The Beckford Family Album by Masseh Mehr by Masseh Mehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu Masseh Mehr describes his life and his family in Ottawa, Ontario. en-us 2023-01-17 16:13:55 UTC 2023-01-21 04:42:34 UTC hello@padlet.com massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2447115887 My dad, William Beckford was an active and on duty soldier in the first world war. His position in the war was Lieutenant and he had around 30 kills in the war. He would often send me and my mom letters from the war since we didn't have phones, he would send letters from far away. My dad's position played an important role in the first world war, he would have to command a small tactical unit to send away to other bases. My dad wouldn't often send letters to us because of how busy he was during the war and how hard his missions were. My dad was a well respected Lieutenant in the war and helped his comrades in battle.  ]]> 2023-01-17 16:26:48 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2447115887 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2447127445 After the war ended, my mom had to lose her job in the factories so the veteran soldiers coming back from the war can take it. I found it very unfair how they took my moms job away, but my dad was working for us so my mom stayed as a stay at home wife while my dad worked during the day. My mom wanted to work in medicine but medicine and law jobs were all closed to women. Demand for women's rights were increased by a high majority which caused many women to speak out and fight for their rights. Makeup was also introduced which caused women to wear makeup. Women after the war were more sexual and chopped their hair short.   ]]> 2023-01-17 16:33:50 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2447127445 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2447127734 21 years after the first world war, the second world war started and my dad, William Beckford decided to join the war again to help fight for our country. My mom highly disagreed, because she didn't wanna risk losing my dad in the war. I was scared too of losing my dad but my dad had already signed up to join. My dad told me that Germany rose to power again and broke the treaty of versailles which is the reason why the war started again. My dad sent us letters and pictures while he was in the war and told us that the war was more difficult than the last one and how Germany was stronger than before. ]]> 2023-01-17 16:34:00 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2447127734 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2447127950 Canada and the First World War. “Trench Conditions - Rats, Lice, and Exhaustion | Canada and the First World War,” 2023. https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/life-at-the-front/trench-conditions/rats-lice-and-exhaustion/#:~:text=The%20unsanitary%20conditions%20of%20trench,led%20to%20gangrene%20and%20amputation..
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]]> 2023-01-17 16:34:08 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2447127950 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451142844 My mom, Mary Beckford was a stay at home wife during the time my dad was in the war, so it was very hard for us. Many places that had work for women paid very low compared to men. There was many inequalities to women during the war. Later on, while the war was still happening my mom became a worker in a munition factory to build equipment for the military to gain more money to take care of me. My mom lived a very difficult life and had to make food at home right after work. ]]> 2023-01-20 14:45:11 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451142844 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451161563 Once the war was over, the treaty of versailles was created which prevented Germany from starting another war and they had to pay billions of dollars. Luckily, my dad survived the war but he came back with trench fever. We had to take care of my dad for 1-2 weeks for him to recover. He had a lot of lice because of the trench fever which was a problem. Once my dad, William Beckford recovered we went to spend time together and he told me about the difficulties of the war and how he had to stay in the trenches for so long and how his friends in the war got trench foot and trench mouth which was worse than the trench disease he got. ]]> 2023-01-20 14:59:25 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451161563 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451174915 My dad, William Beckford bought a new car that was popular throughout the city which was called Ford Model T. Me and my mom, Mary Beckford loved driving in the car with my dad as we drove through the city. My dad's new job paid really good which helped me and my mom. A lot of new electric machines were also built during the Roaring Twenties which was electric toasters, and sewing machines. Unfortunately, during these great inventions during the time, people took loans to buy these expensive items but they were in great debt after. Luckily, my dad paid for the car with his own money and did not take a loan from the bank to buy our new car. ]]> 2023-01-20 15:10:04 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451174915 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451246253 During the great depression, many people were unemployed and there were no jobs anywhere to make money to pay off the massive amounts of debt. People were in great debt and lost many of their prized possessions such as their house. People used credit cards and took massive loans to buy the new electronics and cars during the roaring twenties, but they took too long to pay so much money to the bank which caused them to fall into greater debt. Interest took a big role in the great depression, because of how long people took to pay off the item. When people lost hope to pay off their item, they started buying stock to become wealthy again and to pay off all their debt, but the market ended up crashing making more and more people fall into greater debt. Great depression was a tragic and sad moment for many people and caused people to commit suicide and other horrible acts. Luckily, my family did not take loans nor use credit so we had enough money to take care of ourselves.     ]]> 2023-01-20 16:04:30 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451246253 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451282794 Texasgateway.org. “The Causes of the Great Depression | Texas Gateway,” 2023. https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/causes-great-depression.
