Strong Women Series - Sergeant Gladys Brims of the Canadian Women's Army Corps

 

While walking around Woodlands Cemetery (Burlington) in the veterans section, I came across a stone that recognized a Sergeant in the Canadian Women's Army Corp.  Gladys Mae Brims was born 1 August 1923 in Canora, Saskatchewan to parents David Johnstone Brims and Ruth Miles.  She had two sisters, Mary Isabel, born in Holdfast Saskatchewan on 27 September 1921 and younger sister Jean Evelyn  also born in Canora on 10 May 1926(1) and at least one brother David Edward who died in Canora on 27 May 1925.(2)

Unfortunately, her parent's marriage was not a happy one. Her parents divorced and it was her mother who left without the daughters.(3)  On 24 August 1929, David married for the second time to Irene Gladys Young in Brandon, Manitoba.(4)

In 1931, Gladys was living with her dad, Irene, and her sisters in Russell, Manitoba. (5)

The sisters all found a way to serve Canada. Before the outbreak of the war, Mary and Gladys were nurses. (6)

Gladys joined the Corp in 1944, and left for training in Alberta on 8 February 1944.(7)  Her younger sister Jean followed in her footsteps and joined 10 May 1944.  Gladys was there the day Jean enlisted and had a birthday cake with a single candle to celebrate her sister's 18th birthday and first day in the army.(8)(9)

By December of the same year, Gladys wed Private Ross William Maynard in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, 4 days before Christmas.(10)

I haven't been able to find any information on Ross in my searches, I don't know if they divorced or if he died in the war.  In February1946, Gladys attended her sister's wedding and in a photograph of the three sisters at the wedding, you can see two stripes on Gladys' arm, signifying her rank of Corporal. A later picture on the same website show Gladys with her father and her three stripes.(11) In 1955, Irene passed away at the tender age of 49 in Nanaimo, BC.  Her obituary names the 3 sisters as her daughters and Gladys has married Paul Ardeline and was living in Hamilton, Ontario.(12)  In 1977, Gladys and Paul were living in London, Ontario, while their son Michael became engaged to Esther Florian. (13) 

  

Gladys appears to have been a woman who wasn't afraid to speak her mind.  I found several examples in the Hamilton Spectator newspaper.  In 1986, she wrote a letter to the editor about an article that talked about a botched execution of a murder, where the man's lawyer asked clemency for cruel and unusual punishment.  Gladys was quick to come to the defence of the man's victim Mr Nasser, who was not granted clemency by the murder.(14) In 1996, Gladys wrote a poem entitled "I Believe" in which she made clear her dislike for then Mayor Sheila Copps.(15)  In 1997, journalist Kirk LaPointe asked his readers to let him know what phrases they disliked in media language.  Gladys wrote in to express her dislike of the use of "irregardless".(16) In 2002, Gladys came to the defence of police officers after the paper wrote an article about hijinxes reported at the police station.(17). In 2003, she wrote about doing her part to stop the spread of the SARS virus and provide her experiences in a public restroom.(18). Her last letter to the paper was sadly her self written obituary, which appeared on 26 June 2007.  In it she thanked God, called her life a trip, and then thanked her fellow travellers for their support along the way.  She went on to thank her husband Paul, in particular for his patience in mall parking lots, her son, daughter and grandchildren and her sisters for their support.  Her last request was to ask readers to pass on jokes that they heard, whether they were corny or cleaver because while variety is the spice of life, humour adds its own unique flavour.

1. Saskatchewan Vital Statistics. http://genealogy.ehealthsask.ca/.  Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  Search string on birth records for Surname "Brims"

2. http://genealogy.ehealthsask.ca/.  Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  Search string on death records for Surname "Brims"

3. Jean Hubbard Joined the Army on her 18th Birthday. https://www.elinorflorence.com/blog/jean-hubbard-army-corps/. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026. 

4. Manitoba Vital Statistics. https://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/ Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  Search string on marriage records for surname "Brims"

5. 1931 Canadian Census. Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Seventh Census of Canada, 1931; Folder Number: T-27320; Census Place: Marquette, Manitoba, Canada; Page Number: 5.  Accessed at: https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/62640/images/1931_177-e011709797?pId=3894443. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026. 

6. Memory Lane: West Vancouver Woman Has Royal Connection. https://www.nsnews.com/living/memory-lane-west-vancouver-woman-has-royal-connection-3034393. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  

7. Winnipeg Tribune Friday 11 Feb 1944, Page 9. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  

8. Jean Hubbard Joined the Army on her 18th Birthday. https://www.elinorflorence.com/blog/jean-hubbard-army-corps/. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026. 

9. The Winnipeg Tribune Tuesday 2 May 1944. Page 13. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  

10. 4. Manitoba Vital Statistics. https://vitalstats.gov.mb.ca/ Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  Search string on marriage records for surname "Brims"

11. Jean Hubbard Joined the Army on her 18th Birthday. https://www.elinorflorence.com/blog/jean-hubbard-army-corps/. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026. 

12. The Province. Monday 11 April 1955. Page 8. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  

13. The Hamilton Spectator Saturday 18 October 1969. Page 31. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  

14. The Hamilton Spectator. Tuesday 3 May 1983. Page 6. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.  

15. The Hamilton Spectator. Monday 13 May 1996. ·Page 2. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026. 

16. The Hamilton Spectator. Saturday 26 July 1997. ·Page 2. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026. 

17. The Hamilton Spectator Saturday 5 October 2002. Page 41. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026. 

18. The Hamilton Spectator Wednesday 7 May 2003. ·Page 12. Accessed by Debbie Redmond 2 August 2026.