The Story of Vivien Combe
Exported from Holy-Writings.com on 2026-06-21 - 1 clipping

Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Guy Barclay, The Story of Vivien Combe, bahai-library.com.
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625Vanalman            Ave.
Victoria,            BC.
January    27th,           1996.

The Baha'i        Community
Victoria

On behalf     of my family           I would     like     to          thank      all
those   who     atterided        and   gave    of     their             time       to
arrange   Vivien's       graveside     memorial.
Vivien's       remarkable         talents       and love       for all   people
touched       the    heart      of everyone            she  came in contact
with.        Very    few people           have     lived    as full     a life,
traveled          so    eztensively            or       had   so    many    true
friends.         She will       be sorely         missed.
I was        very    pleased       and     touched     by           the     Baha'i
memorial       ceremony     as I am sure         my family            would   have
been.      The beauty       and simplicity          of the          service     was
ezactly       as Vivien      would     have     wanted   it.            Ber song
uFacination•        made it all        perfect.
Thank      you   again    for     your   help,    love    and   compassion.

Sincerely          yours

,

Roger     Barclay       (Vivien's         nephew)

The following      account       of Vivien's    life     was compiled
by my father       a couple        of years    ago.        We hope     it
will    be of interest        and a help     in your      endeavor     to
chronicle     her   contribution        to the    Baha'i     movement.
If you do publish
copy.     Thanks.        p.
an article      my family      would   love     a

......
THE STORY OF VIVIEN
She was born on June 23rd 1903 in Lee, Surrey,                      England,
the     elder       daughter     of Captain    Basil   Charles      Combe, Master
Mariner      and his wife Edith Neville,           nee Rymer-Jones.          At the
age of two she left           with her mother for Honolulu             via New
York and San Francisco            to join her father         whose ship the
"C.s.     Restorer"       was based there.     Capt.   Combe had assumed
command iri .Singapore         on February     1905 for her new owner the
Commercial        Pacific    Cable Company and        sailed    across     the
Pacific      arriving      in Honolulu    in April    of that     year.
The ship's        task was to maintain       the company's        telegraph
lines     which ran from San Francisco           to Shanghai        and beyond.

The    family       cont~nued       to    live  in Honolulu       until      1908
when the "Restorer"             was based to Esquimalt           harbor        and     the
family     moved to Victoria.           Life in Hawaii was very different
in those days,          there    were very few tourists          and the city          of
Honolulu        was quite          a .small place.      Young Vivien       attended       a
kindergarten        at     Punahou College         in 1907.     On arrival        in
Victoria      the family        rented    a house on Cook Street.
In 1909 Mrs. Combe and Vivien                  paid a six month's        visit      to
their     English     relations.        On the trip      over the,     then seven
year old Vivien,           performed      for the first      time on the stage.
Aboard "R.M.S. Canada"               she sang a solo "Yip-Addy-i-Ay".
This was her first            performance       in a lifetime     given to the
theatre.

It was in 1911 that        the family       moved       into    their       new
home on Verrinder         Avenue.     Vivien    received      her education          at
St. Margarets     school    and. it was there        that    she    decided        her
forte    was the theatre.       She took singing          and dancing        lessons
and started     to take parts       in ,plays.    She was Hebe in "H.M.S.
Pinafore"    in the .Old Victorii        Theatre     in 1912.

On November 2nd of that            year her sister,         Adele Laura,
was born.       These were happy days.            There were many visitors
to the family        home on Verrinder          Avenue.    one of the early
ones was Harvey Combe, a second cousin,                    who was the Registrar
of    the     Law Society.          He was an ardent         golfer,     one of the
original      members of the Victoria            Golf Club      and     many    times
the     B.C. champion.          His    daughter      Lenora,    who married        Hew
Paterson,      followed       in his footsteps       and his winning       ways.
Another     frequent     visitor     was Judge       Stanley      from    Honolulu.
His     two boys        Desmond      and    Dermot      were    boarders      at the
university      School and his mother,            Lady Heron,stayed        with the
Combe's shortly         after      Adele was born.

Aboard the "Restorer"             many parties   were    held    and   to
bring   the guests  to the            wharf A.T. Goward, the then head of
the B.C.Electric   Railway            Co. and   a good   friend     of   Capt.
Combe,    arranged        that     special      street       cars     were   provided.

Vivien  was also       having  a good time          at  St. Margarets           acting
in school  plays       and playing   tennis         and basketball.
Then     in     1914 war was declared      against     Germany and the
"Restorer"         sailed       to  Seattle       and      berthed      at    the
Bremerton       Naval       Yards.  Until   this   time the ship had flown
the Union Jack but now, for the greater                protection       of  this
vital     and      specialized     vessel,    she    was     to sail  under the
neutral     Stars     and Stripes.     She contiqued       to carry   that  flag
for the rest        of her life.

The family       moved to Seattle      and rented        their     Victoria
home. During the war years             they lived     in two Seattle       houses.
Vivien      started      school    in Seattle     in September        1914 and it
was there      that   she· met Whilimena        (Willie)     Blankevoort         who
became a very dear friend            for many years.       Vivier:. was unhappy
in Seattle,       missing    a~l her friends      in Victoria        ~n~ it was
not long before         she was back at       St 'Margarets       as a boarder.
In 1919 the war ended and the family                returned      to Victoria
and found their         home in a deplor~ble        state.   The ~Restorer"
with Capt. Combe in commaad remained                in Seattle.
During the war years,        while Vivien      was a boarder    at St.
Margarets       she continued    to interest      herself    in school   plays
and spent her holidays        with     the    family      in  Seattle.    Here
she    remembers     spending      her    weekends    on the ship with her
friend    Willie.
On the family's        return     to Victoria        she ~nd     her      sister
Adele,    bot~    attended       St. Margarets           as    day girls.       In 1919
Vivien    put on ci'nderella         in the s_chool gym. She remembered
the vi~it      of Edward, Prine~           of   Wales,      l~ter    Edward        VIII.
There     was a splendid        ball   given ·for him at Government                House
and her great       friend    Jean     Donald       received      an     invitation,
however she being several             months younger         was judged       to be too
young     and much to her chagrin             was not asked.         Several       years
later   the Prince       again visited        Victoria      and this    time she got
her wish and had the satisfaction                 of meeting       him whil~            he
was with a friend         of hers.
She graduated        in    1920 and when her father          asked Miss
Barton,     the  headmistress,        what     prdfession     Vivien       should
follow,     he was advised      interior     decorating.      Courses    in that
field     not   being    ·readily     available,      Vivien 'took a business
course    at St. Ann's Academy.            This was a shame as she proved
later    dn in her life      she had a natural          flair for design ..
After     completing       the commercial      course    Vivien     got    her
first     job      in    Spencer's        Tea Room.    There were many of her
school     friends      working     there   with her and      they     all    had    a
rather       good time.·      Lunch there       then cost about 50 cents          and
she recalls        that   she was once left         a 25 cent tip!       She   spent
her    first       earned     money to buy a copper          coal scuttle      which
her sister       now has.

In March 1922 the "Restorer"          returned     t.o Victoria  from
a repair   job at Midway Island        and it was to tie up there         and
not    in  Seattle.      From then until        1941 she was to berth       in
Esquimalt    or Victoria    waters   although       sti~l     retaining   her
New York registry       and the Stars     and Stripes.

While anchored        in Esquimal t Harbor          in- 1922 the birthday
bf     the   Captain's        elder     daughter        gav~ rise     to one of the
gayest      parties      ever     hel-0    on the        ship.   Paddy      Heaton's
orchestra      greeted    the ·barge loads of guests             who were fsrried
over      to the ship from the wharf.               Chief Steward       Robb served
a sumptuous       repast    and     dancing      folltiwed      until    the    small
hours.

Soon after         this    event the ship was to receive                    orders     to
proceed        again to -Midway Island                where the cable had faulted.
On arrival        at the island            she ran into a vicious               storm.    Capt.
Combe,although          he felt       ill,      was not able to leave the bridge
for several         day·s.      He became so desperately                 ill    that he      was
forced     to give in and turn his command over to someone else.
The repair           job      took much longer            than usual         because    of the
dreadful       weather       and when she finally              docked in Honolulu            the
Captain      had to be taken to the hospital                       where        he remained
for       weeks.     He       never        regained       his    health         ~nd had        to
relinquish        his command after                18 years     service.        He returned
to     his wife and children                 in Victoria       where he lived          on as a
semi invalid:        until      his death at the Royal                 Jubilee        Hospital
on December            27th.      1926. During these            latter       years    he had a
summer cottage          built      on the north          shdre of Esquimalt            Lagoon.
The      family      entertained             their     friends       there        and   really
enjoyed        the isolation          whfch then existed             beside; .that seldom
visited      spot.
Vivien     continued     her acting    career.     She took       part      in
many     amateur      performances       and   joined    the Victoria       Little
Theatre.      She recalled       acting   with the      Campbell      twins·     and
with     Eva Hart        who was a popular       singer    in tho se days.   0
She
was given parts         in many of the plays        that were     put     on and
1   ~er    work     came      to the notice    of Mr. Reginald       Hinks who was
producing      shows at the Playhouse         Theatre      on Yates       Street.
Vivien    joined     him acting     in the plays      he produced     each week.

