WWII Letters from Ceylon: Christopher Tricker’s Letters Home to Agassiz, BC
Jeannie McCallum – Credit: Agassiz-Harrison Museum
Mount Cheam and the Fraser Valley
Mount Cheam is a beautiful mountain in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. It is a beautiful hike of approximately 10 kilometers round-trip with and elevation of about 700 meters. Once you reach the top of the mountain, you can see gorgeous panormaic views of the whole valley.
In 1914, a group of scientists from the Agassiz Research Stations, their wives, and Indigenous guides hiked Mount Cheam. You can read about their adventure and view their photographs here: Mount Cheam Hike: A Historic Climb from Agassiz, B.C. (1914)
The Angel of Mount Cheam
The angel of Mount Cheam is a special sight from the Fraser Valley side of Mount Cheam. The angel appears most years when snow melts during the summer months. Some people say the angel is an indicator of how well the land will produce this year, some say its presence indicated whether first will be scarce or not, while others believe she protects the valley from flooding.
The McCallum’s frequently referenced the angel in their poetry and on their photographs. Here are some photographs and a poem from the McCallum collection held at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum.
” A summer pasture in Agassiz, Blessed the Cheam Angel” Credit: Agassiz-Harrison Museum
“An angel guards our home” Credit:
“The Mount Cheam Angel with oat field and garden homes in the foreground” Credit- Agassiz-Harrison Museum
“Mount Cheam” by Jeannie McCallum
Mt. Cheam Doubtless there are higher mountains and ones with more historical interest, but i would be hard to find a fairer mountain peak than Mt. Cheam. It is a perpetual source of pleasure to those who are fortunate enough to live near it.
Covered wwith the heavy blanket of winter or almost bare beneth summer skies, bathed in rosy gleam of sunrise or drenched in moonlights golden flood, it is a thing of beauty.
A unique feature of Mt. Cheam is the appearance of a white-winged angel every summer when the deep snow has melted and there is left only what lies in the hollow.
On a sunny July I took a refreshing drink to the hay makers, and, while I was in the field, we were dismayed to see huge banks of clouds in the west.
As they rapidly covered the sky we expected a delay. But to our surprise and delight the clouds passed an in the east, appeared the loveliest sight one could imagine.
The sky was dark grey and, in bold relief against this background, gleamed the angel.
It was arched over by a vivid rainbow whose colors grew more and more intense until they outshone even the richest stained glass in a cathedral.
The rainbow became threefold, grew dim and then was was repeated. THe scene was one of more than earthly beauty and like the music of Lost- Chord "It linked all perplexed meanings Into one perfect peace.
Jane M. McCallum
Credit: Agassiz-Harrison Museum
The McCallum Family of Agassiz, BC
The McCallum family moved from Scotland to their farm, Howick Farm, in Agassiz, British Columbia. By the time Jimmie and Jeannie met Christopher Tricker, their mother and brother had passed away and in 1942 their father did as well.
The mighty brother-sister duo not only ran their farm, they were prolific writers. They kept diaries, short stories, letters, and poems. At the Agassiz-Harrison Museum where this collection is kept, it is the largest collection in the archive.
(L-R) Jimmy and Malcolm McCallum, Mrs. Longmore, Mrs. and Mr. Ingles, and Jeannie McCallum (Kneeling)- Credit: Agassiz-Harrison Museum
McCallum farm with Mount Cheam in the background – Credit: Agassiz-Harrison Museum
Winter at the McCallum Farm- Credit: Agassiz-Harrison Museum
Who Was Christopher Tricker?
Christopher Tricker was born in Saskatchewan, Canada to his parents Edward and Marie in 1911. He was the first child of ten in the family. He completed high school in Saskatchewan, and in 1937 moved to British Columbia to work in Agassiz. By trade Christopher was a printer, carpenter, and a farmer and met the McCallum family when he was working on a nearby farm in Agassiz, British Columbia. From his attestation papers it notes that while he enjoys playing baseball and football, he moderately engages in skating as well.
Sergeant Christopher William Tricker R97944 Goes to War
In April 1941 at the age of 30, Christophe applied for ground duties in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He had previously taken a course in radio work and since he wore glasses he wasn’t able to fly.
Credit: Canada, World War II Records and Service Files of War Dead, 1939-1947
Credit: Canada, World War II Records and Service Files of War Dead, 1939-1947
Credit: Canada, World War II Records and Service Files of War Dead, 1939-1947
Credit: Canada, World War II Records and Service Files of War Dead, 1939-1947
Letters
Christopher’s Card to Jeannie and Jimmy McCallum – January, 1944
Dear Jeannie and Jimmy
“What next!” you will say. A Christmas Card about Egypt from Ceylon! That goes to show how I’m slowly working around the world. I’m now over half way home, am I not? The card, I bought in Caires just before leaving the Middle East for Ceylon. And it isn’t only a distance that the two places are far apart. A greater contrast than that between the desert and the jungle couldn’t be found, especially at this time of year when the monsoons are starting here. More details will follow in an early letter. Meanwhile, I hope everything is well with you folks.
Chris.
Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!
