PORT HAWKESBURY – A picture is worth a thousand words – a well-known phrase that could aptly apply to the framed photo that adorned an end table in the home of Angel Scott’s grandmother Lillian Mackay in Hadleyville.
“I will always remember it,” she said of the welcoming likeness that greeted her during memorable childhood visits.
But, despite the story it told, there were missing pieces to the narrative, when it came to her great uncle – a young man who died serving his country during the Second World War in 1944.
The memory of her great-uncle – Pte. Douglas Albert Hadley – never left her, particularly around and on Remembrance Day. It ignited her desire to find out more about him, including the whereabouts of the medals he received for his service.
“I started digging,” the Port Hawkesbury resident remembered in a recent conversation with The Journal.
Only 24-years-old when he perished, Douglas wasn’t married and had no children. And, complicating matters when it came to Scott’s search, was that her great-uncle grew up in foster care. When her grandmother’s parents died in quick succession at a young age, their children were scattered, with Douglas landing in Pictou County.
“I had no idea where the originals were,” Scott explained of the quest to track down the family heirlooms.
But she never wavered; inspired by the memory of her grandmother, who remained dedicated to celebrating her brother’s memory. On Remembrance Day, she honoured him by placing a wreath at the cenotaph in Mulgrave, where she made sure that his name was etched on the monument.
During her effort to retrieve them, Scott was told that the Department of Veterans Affairs issued replica medals. But, because she was not immediate family, that was not an option. Despite that, she noted, the federal department aided her search to fill in some of the blanks related to her great-uncle, including that he was buried in an Italian cemetery.
Scott eventually learned about a Facebook page that helped families retrieve lost medals. While exploring that option, she unearthed the name of Douglas’s foster mother – Bertha Seaman.
“I really thought it was a long shot,” she admitted of tracking down members of the family who raised her great-uncle.
However, Scott tapped into her network in Pictou County, where he grew up, to see if anyone was familiar with that surname. Through those resources – and the expertise of Guysborough Historical Society President Chris Cook, who helped guide her along the genealogical path – she found Bertha’s son, John Douglas Seaman, who Scott later discovered was the namesake of her late great-uncle.
“I decided to call the number – I wasn’t even sure that he was alive,” she recalled.
Even as she made it, myriad thoughts raced through her mind, including worrying that – if they were an elderly couple – they would think the phone call was a scam.
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, my God,’” when the person who answered – John’s wife, Verna – indicated that they knew her great-uncle.
Scott said, “It was so exciting – what a surprise,” she remembered thinking.
She found out during that hour-long conversation that Seaman and her husband had the medals – in their original boxes – along with other keepsakes from her great-uncle, including photos and a “little Bible.”
When Scott made that initial call, her great-uncle’s foster brother – who was born after Douglas died – was not at home.
“We had a great conversation,” Scott said of when they connected later that day last spring.
She noted he indicated that his mother “constantly spoke of him,” while pointing out Scott was the first “blood relative” who had contacted him.
Despite those memories – because he was so young – Seaman indicated he knew little about the man with whom he shared a name.
Those initial chats laid the foundation for a planned in-person meeting, one that occurred late last month [on Oct. 30].
Although the couple was the “salt of the earth,” as Scott described, she was “really nervous” about getting together. That apprehension, coupled with “life” – and its busyness – pushed back the meeting for a few months.
“We shared so much,” Scott said proudly of the recent two-hour visit, adding “It was so special.”
The couple gifted her with the medals she had searched for so long.
“It was pretty special,” she added, her voice quivering, while noting the keepsakes were in their original boxes.
Scott plans to have them mounted in a shadow box and, hopefully, displayed at the legion.
“He was kind of forgotten,” she offered, while reiterating her grandmother’s effort to keep his memory alive, when asked why she started on this journey.
Scott, who has been in the healthcare field for many years – and now a member of the Guysborough County Home Support Agency – hopes to be able to free her work schedule to attend this year’s Remembrance Day service in Mulgrave; one that will now hold even deeper meaning.
“It just means so much to me,” she said of reaching the recent milestone.
Scott explained that the help she received along the way, including from local historians Cook and Bruce MacDonald, was integral to reaching such a joyous conclusion.
“They have been a fountain of information, and I would not have found them [the medals] without their help,” Scott said.
She admitted that she “feels pretty good” with the results.
“I am proud that I didn’t give up,” Scott noted.
And, with a name like Angel, maybe there was some type of divine intervention.
As for what her grandmother would think of what she achieved, tears welling up could be heard in her voice.
“She would be pretty happy,” Scott said.