Hinks      wrot~     ~11 the scripts    and picked   out ·the songs.
These were topical           of the events    of the day    and   were· very
popular       with the public.       Vivien's   roles  were her first    as a
professional        actress     and she soon made a name for herself         in
Victoria.      She carried       on at ,the Playhouse   for the     next   two
years,     usually     taking    the part of the comedienne.

After    Capt.     Combe's death the family    was left  with very
little     money.      His    pension     ended at the date of his death
and    hospital       bills     had   consumed   most  of   the  family's
savings.

Vivien,     now 24, realized         she would have to earn her own
living     and do what she could       to help support     the family.   Her
talents      were theatrical,     and while       she had    done  well   in
Victoria       and was highly     thought     of, the scope there    was not
great    and the rewards      were small.
She decided    she would try for success         in England        where
the    scope  was much greater.         Therefore      she    travelled      to
London and found a place       to live   at the ·Theatre        Girls     Club
on Greek     Street.     She did     achieve      some    success     but the
competition   was fierce.     She found living       in a big city        with
very little   money was very discouraging          and was homesick        for
the free ~nd easy life      in Canada.
During      this  period   she visited      a number of her English
relations      and made many friends.           She ,was always       very     good
at meeting      people    and keeping      in touch.     For instance      through
a friend       she received      an invitation      to a reception       at South
Africa     House where she met Elizabeth,             the Duchess       of    York,
now the Queen Mother.           Among her memorabilia           is a copy of the
invitation        signed     by   Elizabeth      and     others     who attended
including      Vivien    Combe.

She was a prodigious       letter    writer and fortunately                  for
the     producer  of this    account      some of her letters      and              those
she     received  have survived,         as have some of her diaries.

Meanwhile      in Victoria       her mother came to the conclusion
that,    as     Vivien    was     in England       and as her relations             lived
there    , she and Adele should             go there      too and     perhaps         stay
on to       1 i ve. Therefore         she    rented     the Verrinder       .house and
booked passage         on the Royal Mail freighter               "Loch Kathrine"
sailing     to England      via the Panama Canal.               She carried       12
passengers       and the trip       lasted     six weeks.       They stayed       in
England     for six months but found life                 there    so different
from the one they had grown to love in Canada that                           they
decided     to return.      Vivien      agreed    feeling     she would be able
to get work there.

They booked retu~n          passage,    again    on the "Loch Kathrine"
via the Panama Canal.              The trip    was a happy one and the two
sisters     got on famously         with the cadets       and officers       aboard.
On the way they enjoyed             a stop over in Jamaica.
Back in      Victoria       Vivien     was welcomed        back      at    the
Playhouse       but unfortunately           the theatre    soon closed       and she
had .to f;ind another         job.    She learned     to master     the      art     of
riveting       china     and glass       and worked for antique         stores     and
Monty Bridgeman's          china    shop.
Mrs.Combe and a neighbour             Mrs Treherne    started     a little
store     they named . "Cornbetree"            sel 1 ing  B. C. handicrafts         on
commission.        Combetree        was    -ndt   profitable      and did     not    last
long.

Then friends        of the family          asked Mrs Combe if she would
consider      boarding      young girls        from out of            town     while      they
attended      art school,        business      cqurses        etc.      This was a happy
arrangement         and     many of         these     girls      became their         dearest
friends,      namely,     Betty        Johnstone            Shaneman,        Poppy       Beale
Glaspie,      Joan       Proctor       Morris,      Madie        Innes      Hewlett,      Issa
Jones Dobell        and Dodie Tremayne Hamilton.                    Verrinder      became a
meeting      place    for young people,           among them were, Alan                  King,
Les      Hardie,    Jack     and Roy Shadbolt,              the.Leeming        boys, yours
truly     and other      current      beaus.      We had sing songs around the
old player       piano,     acted     out charades,           played      parlor       games,
went      on hard-time           country      dances     and scavenger           hunt~.       On
saturday      there    was the dinner          dance in the Crystal                Ballroom
at    the     Empress       Hotel,     with      Billy        Tickle's      orchestra       and
later     Len Acre's.        The cost        was      $2.50!        The girls          always
wore      evening      gowns       and the boys dinner              jackets.        It was a
formal     age and during          the "Big Depressio~"                 we all        had     to
work hard for our money, but we did have a lot of fun and no
regrets.

Vivien     was very          active      in theatricals,            producing       and
directing,       sometimes      with Mrs Dorothy              Wilson of the           Russian
Ballet       School.      The      costumes           and        sets       were        always
outstanding,       she could make anything                  superbly       and     was very
good     at    organizing        work       parties         to become involved.             Her
Christmas      Pantomimes       and other          big      productions           were     very
popular.       I     remember        particularly,            Alice      in    Wonderland,
Cinderellla       and Dick Wittington              and his Cat all performed                  at
the old Victoria          Theatre.        She also          enteied       plays       in    the
Dominion         Drama     Festival,        often      with        success.       The Naval
Officers     put on a hit production                  0£    "The Mi~dle          Watch"       in
which      Vivien      played      a leading          role.      In fact she was very
well known and admired             in Victoriaa          and many old timers               will
remember her as Daisy with Al~n King in their                              "Bicycle      Built
for     Two" which         they      performed         many times             for     various
occasions.

As well       as her theatrical            activities         Vivien   found the
time to work for Peggy Napier                in her Murdoch's             Antiques       on
Fort    Street      and  was Peggy's              bridesmaid         when she married
Victor    Bartholomew.     The two girls            had a keen sense of             humor
and    we thoroughly     enjoyed       their      stories      ab6ut some of their
customers.     One we remember was about a w.oman who was walking
in one of the display          rooms and spotted              ,the     Three     Feather
Coat of Arms of the Prince             of Wales with the motto Ich Dien.
She    called    to Vivien     saying,       "I've     forgotten       my "La£in"     but
can you tell       me what the sign says".              When Vivien           told    her
it means "I Serve",        the woman called              to her friend        saying;
"Emma Jane come over here and look at this                         sign it says "I
ServQ",     gee wouldn't     that    look cute above our bar"!

In  June    1933 Adele    and    I became     engaged  and were
married    in October   of the following    ,year.   Vivien   was much
involved     in the arrangements    for our wedding. ·we were wed by
Archdeacon      Nunns    at  St. Mary's    Church,   Oak Bay and the
reception     was at the family   home on Verrinder.
World war II started             in September      1939 and Vivien        felt
she     should     become        involved     and travel      to England.    However
her'mother       and friends        dissuaded       her    saying      that  as     she
suffered       from     hay     fever      and such severe        bouts of asthma,
~6metimes      endirig     in hospital,          she    couid     easily    prove      a
greater     hindrance      than help.       So off she went to Montreal             and
stayed      with     her     father's       younger     brother    Aubrey,   a civil
engineer,      who lived       in Westmont.       There she found work in the
china department         of the Henry Morgan Co.                She worked      there
for about three         years.
I had returned       from England   and Adele had joined   me in
Kingston     in the_ spring     of 1941. We were living    in the   staff
quarters      of   the    Royal Military    College.  We soon contacted
Vivien    in Montreal     and it wasn't   long before   she   came    down
to    Kingston     to   meet     her new nephew Roger then about nine
months old.
Vivien     had not been really            happy     at     Morgan's     because
she did not speak French and found that many of the customers
resented       this.     Therefore       she decided        to leave Montreal       for
Toronto    where she had applied              and been accepted         for work      at
Eaton's.     She left       Morgan's,      travelled      to Halifax      for a visit
with     a childhood          friend     Jean Donald Gow who had married                a
naval officer         and was stationed           there.    Then on for       a short
visit     with       us   before      reporting'       to Eaton's     in Toronto     for
work in their         china   department.        Vivien     continued     working     at
Eanon's    for the next fourteen              years.
While      we remained        in    Kingston     we saw Vivien       fairly
often.     She had Christmas        with us in 1941. Came to           visit        us
after      Patrick     was    born      and   was his       godmother     at      his
christening.         She lived     in several       apartments     in   Toronto,
made many friends        there     and seemed to live quite          a gay life.
In 1943' I was posted   to England    to command a R.C.E.M.E.
workshop     and Adele,   her mother and our two boys returned        to
Victoria.      I should have mentioned     earlier  that mother·combe
had been with us in Kirigston       from shortly   after we had moved
from R.M.t.     to an ap~rtment   in the town.

Meanwhile   Vivien   had     been      promoted      to    the     Display
Department    where    she arranged       flower    and  table     displays      in
the store  and in outside       locations        such    as    the      Canadian
National   Exposition.    Later     she      moved     on to       the Fashion
Bureau.

Here     with     a number of other         quite   senior      st'aff   members she
had responsibilities          for     fashion-    decisions,         gave      lectures
and arranged        displays.     She attended      seminais        arid was sent on
courses       to    Parson's      school    of interior       design      in New York
city.    In 1952 I was sent on a business:                trip       to    Washington
D.C. Adele        was with me and we 'met Vivien              in New York on our
way home. She was staying             there    on one of her Fashion                Burea
assignments.       We gathered          she    was doihg well,          wa• enjoying
her job and was well thought               of by her company.           In fact        she
was now on a first                 name basis        with      the      senior      staff
including       David Eato~.

While 'living   in Toronto   Viv_ien. had    made many friends
with   people    who had simiJ.;ar ar·tistic   . interests    and it was
with Aileen   Adams and her, friend    Myra that      she took off on a
trip which lasted    six months and took them over a gobd           part
of Europe.