May Joy be with you in coming days,
May Beauty paint the scenes whereon you gaze,
May Friendship clasp your hand should clouds be near,
Your letter of December 10 arrived several days ago, taking just under two months to make the trip. Not too bad, considering the fact that it first went to the Middle East. As always I was most pleased to have news of you folks and of Agassiz. No matter how far from your part of the world I get, or how many other fine places I see, I still have a very special place in my affections for that little place called “Agassiz.” Days such as today, when I have to endure a bit more heat than I like, I need only think of Cheam and its snow to feel just a wee bit cooler. And when I walk in the midst of squalor and dirt as one inevitably does whenever visiting India’s towns and villages, I can later on banish a few of the unpleasant thoughts by recalling the beauty and wholesomeness of your valley. Unlike Llewellyn who says “How Green Was my Valley,” I can say “How Green Is my Valley” – Here I am rambling on, and I daresay it sounds rather foolish- but I think you’ll understand.
Have I written you since – well wherever they’re going. That wasn’t to be, it seems, but my journeying into this part of the world may be just as profitable, both as regards my job of work, and my education. And an education it is proving to be too, this little glimpse of what is probably the most fascinating country in the world. One must actually see something of the people and they way they live, before anything like a reasonable true picture can be had.
Even then, I should think one would love to live here quite a number of years, travel about quite extensively and get to know a bit about scores of different languages, before he could pretend to advance any theories of his own as to what should be done about this perplexing problem of India. I know I’m less inclined to advance my own ide4as about it now, than I was before. I’m beginning to see what a tremendous amount of poverty and illiteracy there is what a diversity of religions and castes and languages. I’ve read a bit more of the country’s history than I ever did before, and am beginning to realize that, bad as things might be, a great deal of improvement has been made in the last few decades.
I have had no leave yet, so haven’t actually seen much. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to manage it, but if it is at all possible, I’m going to see something of the Himalayas before leaving India. An English resident of this district and his wife, with whom I’ve become acquainted, have spent a number of holidays in Kashmir and in Sikken. They are both enthusiastic mountaineers and have hundreds of the finest photographs I’ve ever seen. They have pictures of such things as Mt. Everest and Mt. Kunmchen Junga; the city of Shrinegoer with its wooden houses and temples and it’s house- boats, Tibetan natives with their prayer- wheels; mountain valleys all carpeted with priscillas as far as the eye can see; and farther south, the Taj Mahal, etc. These pictures together with their descriptions, and everything else I’ve ever read or heard of Northern India, makes me more desirous of seeing it than ever before.
News of all the folks back home, through spasmodic and rather uncertain, continues to be quite good. Percy, whom I never hear from any more, is still working in Saskatoon. Albert, who is also married, is buying grain in a little town in Saskatchewan. A younger sister of mine was married on New Year’s Day to a young English fellow in the R.A.F. at North Battleford – where Mother and Dad live. One brother is with the Canadian army in England, and another one, also in the army, was expecting to leave Canada shortly when he last wrote. He too may be in England by now. Another sister (you’ll remember what an enormous family is ours) is in Vancouver working in an aircraft plant, or so she was when I last hear from her – that was some months ago now. Yes, the family is quite scattered around now.
Some mail has just arrived. It is a rather infrequent event here, as you may imagen how pleased I am at the moment. Mother and from Albert as well as some from England. Everyone is well.
It really looks as if the war, or rather the “shooting war” as Americans call it. To differentiate it from the “production” war which has been a might effort for some time now, is getting into high gear. I sincerely hope it will succeeding in bringing an end to hostilities with a few months. We’re all sick of it, aren’t we? Believe me, when I get back home from this, I really mean to settle down. It is high time I did do that.
Nor far from over ‘drome a fill on top of what is a very old Roman Catholic church and a convent. Some very interesting history is attached to the place, but I suppose4, it won’t do to tell you it. The censor may take exception to it, saying that it would give our location away. Well unusual times, a couple of us have wondered up there, and quite enjoyed the experience. The nuns, who look after the place, are very hospitable and have invited us up again. It is very cool and peaceful on top the hill, and the war seems very far from it.
There have been so many interruptions in writing this letter, it will probably seem a bit disjointed. However, I hope it will be a bit interesting and will endeavor to write more later.
I hope everything continues to go well with you. I am aye yours.
Why These Letters Matter to British Columbia History
Credit: BC History Diary
The Christopher Trickler letters offer a detailed record of a soldier in India during the Second World War. In these letters to the McCallum family in Agassiz, British Columbia, we learn about how much he longs for home and we also are painted a picture of what life in India for those stationed there looked like.
Preserved today at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum & Archives, the Christopher Trickler letters and supporting photographs, are kept so that future generations can know the history of Agassiz, British Columbia and it’s people.
The letters this post are transcribed verbatim from original manuscripts held at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum & Archives. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation have been preserved to maintain the integrity of the original documents. Editorial introductions and historical context have been added to assist modern readers and to situate the letters within the broader social and historical landscape of twentieth-century British Columbia.
This post forms part of an ongoing research and transcription project telling the stories of British Columbians.
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