In 2001, Bev Tosh painted a huge portrait of her mother as a young war bride. That painting, which was displayed in the main entrance hall of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, was the beginning of a passionate pursuit to commemorate all war brides through her artwork. It has evolved into a major touring exhibition called “One-Way Passage,” which is the result of hundreds of personal interviews with war brides in North America, Britain, Europe and Australia and New Zealand. This exhibition is traveling throughout Canada, and aboard.
Exhibition Itinerary to Date
2019
War Brides
September 14, 2018 to January 5, 2020
Royal Air Force Museum
Grahame Park Way, NW9 5LL London, United Kingdom
www.rafmuseum.org
2016
War Brides: One-way Passage at the HMCS Alberni Museum and Memorial
June 15 to Sept. 15, 2016
Comox, BC
Artist, Bev Tosh, will be in attendance for the opening on June 15th (10-4).
War Brides includes 30 full-length portraits and personal stories. Collectively, they pay tribute to the tens of thousands of war brides for whom a leap of faith meant not just a new husband, but a new country. Memorabilia from regional war brides lends a West Coast focus to a wide cross-section of Canadian portraits and stories.
Exhibit hours are 10-4, Tue-Sat. Special openings on Sundays or Mondays for groups of 10 or more by reservation. 250-339-4322 | 250-334-6555
Portraits in Sepia, Stories in Silk: Canada’s British War Brides
May 5 to June 30, 2016
Canada House (main lobby)
Trafalgar Square, London, UK
Imagine a young woman walking up a gangplank alone in the late 1940s:
When I left my home, England, I stood on the deck of the ship and watched the coastline slowly fade away. I wondered wherever am I going? Will I ever see my home again? (Vera Sanderson)
In 1946, Canada House was where travel documents were issued to enable the more than 40,000 young British women–war brides who had married Canadian servicemen–to embark on new lives in Canada.
What had been troopships throughout World War II were later nicknamed “bride ships” as they ferried tens of thousands of young women from Southampton and Liverpool to the port of Halifax, Nova Scotia and onwards to their husbands across Canada.
This exhibit of 40 full-length portraits in the Trafalgar Square Lobby of Canada House is accompanied by a length of silk that tells the personal story of each bride. Collectively, they pay tribute to the tens of thousands of war brides for whom a leap of faith meant not just a new husband, but a new country. The artist has also embroidered names of bride ships onto vintage handkerchiefs to create a translucent sculpture titled Veil of Tears.
Portraits in Sepia, Stories in Silk celebrates the 70th anniversary of British war brides’ passage to Canada, and their one million Canadian descendants.
2015
Fly Boys and War Brides: Leaving Canada for Love
May 1 – August 28, 2015
Mount Hope, ON
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is proud to present a special exhibition by Canadian artist Bev Tosh, titled War Brides and Fly Boys; Leaving Canada for Love. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan brought thousands of airmen from overseas to Canada for pilot and air crew training. Contrary to what we normally think of as war brides, many of these men met and married Canadian women who left Canada to start a new life overseas.
Trees Heeft een Canadees
6 May – 16 August 2015
The Founders Gallery At The Military Museum
Calgary, AB
2014
Bev Tosh
War Brides: One-Way Passage
Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery
Red Deer, Alberta
May 10 – August 5, 2014
Based on hundreds of personal interviews, photographs, letters, memorabilia, and period artifacts, artist Bev Tosh has created visual stories representing the leap of faith taken by thousands of women that built lives far from home.
2013
Canadian War Brides: a one-way passage to love
The National Liberation Museum 1944 – 1945
Groesbeek, The Netherlands
June 6 to November 24, 2013
The National Liberation Museum in Groesbeek (near Nijmegen), the Netherlands is hosting an exhibition of Dutch war brides to Canada, June 6 to November 24, 2013 by Canadian artist Bev Tosh. Art, audio clips and artifacts combine in this unique display. Over 20 new portraits on wooden panels – all with story panels on silk – stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hetty’s wedding dress and short film of her wedding in Gorinchem in 1945. A veil of vintage handkerchiefs – each embroidered by the artist with the name of a “bride ship” – speaks of ocean voyages and tears.
Photo credit: Aryn Guthrie
Army Dreamers
Owens Art Gallery
Mount Allison University
Sackville, New Brunswick
March 15 – April 28, 2013
2012
The Prairie Art Gallery
Grande Prairie, Alberta
December 17, 2011 – April 1, 2012
2011
Bruce County Museum
Southampton, Ontario
November 16, 2010 to January 15, 2011
no images were found
Puke Ariki Museum
New Plymouth, New Zealand
April 16 – July 17, 2011
2010
Pima Museum
Tucson, Arizona, USA
April 19 to July 18, 2010
no images were found
Otago Settlers Museum
Dunedin, New Zealand
April 24 to August 29, 2010
no images were found
Portage Arts Centre
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
August 26 to October 30, 2010
no images were found
Glenbow Museum
Calgary, Alberta
November 6, 2009 – February 14, 2010
no images were found
2009
Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery
Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
September 18, 2008 – January 4, 2009
no images were found
2008
The Royal BC Museum
Victoria, British Columbia
May 8 – September 1, 2008
Canadian War Museum
Ottawa, Ontario
May 13 – January 6, 2008
no images were found
2007
‘The Rooms’ of Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John’s, Newfoundland
October 22, 2006 – January 21, 2007
2006
Pier 21 Museum
Canada’s Immigration Museum
Halifax, Nova Scotia
June 29-September 27, 2006
no images were found
Diefenbaker Canada Centre
University of Saskatchewan
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
March 4 to May 31, 2006
no images were found
2005
Kelowna Art Gallery
Kelowna, British Columbia
June 25 to September 18, 2005
no images were found
Nickle Arts Museum
University of Calgary
Calgary, Alberta
May 13 to June 10, 2005
no images were found