They    left     Toronto, in January            1953 and sailed          from New
York aboard       the "s . s United         Sta te·s" for      London.      On . arr i va 1
they stayed       at the famous Gore. Hotel which had recently                        been
refurbished          and     the.    Elizabethean         room    opened         for    the
Coronation.       They     dined       there      and    found       it      quite        an
experience,       guests        friends         and    strangers        sat'    'at   long
refractory      tables     and      waitresses        dressed      in     Elizabethean
garb     served      food      as it was eaten         in -th'at period        on pewter
plates.     Later    they came around with very large                   bowls ,for you
to scrape      your leavings         into,     for the pbor!         "Two young men
were sitting        opposite      me and one said to the other,                  how do I
get· the attention         of the waitress?              His friend       replied.      "As
she passes      pinch her bottom,            that was the way they did it in
Elizabeth's       time!"       "An older       man was sitting         next to me and
I remarked      to him I seem             to    know you. Do you               work     for
Eaton's      in     Toronto?"           With a smile he said,             no I work in
Morgan's     in Montreal."!          am Henry Morgan."          The right        boss     in
. the wrong,shop!

This        incid~nt     was    typical   of Vivien.     Everywher~                             she
went     all       over     the    world,    she  would      soon     spot                              an
- acquaintance.           She had an extraordinary       memory for faces                                and
an interest          in people   that made this    possible.

Continuing     I quote frbm Vivien•s·diary:      "On our  first
day in London we took the bus to Picadilly           and had our lunch
in     Lion's     Corner   House. Then went to Canada House and got
tickets      to the Garden Party     at Buckingham  Palace.   I went to
see my dear        Aunt   Ada, actually    mother's    aunt, who      was
nearly     blind.   She lived   in a big apartment   house with an old
friend     Miss Willowby. 11

"Murray     Rymer-Jones                    and      his               wife      Molly asked me to
lunch at the United                    Services             Club. The last                    time I haa seen
him was in 1927, when I had been staying                                                with his mother and
fl\th,~,--,    .J,.r,n, ;-.-....1 ~·1·,-c.••df.::\\"t,c,,:C,
'
,1c.·.,.;,·,~··,-1·
·-......f              ,,j
b,{·Tt,c,-.

"I then went to stay with Aunt Ada and came down with a
terrible        cold as I invariably       did in London.     Next I visited
Genieve Millman .(Irving),          whose bridesmaid      I had    been   many
years     ago in Victoria.      I also went to see Miss Barton          my old
head      mistress   at Sb... Margarets     Schoo! .. I ,found time as well
to go and see Nessie         Bell at the Theatre       Girls   Ulub where     I
had lived       on my previous    stay   in London."

"Aileen   and r went to view a dress collection.      Oliver
Messel was there.  We talked  to him about his wonderful    White
Bedroom which:all  had raved about in one of the big     revues.
He is Anthony Armstrong-Jones   uncle."

The preceding            paragraphs       illustrate        Vivien's       usual
activity        in looki,ng     up old friends         and seeing      the sights       in
the      places       she    visits.      Knowing      that    she did not have the
time to travel           around the country          to     visit    -11     her    Combe
relations         she     wrote       to   them    and invited       them to come to
London and have lunch with her.                    Uncles Leonard         and Herbert
the latter        with his ~ife          Millie   ~nd Aunt Mildred         met her      at
Victoria         Station      for ' lunch.        She .was still       suffering     from
the cold and had a· bad attack                  of asthma.        She felt     awful and
had to call         a doctor,        who gave her shots.

"Myra   was ill   too and we had to cancel           our   plans     to
attend     the openings   of several    Paris     Fashion  Houses.     Aileen
went       by. herself.   The doctor.'s       bill     was   12 pounds       12
shillings.     We gave. him a tin of crisco!           He had come to      the
hotel. three    times .."

In February    they went to the airport          and took a plane         to
Lisbon.     They    found   rooms      in   the    Mira Parque Hotel.           "We
spent our first       day walking    around     the    city     ahd    visiting
the    Marques     de Pombal park.        Here we saw the famous Estufa
Fria greenhouses       with displays      of e~otic    tropical     pl~nts."

"Next day we took the train           to Estoril.      We met       a very
nice     couple    from California      who persuaded       us to move to the
Atlantico      Hotel facing     the ocean.       our friends     picked    us   up
with our luggage        and took us there.         We booked rooms at $2.00
per day including        meals·! I.Aileen     arrived    from Paris     and joined
us.     Here we spent      our remaining      stay in Portugal.        Estoril,
at that     time was the home of a number of disposed                European
royalty.      We saw the ex~king       of Italy     and the lrchduke       of
Austra-Hungry        and took ~hotos      of all the royal      houses."

They   drove· to    Sin tr a where        they visited              the Royal
Palace   and the Pena Palace      atop the      rocky     hill            above   the
town. They     spent  another       day  visiting      the old            quarter   of
Lisbon,   the Alfama,   the Castelo     Sao Jorge and the                 area along
the banks of the Tagus.       Altogether    they             were three    weeks in
Portugal  before  travelling     down the west               coast,  crossing   the
Spanish  border  and continuing      to Seville.

"We left    Seville      the next morning,            stopped     in.Jerez         to
visit    a winery.     This is where the fimous sherry                    is produced.
Then      we     went       on to        Algeceras         and    crossed        over      to
Gibralta     by ferry.      We tried       to find somewhere there               to    stay
without      success.     Aileen      and I walked over the hills                  and saw
the apes.     We had to return           to Algeceras         to spend the          night.
rt was an unattractive             town and I.suffered            from a bad attack
of    asthma,    dogs     were       everywhere!       We took a bus to Seville
and I went right          to     bed. We were            staying      at     the      hotel
Christina       and    I had         a comfortable         room overlooking           Marie
Louise    Park. My throat          was very sore so I went out to try to
buy a gargle,       as I did not know the Spanish                   word for it I put
my head back and pantomimed                gargling.       They understood          and      I
returned      to my bed and slept             most of the next day. While in
Seville    we visited       the Alcazar,         the fabulous         Cathedral          and
the     Macarena    where they keep the famous religious                       treasures
used for the Easter           Parade.      our Lady of Esperanza             was there,
she is the Virgin         for the bull         fighters."
"On March 9th we left          for Grenada and      arrived·   at   the
Alhambra     Palace     Hotel.    In    Grenada I visited      the Alhambra,
the Generalife      ~ardens    and the old Arab Market •. It was cold
there    as    you   are    at    the    foot of the snow capped Sierra
Nevada mountains."
"l took the train           to Madrid and met Aileen               and Myra at
the      Emperado.Hotel,          We took an excursion             to Toledo where we
saw El Greco•s·house              and the        Cathedral.     On March          16th    we
took the train         to Barcelona.           It was a pretty         trip."        Vivien
noted       in    her     diary      that      she    went     for     a walk,      saw the
magnificent        cathedral,        the market and then on to                  the     zoo,
where she met five little                 girl~     who asked the time.           she took
the      children       into      the     zoo     to see the monkeys which they
called      monos. "I tried           to talk     to them in         Spanish      and    did
well      enough      for      them to direct         me to the right          bus for my
hotel.It       was a delightful           experience        I would not have missed
for anything."
The following         morning     they went by ship to Genoa, where
they spent the night.             Vivien      noted that      they saw the      house
where Christopher          Columbus was born.            They left     for Rome the
next    day     and     stayed     at the Hotel National.           Vivien had run
out of money and had wired her mother to send                         some to      the
American       Express       in    Rome. It had not arrived            but this    did
not    prevent      her      ftom     seeing      the     sights.   She    saw     the
Colosseum,      Hadrian's.       Villa,     the     Vatican     and the Catacombs.
The others      decided      to head north but as Vivien's                money had
still     not    arrived        she borrowed        some from. Myra and went by
bus to Naples.        She carried        on to Sorento          by train.    Luckily
travel     was·very       inexpensive       in Italy      at that   time! Here she
met some youths         who wanted a passenger              to help pay the      fare
for the Amalfi drive a nd on to the Isle of Capri.

"On the way we stopped      at small town of Revello       and saw
that     a-movie   was being shot at the cathedral'~quare.           I went
over to see who was in the cast         and recognized      Peter     Lore,
Robert     Morley and John.Houston.      the director.    The movie was
Beat the Devil.      Later   on at the Garden Party      at    Buckingham
Palace      I saw Robert       Morley   again.  That   time     elegantly
dressed     in a frock   coat and topper!n

"The followin~        day     we went to the Isle         of  Capri.    The
ride      out to the island          was very rough and it had started             to
rain.     Nevertheless        we· had a terrific     day    seeing·    the    lower
town      and having'a        most.memorable     boat ride     through    the Blue
Grotto.      Next day the lads and I went by train                 to Pompii where
we spent       a fantastic       two hours touring      the ruins.     There     was
so muc~-. to          see;     the house of ill-repute,          the lovely     wall
murals,      the    mosaic       of    a. dog, the    stone      ovens    and    the
petrified        loaf      of    bread!"    We returned·~o       Rome via Naples
and I was delighted            to find that my money had arrived             and     I
was able to repay Myra."

