Ep 216 - Bill Winship (The Village of Riverside Glen)

For this episode I interview Bill Winship, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen retirement residence. Bill is 96, and his vivid memory gives us a rare and powerful glimpse into the life of a young soldier during WWII, and a fulfulling life of music and dancing after the War. Bill describes life as a young teen, growing up just outside Liverpool at the beginning of the war - he remembers eight days and nights of "Blitzkrieg" where planes flew overhead 24 hours a day, and Liverpool was ablaze for as far as he could see. He remembers the bomb shelters built on the school yard - walking out to the field when they heard the sirens, always carrying a gas mask in a cardboard box and cookies for rations. Bill joined the home guard in WWII at the age of 15, having lied about his age and his partial deafness in one ear. He describes “Hate training”, a process by which soldiers were trained to kill, and taught to hate the German uniform and what was in it. Bill then became a weapons trainer, teaching other soldiers as old as his own father.

But after the war life was beautiful for Bill - he took Ballroom dancing lessons, and he ran a youth club, and taught them how to dance. His parents had been professional musicians - his mother had even performed at a Command Performance in the 1920s for the then-Prince of Wales. She was pregnant with Bill during some of her performances, and gave Bill some of that talent, and as a young adult he joined an Operatic society and ended up performing in the Gypsy Princess and the Gondeliers.

Dancing even played a life-altering role in his love-life, as he met his wife, at a dance on a boat, on the last day of his boat ride immigrating to Canada.

This conversation reflects a rich life that saw beautiful joy and art, and perseverance through one of the most horrific periods in history. We are so privileged Bill has shared it with us! Thank you Bill!

This interview was originally recorded on July 11th, 2023

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bridgingthesocialdistance.substack.com