Summerside's War Effort During WWII

Mildred Savidant, nee Gallant, grew up on Ottawa Street in Summerside. In 1935 she married Vincent Savidant and they moved into an apartment above the Bowness Photo Studio on Water Street. Vincent enlisted in September 1939 and after basic training was assigned as a cook to army barracks in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Mildred and their toddler Richard went over to live with him in a bed-sitting room for almost two years before Vince was transferred to another part of Canada.

Mildred and young Richard moved back to Summerside to live with her parents. She and Vince wrote letters and he was able to come to the Island for short visits. Another son, Allan, was born in 1944 while Vincent was on embarkation to England. He later served as a Sergeant Cook in Italy. During the war, Mildred was busy tending the children and taking occasional house cleaning employment. She socialized a bit with cousins and friends, but for the most part lived a quiet life waiting for her husband to come back.

The reporting of casualties was a constant shadow and she felt the same strain and worry of the many who waited for news. The announcement of peace in Europe was a great relief. She went down to the train station to meet Vincent upon his return in December 1945 and they settled into life as a family with a new home and business. The couple bought a house in 1946 and opened a corner store known as Vince's Grocery on Russell Street and stayed in business until 1955.