The preceding      paragraphs    illustrate      that Vivien  never
let a temporary    shortage     of funds interfere        with her  plans.
In   fact  we could never understand             how she could manage so
well on so little!                                 •

"Solvent     again I took the train              to    Florence.       I stayed
at     a pensione         to save money . It was cl~an and cheap.                        In
Florence      I visited     the Uffizi        GaJlery,      the·    Convent       of   San
Marco     and     Michael's        statue       of 1 David.        I went to see Mrs
Coskell     and had lunch in her garden.                 Then was shown over her
lovely    14th century       house with its wonderous                 collection         of
Chinese        paintings.       I     spent        another       day    yisiting       San
Gimugnano        a~d    $ienna       by _'bus.      Then      on to      ~enice        and
travelled        up the      Grand        Canal     to     San     Marco square,       the
Basilica     and the Doge's          Palace._    I went for         a gondola        ride
with an Australian          girl~-took        photos     of a ~edding        party   in a
gondola     and saw the Bridge            of Sighs".             •

"April     26th    I left    for Nice by train           passing     through
Milan and Genoa enroute.           On he train       I met a young Norwegian
Publisher      and we had drinks,        the    next     day      we met        again,
dined together        and walked to the old part             of Nice.       I went on
a bus       tour    to Monte Carlo.        A very nice Englishman             who was
sitting     next to me in the bus accompanied                me to      the     gaming
tables    in the casino.       We had drinks'and         then danced for
awhile.     Another     day I bussed     to Canne~ and--walked            along the
front,    then visited      the Garabaldi       Museum. I travelled             to
Paris    by train     the next day. In my carriage             there      were two
old spinsters.        After   awhile   one turned      to her friend          and
said    "She is an actress        I think!"     Vivien     stood out iri a
crowd. Her clothes,         ~any of which she had designed                 and made
herself     were always 1n qood taste           and she knew how to wear
them to enhance         her app~arance.                         .

"It was May when I arrived               in Paris      and on every corner
lily       of   the     valley        were    being sold.       It was beautiful.              I
went up to the top of the Eiffel                    Tower, then walked past the
Ecole Militaire,            the Palace       of Chaillot      and      up Ave. Kleber
to      Place     de la Concord.            I saw an exhibition            of modern art
at the Petit         Palace      and then back to my hotel               in the rain.
The next day I took in                 the    Louvre      and     then      visited        the
Museum du Jeu de Panue to see the Impressionists                                paintings.
On my third         day in Paris           I took      a bus        to     the     Bois      de
Bologne.       I wanted          to    see what I had been singing                 about so
many years        ago at the Playhouse            on Yates Street;             "As I
walked along the Bois de Bologne with an independent                                air,
etc,     etc."    After     this    I followed      the    left       bank      where      the
artists        sell    their     pictures.       I bought a Tolouse             Lutrec     for
2500 francs!           I visited       Notre Dame. On my last              day in       Paris
I went to Versailles               and wandered       around the gardens."
On arrival        back    in  England     Vivien    still     had several
weeks before        her scheduled   trip  back to Toronto.          She  stayed
in London looking        up old friends     and visiting        places  she had
missed     earlier.       In her    diary    she    mentions        the Chelsea
Flower Show, Gre~nwich          and Kew Gardens,       also      a number       of
theatres,     one of which was the Haymarket           with Noel Coward in
Blythe    Spirit.
Another      entry     in    her      diary   describes     the Buckingham
Palace   Garden Party         that       she    and    Aileen    attended.    " We
passed     through       a large     reception      hall   out into the gardens
to the rear.       There were hundreds           of people     milling     around.
The Queen        looked      very      regal     as she received       her guests.
Princess     Ann was there        and looked very nice.          It was a really
memorable     occasion."
"While at Eaton's         in Toronto      I had used Wedgewood           china
for     a number      of     table     displays      and   had     a letter         of
introduction      to one of their         London executives.         I phoned him
and he arranged       a luncheon       and a tour of       their      factory       at
Stoke-on-Trent.        we saw the            china being made, painted            and
fired     and I found it all very interesting.               When I asked           my
guide      why the town was so foggy he replied,                 there     would be
something       wrong     if    it   wasn't,     as   that    would      mean     the
potteries       were    shut      down."      In fact during       the war smoke
from the kilns       had camouflaged         Stoke from the German            planes
and saved many lives.
As Vivien      still    had time before     leaving    for Canada she
did some travelling        around England.       These trips     took her to
Bath and, as she added,          to see the baths     and buy bath buns!
Warwick Castle     was visited,        the famous earl was an ancestor.
On she travelled       to   Stratford-on-Avon,       Oxford,    Bristol   and
many other   places.

Uncle Leonard    was her godfathe,    she visited    him and
his wife in Horsham.      They had been married      in Ceylon and
Leonard    gave her three     delightful  paintings     of Ceylon
flowers.    Today these   hang in our dining     room in Vancouver
and are much admired.

Murray Rymer-Jones         invited   her to a meeting     at Scotland
Yard     to  see the police         dogs perform.  Vivien    was enormously
impressed    with their      training.    Murray   had been the first        to
introduce    working    dogs to the Metropolitan         Police.   He was      a
very senior     officer    in the force.

It    was now time      to    say her good byes and be off to
Southampton    to board the "S.S United     States"    for New York.
As they left     the docks they saw the ships       of the Royal   Navy
lined   up for the Spithead     Revue.
She was back         at     the Fashion     Bureau in June.           It had
been a very eventful         trip     where she had seen and            learned      a
great      deal     and   met many new friends.          Her work under Dora
Mathews continued         as it had previously,         arranging       displays
at such locations         as the Canadian      National        Exposition.       She
lectured        on such     subjects       as  table    settings.       She took a
course     on photography      and worked with photographers               and   for
relaxation       attended   an art course      in Kitchener.

Vivien         retired       from     Eaton's        in    1955 after       14 years
service     with the firm.             She    told     Adele       she     felt     she    was
getting        a "diamond E brand on her brow" and was considering
going      into       business         for    herself.      However        after     casting
herself        adrift,        she    decided       to    spend      that winter with a
friend    Torchy          Faulkner         in  Mexico.       They     left      Toronto      in
November by car,             with Torchy's         two children,          and drove right
across       the      U.S.A.      and      on down to           San Miguel Allende           in
central     Mexico,         where they arrived           ten days later.          Here they
rented    a house and attended                classes      at the Institute.           Vivien
took up pottery,             wood carving,         jewelry      and photography.
In December she and Torchy went on a trip                      which      took
them    to Mexico City,        Taxco, Veracruz        and Orizaba.       "My visit
to Orizaba     was one of curiosity           and sentiment.        I had always
wanted to see the place            I had      heard     so much about            from
mother!     My grandfather,         Alexander     Manson Rymer-Jones,          a
civil     engineer,   had      arrived     here in 1871 with his young 22
year old bride      Ernestine.         In 1872 their     eldest    son was born.
A nanny was sent from England with a complete                    layette     for
the baby.      The child     was very fair         and the Spanish       people
named him nino blanco            (little      white     boy).   In    those      days
Mexico was a wild and dangerous               place   and the young couple
slept   with revolvers       under their       pillows.
Adele and I visited    San Miguel in February       1956 and the
three    of us went on a short      trip to Morelia   and Patzcuaro.
Vivien    seemed to be very happy in San Miguel where she had
made friends     with other  artistic    people  at the Institute.

•••.
She left   Mexico        in March      and returned        to Toronto       as          she had
to   find another   job.
After    her   return     from     Mexico  Vivien       and a partner
Margot started     a business     they called     ''Flair".    They  rented
space on the second floor         of a building     on Young Street.
Here   they    set up a display       room with tables      on which there
were settings     of china,   silver,     table cloths,     flowers  etc.

"We had people       come to lecture        on the correct        win~      to
be used       with     various     foods,    Margot      lectured       on flower
arrangements       and I on correct       etiquette;        the     placement       of
silver,    china,     napkins,    ash          trays,    etc.    for        various
occasions.      We hired     a model to demonstrate           how to     walk, sit
and what to wear."             The business      was not profitable.          It was
probably     before    its time and it did not last              too long.
It was during      this    period   that  Alan  Edwards    who was
originally       from      Victoria       and had been employed by Eaton's
became a close        friend      of    Vivien.   He was    an artist    and
inteiior     decorator.       Thei became engaged.
"It was Alan who persuaded            me to leave Toronto          and join
him and         his    mother     in Dallas     Texas where he had 1 work. He
said it would be a good place,               for someone with         my talents
and     there       was greater    scope in the U.S.A.         tha·n in" Canada".
Vivien      accepted     his advice,     went    to   Dallas      and     became     a
landed        immigrant.      She worked there       for the nex~ two'years.
First     for the Nieman Marcus departmental              store     and-then     for
Lambert 1 s landscaping.         From one of her diaries            we noted that
while       in   Dallas      she   attended      A.A. meetings         and    as she
certainly       never had a drinking        problem we suspect             it   must
have been because           of Alan.
Early     in 1958 she left        Dallas     for Puerto        Rico. Aian had
proceeded        her     and had a good job doing interior                   decorating
for the Caribbean           Hilton    Hotel.      He got Vivien           work     making
dresses       for     the    waitresses        at the hotel.         These were very
well received,          so it was decided         that     they      would      start      a
business      they named Carrib         Casuals.        Alan did silk         screening
with     Puerto       Rican     motifs      and Vivien       des'igned     sports     wear
which they sold to the shops.                  "I soid one         outfit       to    Mrs.
David      Eaton".       We hired       a young boy to help with the silk
screening       and a woman to do the machining                   of    the'    dresses.
Their      local      help     proved     to be very unreliable              and Vivien
became frustrated.           Alan drank too much and Vivien                  could     not
get     along      with     Mrs. Edwards.        She decided         to leave Puerto
Rico and return          to B.C.      Her engagement         broke off.·
When she arrived             in Vancouver,    Vivien was at a very low
r-'0 1'nt    lo her       career.      She was broke and very       depressed.  • We
r'e,,, ~
,..Y   6 c..- 1-i·.,_.,..mother    saying    Vivien     has lost    all of her
-; pa. v- k  <!_

She rented        an apart~ent      in   the    west-end      of    the        city
and     landed    a Christmas     relief     job    at   the General           Post
Office.     She also worked as a census          taker,    and    found          the
work extremely      tiring  in the wet cold winter         weather.