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]]> 2023-01-20 16:32:53 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451282794 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451327110 Wikipedia Contributors. “World War II.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 20, 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II.
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]]> 2023-01-20 17:08:53 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451327110 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451329750 While the war was going on, my aunt from my dad's side became a spy to gather info on the German army. She needed to gather information on the army to gain an advantage against the Germans. My aunt used codes and ciphers to send messages so that it can't be traced by the German army. My aunt went to a spy school in Whitby, Canada which was a very deserted area so that the spies won't be caught. The spies identities were very important because if they were to find out who the spies were, they would be killed and they won't be able to get information from the German army. The area of the school was a prohibited area.   ]]> 2023-01-20 17:11:29 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451329750 massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451509515 As the war went on, my dad, William Beckford kept sending me letters about the war and what the Hitler army was doing. My dad said that Hitler was killing jews and making a stronger army everyday. My father went on and on about the genocide of the jews and how Hitler was getting rid of them by sending them to camps and using gas chambers to get rid of the jews. My dad, unfortunately passed away in the war and died fighting the German army. My mom was very devastated and so was I. My aunt was still a spy and told us that the German army was making new laws against the jews such as stripping their German citizenship, not letting jews to practice religion, Firing jews from jobs & businesses, banning jews from German schools and universities, marriages between Jews and Aryans forbidden, Forced to carry ID cards, unable to travel, passports of jews were stamped with a “J”, they were forced to wear the armband of the Yellow “Star of David”, jewish synagogues were destroyed, and they were forced to pay reparations and a special income tax. My aunt also told us that the German army was going to attack Russia to gain their land. As the German army attacked Russia, they slowly started to lose and Hitler and his army ended up losing the war which was won by Russia. Germany and Hitler were stopped and world war 2 was done and Germany had to pay a massive amount of money.

]]> 2023-01-20 19:58:10 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451509515 What people in the family did to earn a living. massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451693246 My dad, William Beckford joined the war to earn money for me and my mom. My dad knew the world war was going to be tough but he still joined to help us. My mom, Mary Beckford became a munition worker to help earn more money to take care of me. My mom had a very difficult job just like my dad and was working everyday and getting paid very little. Even though, my mom and dad got paid very little for their huge efforts, they kept working because at the time those were really the only good jobs you could get. ]]> 2023-01-21 03:51:13 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451693246 Inventions or new technologies that affected the family. massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451693353 New inventions such as the Ford Model T, electric toasters, and sewing machines were made. Many families were affected by these new inventions. For example, many families took loans and used credit to buy many new inventions but sadly it affected their family and caused them to fall in great debt because the debt wasn't paid on time and interest was charged. Luckily, my dad bought his Ford Model T with his own money. People who had debt, had to find work to pay it off. Since jobs were in such high demand, it was very hard to look for jobs especially for my family during the great depression. My mom struggled to find a job after she lost her job at the factory due to the veterans returning back from war. ]]> 2023-01-21 03:51:43 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451693353 The challenges or tragedies the family faced in that time period and how the family overcame or dealt with them. massehmehr https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451693420 My family, faced many tragedies during the second world war. I lost my father, William Beckford in the second world war and me and my mom have been upset and devastated. We had to experience many people die in the war and we had to work for ourselves since my dad had died in the war and it was very hard. The war went on for a very long time and it was stressful. My mom had to work everyday for many years because of the war and since my dad died and no one was home while my mom worked, I had to take care of myself and make my own food. I was very young and it was hard. My family faced many tragedies, which affected how we lived and how he spent time together. Me and my mom didn't spend a lot of time together because my mom would work long hours and I would be asleep by the time she came home. ]]> 2023-01-21 03:52:01 UTC https://padlet.com/massehmehr/ph7alfctnt15kueu/wish/2451693420