Betty hasn’t seen her brother, Herbert,
since he was sixteen. When Herbert arrived at Halifax, he mailed a post
card home to his family at London, England. They eagerly awaited
further news.
It never came. Betty, now 96, wonders what happened to her youngest
brother.
Over the past few months, I have received dozens of queries, but none
like Betty’s request. After reading about the search for her lost
brother, I decide to dedicate an entire column to help find Herbert.
Herbert Edward Rymer was born September 1912 at London, England, one of
eight children born to Bessie Louise (nee Ruddell) and Harry Duncan
Rymer. Corporal Harry Rymer served with the Royal Dragoons and the
Royal Warwickshire Regiment during the First World War. On October 4,
1917, he was killed at the Somme. His body was never found, but he is
remembered on the Memorial to the Missing at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.
Though Herbert’s mother tried to keep the family together after Harry’s
death, eventually, they were split up. Herbert attended school until he
was fifteen. Finding work during the depression was difficult, so in
1929, Herbert signed up with the Big Brother Movement (now the British
Boys’ Movement) to come to Canada.
Herbert was sixteen when he boarded Regina, a White Star Dominion ship.
His arrival at Halifax on February 18, 1929 is recorded on the
Immigration Records, Library and Archives Canada website (www.collectionscanada.ca/02/02011802_e.html).
Herbert’s mother, Bessie, received the post card from him to say he had
arrived. This was the last contact she had with her son. Bessie tried
many times to find him through the Salvation Army and other agencies
without success.
During the Second World War, the Rymer home at London was bombed.
Photos of Herbert, along with the post card he had mailed in 1929, were
lost. Later, Bessie was killed by a drunk driver at Dartmouth, England,
never learning the fate of her youngest child.
Herbert’s sister, Betty, now 96 and the only surviving member of the
family, lives in Australia. Often, Betty wonders what happened to her
youngest brother. Is he still alive? Did he marry and have a family of
his own? Did he return to England looking for his mother and siblings?
Personally, I haven’t found any information on Herbert after his
arrival in Canada. What I did find were stories like Herbert’s by
others who had come to Canada to find work.
On the Pier 21 website (www.pier21.ca/), I
searched using the key words, ‘White Star Dominion’. I found the
stories of the Stubbs brothers who were on the same ship as Herbert.
Frederick, age 16, and Sidney, age 14, Stubbs were born in England, the
two oldest of five boys. Their story follows them from Halifax by train
to Ontario where they worked on family farms.
Frederick remained in Canada and eventually worked with the RCMP.
Sidney, however, worked for seven years on Ontario farms before
returning to England.
It is not known if Herbert remained in Halifax, settled else where in
Canada, moved to the United States, or returned to England.
Do you know what happened to Herbert Rymer? If so, please, contact his
sister: Mrs. Betty Lawson, 9/36 Warrandyte Road, Ringwood, Victoria
Australia; or email: elongford@swiftdsl.com.au
Or contact me (tibert@ns.sympatico.ca) and I’ll gladly forward all
messages.
Copyright@Diana
Lynn Tibert 2007