She      heard     of   ~    possible       job with     the  Canadian
Broadcasting       Commission,     applied    for it and     was hired     for
their      costume      department.       Here     she designed     and made
costumes     for their    productions.       While with the C.B.C.she      met
Josephine     Boss who became a great          friend.

For the surnme~. mopths Vivien   travelled   to Banff Alberta
and worked in the Toggery Shop.      It was here     she   made her
first   contact   with the Bahai Faith      that was to have such a
great  influence  in her life  later   on.
In the spring    of 1961, while          in   Victoria,      Vivien    met
Desmond Stanley.       The Stanleys      had been great         friends     of the
Combes     in Hawaii many years       ago and Desmond and his brother
Dermot     had   been   .educated     at     the     University       School     in
Victoria.      Desmond    persuaded      Vivien       to    come to Honolulu
where he would sponsor        her.   She decided        to    go and      Desmond
met    her    on her arrival       in April.        She soon got a job as a
nursing    aid at the Monalaui       Hospital.
In 1962 Adeie and I travelled     to Honolulu    to    see   her.
She was. still        working   at the hospital   and owned a little
while volkswagen.      She had    settled    down and         made many
friends     in    the  city.  The warm tropical       climate      of the
islands    ~mi ted her and she was her old self      again,.

In December that year her mother became critically             ill
and Vivien    came to Victoria   to be with her.     On January      9th.
1963 her      mother died and after    the funeral   Vivien    returned
to Honolulu.      During the past year she had again        come     into
contact      with   the   Bahai  Faith    and  had   been    attending
meetings.    The ne~ religion   had a great   appeal  and she became
a convert.

Bahaiism      is    based     on :the    teachings        of   a Persian
prophet,     Baha'u'llah.       • He taught      that   religion     must be the
cause and source          of love and unity      of all the people        of    the
world.     He believed          in the oneness      of mankind,      the oneness
of religion       and the individual's        personal      search   for truth.
His objective       was to unite       the people     of the world under one
religion     and one social        order.   There were to be no churches,
no clergy      and the faith       was to be spread       by informal     talks     in
the homes of the people,

Vivien   felt that the    life    she    had   been   living      had
little     purpose.    She  wished    to    bring her new religion        to
others    and in order   to do so she felt       she must learn     a great
deal more about it.

She therefore    planned   to go on a pilgrimage   to Haifa   in
Israel   where the House of Justice,     the headquarters   of the
Bahai Faith   was located.
In the autumn of 1964 she purchased              an    airline     ticket
that      would take her around the world.            She planned       to travel
across     the Pacific     to Japan,      then across    Asia to Haifa,       from
there      to   Greece,    then     through    Europe      and    home by the
Atlantic.       It   was her        aim to meet Bahais        in the countries
she visited       and learn     more about     the    faith      so    as  to     be
better     able to spread       her new belief.

She left   Honolulu    in November and flew to Tokyo. Spent
some ten days in Japan,        traveling      as far south as Osaka with
a stop off in Kyoto.        In     these    centers    she was ~et    and
entertained      by local    Bahais.       She saw.puppet  shows and was
impressed   by the stories       that were told by this     means. Later
on Vivien   was to use puppets          in her missionary  work.

From Japan     she   continued     to    Hong Kong, came             down
with    a very     bad cold and spent     four days in bed. Her next
stop was Bankok, where the weather          was warm, and she
recovered     from the cold and thoroughly       enjoyed     the sights.
Vivien    never went anywhere     without   meeting    interesting        people.
While in Bankock staying       at the very posh Oriental            Hotel    she
met and went sightseeing      with The Hon. Charles          Strutt,      a
cousin    of the Duke of Norfolk,
Next on to Delhi where she took a side trip            to Agra    to
see the Taj Mahal. Next to Teheran           and was met by Bahais,
staying     with a wealthy     family   who had interests    in Pepsi Cola.
They arranged     a trip   for her to Isfahan      and on to Shiraz.
It was in the latter       city    that  the Bahai Faith    got its start
and Vivien visited       some of the holy sites       and also had time
to see the wonders       of Persepolis.
Returning       to   Teheran  Vivien    flew to Tel Aviv and took
the bus to Haifa.          Here with a number of other        pilgrims   she
stayed     at the Pilgrim      House and visited     some of the shrines.
At Akka        (ancient      Acre)   she   visited·    the     place   where
Bah'u'llah      the prophet      had been imprisoned      and died.
Her next stop was Athens.         Here she visited        many of ·the
famous sites;     the Acropolis,     Delphi,   Corfu,      etc.    She fell     in
love    with the country      and found a special        spot on the small
island   of Porus in the Agean which she            felt      would    be     the
ideal    place    to   retire    to. English   people      were buying      land
there   and were planning      to build.     Vivien     was     so   impressed
that    she signed    an agreement     and made an advance          payment to
purchase    her dream home. More about this           later.
From Greece she flew to Rome which she             knew well       from
her stay there        in 1953. It was so cold,       then midwinter,       that
she headed south to Palma Mallorca            and remained      there   for the
month       of January.    In February    she was in Zurich,       then on to
Frankfurt.       In Hiedelberg     nearby    she    saw Josephine        Boss'
sister.      Then Amsterdam       in   March    and    from   there     on to
Honolulu      via Toronto     and Vancouver.

On h€r return    to Honolulu    Vivien    continued    acting     as a
companion   to elderly    ladies.    First   there    was a Mrs. Judd,     a
member    of on~ of Honolulu's       oldest    families.    After   her came
a Mrs. McCoy, a wealthy        woman with      a large      estate     and a
staff   of about fifteen.      She treated     Vivien    as a daughter .

. Vivien     also spent a lot of her time at the Bahai Center
and       regularly        attended   the    weekly   meetings     known   as
"feasts",       although     they had nothing    to do with.   dining.   They
were feasts         for the soul!

Time was passing                  and by July 1968 Vivien would be 65
years    old, She planned             to retire       and build       a home on the
property        she      had      purchased      in Greece.      For living        expenses
she had a life           interest       in her mother's        estate     and after       her
sixty    fifth      birthday       would be eligible          for the Canadian            old
age    pension       and a U.S. social             security    pension      that    she had
been contributing             to from the time she had become                    a landed
immigrant         in     Dallas      Texas.     However in order        to receive        the
Canadian       pension      she had to prove she              must     have      lived      in
Canada for at least               25 years      and had been a resident             for one
full     year       immediately          prior     to her 65th birthday.            To meet
the latter          condition         she     returned      to    B.c. and         obtained
employment        at the Toggery shop in Banff where she had worked
previously.

After      working   for the summer months in Banff she and a
friend     Margaret     Cornelius     flew to Prestwich          Scotland,      hired
a car, visited           Glasgow      and Edinborough,        then headed south
for London. On the way they made a number of stops                        to    visit
friends     and relations.        They arrived       in London in October          and
Margaret      returned     to Canada.      Vivien    spent several      more weeks
in    England.      She mentions          seeing    her    aunts     Dorothy       and
Mildred     and visiting       her'cousin       Jack Combe, his wife Barbara
and their       son Gerald,     a lad of 19 who had recently              graduated
from     ''H.M.S. Worcester"          to     embark     on a career          in    the
merchant        navy. A Combe tradition!               She  also     travelled        to
• Greenwich       to see Murray Rymer-Jones            and his wife Molly.

In November she flew to Athens and got a room            at                       the
Greek House Hotel.        She got in touch with Adrienne   Allison,                         a
cousin    of    Patrick's     wife Margaret .. Her husband Steven                        was
with    Canadian     External  Affairs  and they had two children.
In      order     to complete       the purchase         of her property           in
Porus she traveled              there     by ship to pay the balance                  of    the
purchase         price       and      legal    fees.     There      was     some delay        in
waiting      for a draft          from Yorkshire         Trust.     However the          money
arrived        and      the     deal      was    co~pleted.        Vivien      then      had a
meeting     with George Kelyvas,               a local      architect,        whom she had
selected       to design        and supervise          the      construction          of    her
house.     She was very disappointed                 to learn       that    the cost
would be a great             deal more than .she had bargained                   for.
Kelyvas'         fee      alone would be $2000. She would have to delay
construction          for at        least     two    years       to    save      sufficient
funds.
After       several        weeks        in   Porus,      with       visits      to other
islands      nearby      she returned           to Athens and           the      Greek       House
Hotel.      The weather            had      turned       wet      and stormy and Vivien
found that Greece              in the winter         was not,        the      idealic        place
she     had pictured.            She suffered         from a bad attack              of asthma,
spent     Christmas        with the Allisons,              travelled        aro~nd southern
Greece and even considered                    the possibility           of going to Crete
or southern         Italy.       It got colder          and colder,         ice      formed       on
the       puddles        in     Athens        and    Vivien        was      coming        to    the
conclusion        that     the      idea      of    retirement           in     Porus       was     a
mistake.      Perhaps         she       would      be better           off      in    Canada or
Hawaii!       She wired Adele and asked her to find her                                 an apt.
to     rent     in     Victoria         from February         1st saying          she would be
arriving      in Vancouver            in one weeks time.
On her arrival   she confirmed     that    she had given up her
plan to build    on the island    of .Porus and retire     there. Later
she    was   to  donate    the  property       to    the Canadian Bahai
National   Assembly.
She moved to Victoria     to stay with an old friend     Jose
Godman on Saxe        Point    Esquimalt   and  was   to   remain    in
Victoria    until September    197Z when she went to the island      of
st.Helena    as a Bahai missionary.

