE Day. Thousands of ceramic poppies have returned to the Tower of London to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. HALBE, Germany (AP) — In a forest near Berlin, the remains of 107 fallen Wehrmacht soldiers were ceremoniously interred last week. High school students placed white gerbera daisies on small black coffins, and German soldiers lowered them respectfully into a large, freshly dug grave as a military band played a solemn tune. The ceramic flowers have been positioned to resemble a cascading "wound" at the heart of the castle. U.S. border patrol officers have been setting up extra checkpoints near crossings between the U.S. and Metro Vancouver. In an unusual scene, vehicles in the U.S. that are heading north to Canada through the Peace Arch and Pacific Highway crossings are sometimes being stopped by U.S. border patrol before they leave the country and arrive at Canadian customs. In some cases, it has added hours to crossing times."They stopped and they asked us to open everything up," said David Crosby, a U.S. reside Donald Trump's longtime adviser meant one thing, but critics joked about him meaning something completely different. 'You obviously don't know my father at all,' the 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'' singer said. A key member of the Bush family has snubbed Melania Trump after declining to attend a ceremony hosted by the first lady honoring the late Barbara Bush. Former President George W. Bush is not expected to attend a Thursday event at the White House's East Room for the unveiling of a U.S. Postal Service stamp dedicated to his late mother, two unnamed officials told The Washington Post. Dorothy Bush Koch, the former president's younger sister, is listed by Trump's office as one of several featured sp Prince Harry is not talking to his father King Charles at the moment – read his candid comments on how his father King Charles handled awkward paternity comments The two-time Oscar winner didn't hold back on his fears for the future. The revealing outfit hints at the moment in fashion discourse. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain has emerged as an unexpected supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs against Canada, to the frustration of workers north of the border. But some of Fain's own leaders in Michigan say they don't support a trade war with Canada — a country they say has been both a friend and reliable partner to the U.S."They pay great wages over there, we pay great wages over here," said LaShawn English, director of UAW Region 1, told CBC News at an event in a De The former president's interview with the BBC took a surprising turn when he looked back at the election. U.S. President Donald Trump said former prime minister Justin Trudeau led the effort to have Russia removed from the G8, even though the decision took place more than a year before Trudeau came to power. Speaking alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino at a World Cup event in Washington on Tuesday, Trump said Trudeau and former U.S. president Barack Obama "didn't like" having Russia in the G8 and in a "foolish decision" tossed it out of the group."I thought it was a very bad decision," he said
BBC News
07-05-2025
- BBC News
Guernsey WW2 evacuee 'accidentally' met Agatha Christie
'I was evacuated in WW2 and met Agatha Christie' 7 minutes ago Share Save Share Save Chris George Barry Yeagers was 12 years old when he and his family were evacuated from Guernsey When Barry Yeagers turned 12 years old, he never expected to leave Guernsey for any reason, let alone the start of World War Two. But when it became clear Nazi Germany forces had their sights set on the island, children were offered the chance to be evacuated from the island with their schools. He said: "My brother and I used to go swimming after school. One night a woman came down to the pool screaming: 'Get back home,' telling us we had to sign up at school to leave. "We realised everybody was going, so we did the same and ran home, and mother took us to St Joseph's." It was June 1940 and Guernsey's plans to evacuate the island's children to England had begun. It is believed an estimated 6,000 children, along with their teachers, were shipped out initially to Weymouth, Dorset, for their protection, and Mr Yeagers was one of them. Now 97, Mr Yeagers has been sharing his story as part of the Island Memories Project, a collaboration between BBC Guernsey and Guernsey Museums. 'A lot of crying' Barry's boat arrived in Weymouth at about 15:30, when he eventually had a chance to eat a bit of food. He said: "There was a lot of crying. "Some of the youngsters were only six and seven-year olds, and there was a few mothers on there, but it was more teachers than anything else. "We all had a medical at the Weymouth Pavilion and got through by 16:45. "Next, we went across the road to a hotel and had a sandwich and a cup of tea, before boarding the train at 17:30." Barry and his sister Patricia were able to live together again in Devon The journey was not a short one either, taking the group all the way to Glasgow, Scotland, and keeping them onboard for 22 hours. "I don't know how many were on the train, but there there was at least 10 to a carriage. And there was only one stop, at Crewe, and that was at four in the morning." The children from Barry's school, St Joseph's, were housed in a day care centre Dixon Halls. After another move, he contracted chicken pox and was hospitalised before eventually relocating to an area in the south of Glasgow, Pollokshaws. "That's where I started school, and I think I only went for about four days. We did nothing but drawing," he said. And then Barry got the best news he could have asked for: "All of a sudden we were told that we were going to meet up with our family." Agatha Christie's shilling Barry and his brother met his mum and younger sister Patricia in Watford, and his dad was evacuated from Guernsey on a yacht from Brecqhou to Dartmouth in Devon. The family moved to a cottage near Dittisham, on the River Dart in the county. During his time there, Barry remembers seeing three German Stuka aircraft drop bombs on the village. He said: "We stayed a distance from the other side of the river for about three months [after the bombing]. "During that time, there was a boy called Sam used to row the ferry across the Greenway Quay on the other bank of the river." Sam asked Barry if he might be able to row the ferry when Sam was unable to do it. It gave Barry a way of earning some money. He said: "It just so happened a couple of days later I was asked to ride across and pick up this lady. "I brought her over to the other side and she give me a shilling [five pence] instead of a tuppence [two pence]. So I split it with Sam." He said that, in the years which followed, he found a book which contained a photo of exactly the same woman he ended up ferrying across the River Dart three times. "It was Agatha Christie, and I didn't know. It took me two years to find out." Barry Yeagers, aged 17, celebrating VE Day in May 1945 Barry and his family later moved into a cottage in South Milton in Devon, where they stayed until 1944. He was removed from school to make space for more evacuees and began working on a farm. His father was also called up to fight in Egypt, where he was injured in a bomb blast and sent home in 1942. They then moved to Watford as a family and Barry began working at the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI), which provides services to the armed forces. Guernsey was liberated from German Occupation forces on 9 May 1945, almost 80 years ago. Barry Yeagers was 17 years old on VE Day. Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to