These were        the      years      when     Vivien      started       to   make
puppets       and    put on shows. She had been se~king                     a medium to
spread    her Bahai religion             and became         convinced       this     could
best     be done         with      puppets.     She would design           and make the
puppets     then using her experience                in the theatre,          write     the
scripts     and direct        the plays       to illustrate        the principles         of
the     Bahai     faith.      As always Vivien          went all out on this            new
project.      She joined        the Puppetiers         of America and attended              a
number of seminars            in various        centers        in    Canada      and    the
United    States.      She took a course           in carpentry         and learned       to
make very excellent             puppets     out of balsa         wood. She also made
a stage     on which to operate             them.
IQ
(_ I

She rented     a studio    and wrote plays     to demonstrate   the facts
she wished-to     'portray    and tried:to    enlist  and train
assistants    :to work the.puppets~        The lattet  proved to be ·her
greatest   prob!~~ ·as she found it m6st diffi~ult'.to          keep them
motivated.
Her first  venture  was with the B.C. Coast Indians.  She
had read George Clutesits     ~Son of Raven Son of Deer" and had
based her scripts    on the fables  of the Coastal tribes.

She then set out with her Indian             puppets      to   put     on
shows     for   Indian      Bands up and down Vancouver         and the Gulf
Islands.     Her shows drew good audiences          in the     villages        but
she      was disappointed          when  they   did     not    produce      many
converts.     However,     in spite   of the lack of positive           results
she persisted      with her puppetry       and put.on     shows in Victoria
for     mixed   audiences.     Adele    and I attended       one of these       at
the 'War Amps hall      on Fort Street      and Oak Bay Junction.
As well as her                          work with   puppets    Vivien  became   very
interested      in the                           Victoria   Maritime    Museum and became a
docent.
In the summer of 1969 She accompanied.                  Jose       Godman to
England.     Vivien     visited        a number      of places         in Wales and
attended    a Bahai school        held at Harleck        Castle.       She was also1

in Ayrshire     Scotland,      crossed     over to nublin          Ireland     where
she    took   in a performance          at the Abbey Theatre             and went by
car through     County Wicklow.           She also mentions          staying     with
Combe relations          and    with Angela Beanlands            the daughter       of
Cannon Beanlands       one of B.C's early         clerics.

On her return       to Victorij?ihe     rented      an apartment         at
1418 Newport Avenue and broUght'out.some                  of the postessi6ns
she had left       in Toronto     in 1957 when she went to Dallas.
She     lived     here for the next three         years    and regularly     held
meetings       for her Bahai friends.         She     also     entertained     her
wide circle        of friends    from her earlier        days in Victoria       in
'her tastefully         furnished     iuite.  There were also frequent
trips     to Vancouver      when she stayed     with us or her many
friends      on that    side of the straits.
One interesting      evefit     that    took place    in Augu~t. 1972
was a tea at Vivien's      apt.    for Eva·Hart,      who she       had    often
acted    with some sixty    years     ago.     For this   event Vivien        had
gathered    together   many of those       from the theatrica1·world            of
those    days.     To name a few;             Eva, Noel      Cusack,     Archie
McKinnon,     Eva Petch,   Pierre      Timp, Len Acres,        Billy    Tickle,
( ., C'   C l ~-' . j           /~ I I....; '' .• - l i
In   the    summer    of 1972 while         attending     a Bahai meeting
in Edmonton Vivien        volunteered      to become a ''Pioneer"           (Bahai
missionary)      on the very isolated          island      of St. Helena      in the
Atlantic      Ocean.    This remote     island       located   some 1500 miles
west of the African         continent     and 1000 miles         south of the
equator     is a British     possession      and is administered           by a
Governor      who is also responsible         for Ascension         Island    800
miles north      west and the Tristan         da Cunha group far to the
south.      It has no airport        and can only be reached             by ship.
It is served       by ships    of the Castle        Line which sail         between
London      and    Cape    Town and call         at Jamestown       its only port
about every three        weeks.

The island's      population      is approximately         5000, of very
mixed racial       origins.       There is practically          no industry      and
very little       agriculture        so most of the food and all supplies
must be imported.           In days gone bye it was the port of call
for many ships         traveling      to the far east but today            it is a
backwater      and the islanders         have little        opportunity.      Some are
employed     by the cable         and wireless      service     that has a station
on the island         and a few others        find work on Ascension           Island
where the Americans            have an airport       and satellite       tracking
station.     The British         Government     attempted     to start     an
industry     growing      hemp but it did not prove to be a commercial
success.

The most noted   event    in St.Helena 1
s history     was it                   was
the    place of exile   for Emperor Napoleon      after    his defeat                   at
the   battle of Waterloo,     until  he died there      in 1821.

Vivien     rented      her apartment      in    Victoria        in    September
1972     and traveled           to England.     Just    after    she got there          her
aunt Dorothy         died and she was present            at    her      funeral.      Then
she flew from London to Johannesburg                     and after        a short     stay
there    traveled       on to Cape Town as she planned                to leave      there
by ship on Sept.27th.for                 st. Helena.     This was not to be and
it was not until            November 15th.      that    she could        get     passage
to    the     island        as all ships     were fully       booked.      However she
made the most           of     her    time   in     Cape     Town. She was            very
impressed        with       the    beautiful      country,     visited        the     wine
growing     area at Paarl,          traveled    to the Cape of Good Hope and
viewed the city           from the top       of    Cable      Mountain.       The only
thing      she took exception            to was the treatment           of the blacks
and colored        which she        found    very     wrong      and      so much        in
conflict      with her Bahai belief.

On November 15th.       she finally        set sail    for St.Helena.
Vivien    described     her departure        in a letter      home; "The       docks
at     Cape   Town were         stretched       out for miles       it seemed,     we
finally      found    our    ship,     the     "Good     Hope       Castle",    with
accommodation        for    12 passengers.          We sailed     at noon and as
we headed out to sea we looked back to Table                      Mountain,     then
stood     on deck till     Cape Town disappeared            into the distance.
We weren't      to see land again         for three    and a half       days".

She found herself        in very good company as among those               on
board were the newly inaugurated             Archbishop       of South     Africa
and    a Chief Justice       who was going to St.Helena           to take five
court    cases.   "My cabin mate was a girl          from Tristan       da Cunha
who was going to the island           for a course         in   midwifery.     The
trip   was a pleasant       one, the weather      fine and the sea calm.
We seemed       to   be always        eating     or    sitting      out on deck
enjoying     the sunshine."

"On the 18th.           we were all up on deck straining                       our    eyes
to     see      the    first      outline       of the island.           Finally     we saw a
large     rock corning          out      of     the     mist.    St.Helena         appears      a
foreboding         place     with its massive            crags    rising     abruptly      like
a huge          black      castle        from      the     ocean.     As we neared           our
destination         we could see what we had viewed in pictures;                             two
towering        rocky bastions           on either       side of a beautiful              green
valley        in    which       the      small       town of Jamestown           is prettily
nestled.         We turned        into the harbor             and     anchored.       I could
now       see the people            on the quay. Nearly             everyone       comes down
there     to see a ship enter               the harbor.        Soon small boats            were
corning       alongside         to     take us to the dock and as I landed                      I
looked      into a sea of faces               and then saw a young girl                holding
onto a baby carriage.                  She said"         Are you Vivien          Combe". and
I knew it must be Barbara                   George.      She introduced          her husband
Basil.      It was unbelievable!                  Here I was on the island              of    my
dreams at last           and had just          met the couple          that were to
become two of my greatest                   friends."
Prior   to Vivien's       arrival      there     were only three           Bahais
on St,Helena.         The Georges       and Cliff       Huxtable,       who was
Superintendent           of   Schools.       It was her aim to seek converts
using puppets         to create     interest         in    the     faith.     The first
objective         was    to   form      a Local         Spiritual       Assembly which
requires       nine    members.     There was a considerable                  opposition
from      the     Anglican      Clergy       on the island         to her missionary
work and she had to be very careful                     not to       publicly        preach
her     faith.      However by putting           on puppet        shows and teaching
the making and operating              0£ puppets        to the children            in    the
schools        she    was able to reach her initial                  objective       in six
months and by the time she left                    St.Helena         in    August       1974
there    were some twenty          active      Bahais     on the island        attending
their    weekly "feasts"         (meetings).

Vivien's       first      residence        was  at    Yon's     Cafe,    but     it
wasn't    long before     she found a house to rent           and     moved      to
Adam's      House    on Market      Street     where    she     was much more
comfortable.       She moved several       more times     before      she    left
the island.        Vivien   soon started     to work on her puppets          and
in order     to put on shows she needed a stage.             With the help
ot-   Ri·c~c,,,..,1      ·1vc1n'f<'r-C<-        L),-,hn     ,· vJhv    h,,d       c:,rili\'C     c·,,'l}-,,e_   1s./qnJ
they      constructed                one out of packing                cases.             It     was made so
il-.a1'-it":eor.-~.-1c..\·,:t>_-:.;.,l--r b~ T-.:cv,<2-i t:ip-.,r-t   c,....,,1     >'r1('.,'c-Jlt..-c,V1p\c,ccTZ-
place by car.

Tranter      was not able to stay on st.Helena          for long as
he could not find work there.             Vivien   had started     to give
classes     in the schools        on puppetry    to both the teachers       and
the older       children      and soon she was putting       on shows for
both adults        and children.      She was able to use a large        hall
in the ballroom          of the old Consulate      Hotel which seated       400
for her adult         show,s.    These were often     packed.

She also put on shows for children        in a big room in her
house.  The youngsters     sat     on the floor.      Very often   there
were knocks on her door and        she  would    find     children    who
would   ask   the  "Puppet     Lady" when there     was to be another
show.
The themes Vivien        used for her shows were quite              varied.
She did a historical            play about Napoleon's           life  on the
island    and went to very considerable              trouble      to dress   the
puppets     in authentic      costumes       and produce     background     scenery
for the period.        In this      connection     on the invitation        of the
French Consul to St.Helena              she visited     Longwood the estate          up
in the island's       center      that   had been where the          Emperor      had
lived.    She     was     taken      through     the    buildings       and    shown
pictures      and records     of Napoleons       stay and the Consul agreed
to record      on tape an introduction           to her play.

For the children     she used traditional         small plays
based on nursery       rhymes and biblical         stories      and    for   her
Friday      firesides     she    attempted    to     portray     basic     Bahai
beliefs.
Her social        life   on St.Helena       was very limited        and    was
almost        entirely       with her Bahai fellow          believers.     There was
little       social     contact    with the official         v.r.Ps.     who tended
to     treat        her    as    a rather      unwanted   missionary      whose work
would        unsettle        the    islanders.       As   for       the    islanders
themselves,          who were very like         children,     there    was of course
no intellectual            bond.
After     Vivien       had       achieved      her aim of forming            a Local
Spiritual      Assembly       in May 1973 she began to think                      her      work
was complete       and the time had come to plan her return                             home.
She had        to    renew        her     visitor's        permit       at that       time to
November       1973. However             she     decided        to      stay       on.      She
continued      her work, saw her Bahai flock                    increase      until      there
was     a solid        group        that     would      persist       in     spite      of the
opposition       of the Anglican             Church.      When her         visa       expired
again       she actively        tried      to seek a passage          to England.          This
became quite       difficult          as one of the          Castle       ships       serving
the     island     was      lost       by fire.       It wasn't      until    August 1974
that    she finally       left      the island       for London         and     then       home
to Canada.
She   arrived       in  Vancouver    in September      and stayed       with
Adele and me for about           two months.      During     this      time     she
traveled      to    Victoria,    gave   up her      apartment       there,    sold
her furniture       and belongings     and   then     headed      for      Hawaii,
where she had decided         she would make her home.

Vivien         continued     to live in Hawaii,                  from the spring            of
1974 until        early   in 1986 when she returned                    to Victoria.
During this      period    she embarked  on two more      missionary
expeditions.      The    first     to the South Pacific      from September
1978 to March 1979 and the second to the                island    of    Malta
from     February     to     October  1984. More about these      two trips
later.
In Honolulu            she    continued          her     work     with      puppets,
putting        on shows to promote            her Bahai faith.            She also spent
a great      deal of her time            at     the      Bahai      Center,      where     she
handled        the     mailing      out     of      information        to Bahai centers
throughout          the     world     and     also       occupied         herself         with
maintenance           including       flower       arrangements.          Vivien     kept up
her prodigious           correspondence        with close         Bahai friends           whom
she     had      met     during     her     travels          and    from     time to time
attended       important       Bahai conventions             in   Canada,      the    U.S.A.
and around the world.              For instance          in 1977 she made a second
pilgrimage          to     Haifa     and    during         the    trip    stopped      off in
England      to visit       Barbara     George and family             with whom she had
shared     so many experiences                in      St.Helena.       As well         Vivien
visited        her friends        and family        in B.C.       In 1983 she took in
the     75th       anniversary        of    the       founding        of     St.Margarets
School       where she had been one of the earliest                         pupils.     There
she met many of her friends                 of many years           ago.
Adele and I visited                 Vivien    in Kaneohe Oahu in 1977. She
was sharing  a house with                a friend,    Kay Ruggles. We found her
in good form, still   very               much occupied    with her good works.

It was in the next year that                   she     started         off      on her
second       missionary          trip      to    teach her faith           using puppets.
This was to the islands                 of the South Pacific,              Australia           and
New Zealand.           She     flew      to Pago-Pago        in American           Samoa then
crossed      the straits         to Western        Samoa where she took part                     in
the     laying       of    the       foundation       of the first         Bahai House of
worship      in the South Pacific.               She traveled         to Tawara,          in the
Gilbert      Islands     to stay with a couple               Sam and Lynde Tranter.
Sam was the brother              of Richard        Tranter    who she had known                  in
St.Helena.         They      had a lovely          home built       after      the style         of
the Gilbertese          Murishas          (meeting       houses),       with       the      sides
open to the lagoon beach.                  She spent       a week with the Tranters
who were          Bahai      pioneers        and put on three           puppet       shows.      In
the Gilberts         she traveled          to different        atolls        and      villages
with      eight      other       Bahais       to    give     concerts        that      included
singing,       dancing,      guitar      playing      and the puppets,             which       the
villagers       called      "dollies".

"They joined     us in the maurishas    to listen   and watch."
Vivien     wrote.    "Then they entertained     us with their    singing,
guitar     playing     and old and new dances."     She added       l ~ I
slept      outside      on the deck of the catamaran.       It was simply
beautiful.        I have never seen so many stars!"

At one     time when the      catamaran    went    off  to                     another
island,    the       rest    of the group traveled     from place                    to place
by motorbike,          by truck   and once by bulldozer.
Bahai friends   in the villages                     brought  them  gifts   of
coconuts,   papaya, bread and fish.                    Some of the fish were bony
and some not good to eat but the                      Gilbertese  knew which were
good and how to cook them.

It was in the Gilberts      that   Vivien gave a radio      talk    on
her     puppets.   Sometime   later      a young Gilbertese     university
trained     school  teacher, who heard the talk,         came to ask       her
how to       make puppets     and     how they worked,as     he wanted to
teach maths with them.
Leaving       the Gilberts      Vivien   went to Australia           where she
did some teaching           in Sidney and        Melbourne,       before       visiting
Norfolk        Island      about      1000   miles      east     of the Australian
mainland.         Norfolk    was originally        settled     as a penal         colony
but     later       the "Mutiny of the Bounty" people                were resettled
there     from Pitcairn        Island.      Vivien    wrote that       she met Peter
Christian,        a direct       descendent      of     Fletcher       Christian        of
Bounty       Fame and         put     on a puppet          show    for     the school
children       of the island        in their    only school.       She also did          a
puppet        show      in  Peter's      home for        his family       and invited
friends.
Next came five days teaching                   puppetry      and giving       a show
at     the Bahai summer school                 in New Zealand         before     continuing
on to Nuku'alofa             Tonga.      She     spent      a month          here.    It    was
quite      frustrating           at    first       as    she     did not receive           much
assistance        from the local           Bahais.       Adele and I paid               her      a
visit      there        in    February         1979    and found her staying               at a
guest     house run by an islander                 named Sela.          We remained            in
Tonga      for      three      weeks       and     spent      our time exploring             the
island     with Vivien         and hearing         all about her experiences                   in
the      South      Pacific.        After     we left     for home Vivien           was able
to find more help in her teaching                      with the puppets             and     did
shows      on Tongatapu            and some of the outer              islands.      She left
Tonga at the beginning                of the second week of March, spent                         a
couple       of     days      on the island          of Nauru and arrived            back in
Honolulu       on the         13th.    She had         found      her      South     Pacific
experiences           stimulating.           She had        taken a great          number of
photographs         and on her return            to Hawaii was able to assemble
these     and lecture          about       her     successes        in     teaching        with
puppets.
Vivien      moved     into an apartment          on Ala Wai Terrace       and
resumed the life         she had      lived      before    her   South     Pacific
trip,    continuing       her work at the Bahai Center            and attending
the weekly feasts.          There were however changes            taking     place
with     the    Center's       administration.          Younger members of the
group      were    becoming      more      active      and  were    taking     over
responsible        positions     and oldsters        like Vivien    were feeling
rather     left   out.

In July Vivien          left     on a visit             to     B.C. arriving           in
Vancouver         on the        11th.     and       leaving     for Victoria         the next
day. Betty Shaneman met her at the ferry                            and they        drove      to
her     flat    at Dunsmuir House on Esquimalt                      Road.      As Betty was
leaving      for Denman Island            the following           day she left          Vivien
in    charge.        Vivien       stayed       on for the following               eight     days
and looked up a number of her old friends.                             Nora Paterson          had
suffered       a stroke     and Vivien went to see her at the                          Jubilee
Hospital.         Nora    didn't         seem       to    know her.       Jose Godman was
also      at    the    Jubilee        and      Vivien        saw her         too.      Michael
Johnstone       drove her out to John and Liz Barclay's                           to collect
two portraits            of     her that had been stored                  in their      attic.
One was of her as a child                 and the other           by Mike        Orr    showed
her     with a low neckline,              smoking a cigarette.               We have never
been able to trace            these      portraits.          On the       20th.     she     took
the     train      to    Courtney         where Betty         met her.       They drove to
Betty's       home on Denman                Island        and     stayed       there        four
days,visited           Hornby          Island          and      then      drove      back      to
Victoria.       Vivien      stayed        on in         Victoria,       visiting          other
friends      and attending          Bahai feasts.           Then back to Vancouver.

Early    in   August    she left    for Akron Ohio for a puppet
seminar.     On her return   learned    that Nora Paterson       had  died
and    together     with Adele and I attended       the funeral.     After
this   she returned     to Honolulu.
In 1980 her old friend  Eileen                    Stanley  died. In May 1981
Vivien   again came to B.c. and left                     for Chicago to   attend   a
large   Bahai  convention.
Vivien      was     in    Vancouver    again in August 1982 staying
with her great        friend     Josephine    Boss.    Patrick,     Margaret     and
the children       were staying         with    us  at    the    time.     We had
arranged      that      Vivien      would    meet the rest      of us at Mother
Tucker's    restaurant        for supper     and this   was the first       time
we realized      that      Vivien     had    become    quite     forgetful       and
confused.       She     stayed      on in Vancouver     until    September     then
traveled    to Montreal         for a Bahai meeting.
In May, the      following     year    she   was   staying      with
Josephine     again    and     we began      to  hear    rumors     that  she
intended    to go to Malta as       a pioneer.      This   was    the    most
disturbing     news    as we felt    she was now rather       too confused
to head to this     far off spot.
Back   in Honolulu   Vivien      was    able       to      return         to   her
apartment      in Ala Wai Terrace,
In  June/July       1985  she    spent   a month in Victoria    and
Vancouver     trying    to decide   if she should    continue   to live   in
Honolulu    or return     to B.C.     Her choice   was Hawaii where     the
climate    suited,    where she had so many friends         and got so
much enjoyment       and comfort   from her religion.
We however       were    becoming    very concerned.    For her age
she was in excellent          shape     but   mentally    her   memory   was
failing     badly.     We did not oppose her return          but I wrote to
her great    friend     Lil Hollinger      to ask her to keep us advised
if Vivien's     condition     worsened.

By the following      winter    Vivien   was finding     that  living
alone      in    a small      apartment       in  Honolulu      was becoming
difficult     for her.    Her rent had increased          dramatically      and
she became worried       that    she had sufficient       funds.
In February      she gave up the apartment         and returned               to
B.C.     On her arrival     we noted      how badly     her    memory                had
deteriorated.       She had     a friend     in Nanaimo and thought                  she
might live there      but after   a visit     decided  no.

We took her to Victoria        and found an apartment     that she
liked   in Beckley     Manor on the      Dallas   Road.   Here   she  was
beside    the     sea, not   far    from Beacon Hill     Park and within
walking   distance     of a shopping    mall.   She moved in.

In Victoria    Vivien   had a host of old friends    and there
was    an  active     Bahai    Community.  We believed   she would be
happy there.       She remained   in Beckley Manor for the next two
years.
During this  period     she made one     short        visit       to   Honolulu
to   see her old friends      there.
Her problem    became her continuing       loss of  memory. She
became lonely.     She often   forgot  invitations    and so saw less
and   less   of   her old friends.    Her Bahai involvement     became
less also.
we consulted the Social         Services       people    who advised    she
should move to a home where          she would       be with      more    people
and have her meals and other          services       provided.

Roger found a vacancy    at Glenshild    Lodge, a residential
hotel   on Douglas Street  near the Parliment       Billdings and not
far from the City center.     She moved there     in May 1988 and it
remained   her home for the following      two years.
She got     on quite    well at first       but as time      went on she
began to need       more    care    and  this       the  hotel       could  not
provide.

Roger      again     took      on the job of finding          a home where
more     services       were     given.      Through    Social      Services      he
obtained        a vacancy      in the James Bay Lodge on Simcoe Street
and Vivien moved in on April                1990. She is      there     today.   Her
physical      condition     i~ still      very good but her memory has now
quite     gone. She recognizes            Roger, Adele or me when we go to
see her       but    does     not     connect     our   relaionships         to  one
another.      However     she      is    happy    there    and her disposition
remains     friendly     and caring.       The staff    like her and         she  is
very considerate         and kind to the other          patients     who know her
as the "nice lady".
Vivien  is still        cloths    conscious.   One day Adele bought
her   two nightdresses,           warm ones with ruffles   at the sleeves
and neck.    Vivien took one look at them and remarked;              "These
are the kind that       little      old    ladies  wear!"    However     she
remembers    nothing        atall    about her exciting   and adventurous
life  and to us this        is so tragic.
Here lives     a woman who was so talented.             Someone with a
host of friends       all over the world,           someone    full   of    life
and      always    willing      to     accept    challenges.      She   is    now
spending     her final     days in      a place      where   there    is    only
monotony      and sameness.       However we must be thankful         that,     in
spite    of other   problems,       she retains    her sense of humor         and
can    still    whistle     beautifully       the favourite    tunes of     days
gone by.

God bless     you"     VING TWINKLE"
ADDENDUM

About five      years      ago Vivien        broke her hip and consequently
spent   about a month in the Jubilee                     Hospital.      She was next
moved to the Mount St Mary's                   Hospital       on Burdkt       Street.
Here she was much less                mobile    and spent        her time in a wheel
chair.    Gradually        her condition           deteriorated        and her mind was
more confused.About             2 years      later      she did not recognized             us
However one day, at lunch time she was sitting                              at a table       in
the dining      room. Adele came and stood                    in the doorway looking
for her.     Vivien       suddenly      looked      up and on seeing          her said.
"There    is Adele''·        We were amazed and Adele went over and
gave her a big hug and sat beside                       her.    On the other        side was
a nurse     feeding       a patient.         She pointed         across     Vivien      at
Adele and said;"Miss              Vivien     who is that?"             Vivien     replied;
"Dont point        it's     rude!"     That was the last            sensible      remark we
heard her make! Since then she only garbled                            nonsense.        It
was tragic      to see her in such a state                    but we were thankful
that   the staff        took such good care of her and always kept
her immaculately            groomed.      No one could have been kinder.                   She
had been in hospital               for five years          when we were informed            by
her doctor       that     the end was near.             We could      only feel       it
would be a merciful             release      for her.

Vivien     died    at   3 a.m.     January      16    1996

Mr Guy Barclay
3216 West 27th Avenue
Vancouver BC V6L 1W8
DATE:              May12, 1981.

To: Local Spiritual Assembly of the
---------------
Bahn'is of Honolulu, Hawaii
It is cy specific                        and carefully        considered      request        that in the

event of my death I be buried                             in the Baha'i Garden of Light in the

Hava11an Memorial Park, Koneohe, Hawaii or nearest burial place within one hour's travel
time from place of death                                                       I furthur        request      that

all Beha1 i laws and directives                            on death and burial               be dutifully

observed.

o~ all arrs.ne;ecents with respect                            to services,           funeral,     and burial         and
.••     that the Local Spiritual                           Assembly ca.rry out this request                   with lovinc
''
care in accordance with Baha'i Scriptures                                     and customs and that all

. well oca.ning and interested                           :f'riends and relatives              refrain    from inter-

. ference    n.nd deviation                    from r:ry ovn wishes which arc:

Flowers or Contributions                            fl1wers frem n1n-lihi 1 is; c1ntriauti1ns                        frem laha'is.
--------.--------------'
Music, if desired                       Yes, •sweet Scented Streams•
. • '··~·.••
.....
'~   •
'
'•   ..
______
,

Type casket      desired                -----------
cheapest                      ,Precessien,         if desired     No  ,
"
Open or closed        coffin                  display       cl1sed           , Single or joint            burial      with
no
----------------
graveside           ,
, Service     (chapel,        r,raveside     or

------------
oeoorial)                                                             Nnoes and addresses
Mrs. GuyBarclay, 3216 27th Ave., Vancouver,B.C., or Yorkshire Trust Co.,
be notified:                                                         W.
of persons to

Victoria, B.C., or Mrs. E. Hollinger, NSASecretary, Hawaii, Tel. 595-3~14
Other instructions:                       Musical selection •Fascinatio!                                                    .'

I Leave all unspecified                           details      and all unforseen            events to your

d,iscretion,    knowina and requcstine                             tho.t the u,cal Spiritual               Assenbly

will   execute them in oy best                           interests       and in o.ccordance with your

_•_d_~----
duties.

Signed __        ft_~_•
,:.._u_      /,L.oL'4     .-.J(i c~. _

I - Be) 8 -- 3 7 3 - 2 +<o7
-- The Story of Vivien Combe (Used by permission of the curator)