David Carson was a contemporary of mine at school and remains a friend. This week's local newspaper carries an interview with David on the subject of Hungarian refugees.
David's father (Rev John T. Carson) was an Ordained Minister and, at the time of the Hungarian Uprising in 1956, Joint Secretary of the Bangor Council of Churches. In that capacity Rev Carson was active when 887 Hungarian refugees arrived in the town in January 1957.
The bodies primarily responsible with the care of the refugees were the Red Cross and the Army. The women and girls were billeted in the old Crofton Hotel on the seafront, while the the men were sent to Nissen huts at Ballymacormick on the town's eastern outskirts, formerly a wartime anti-aircraft establishment. The Army was in charge of both and regulations were strict.
David was 8 years old when the Hungarians arrived and recalls -
I remember the first time they came in. They had nothing. I saw a woman come in with low-cut Wellington boots. She'd obviously no stockings on and I couldn't see any socks. She had some sort of a dress on and a big rough coat that was tied around her with a piece of cord. That's all she had.
These people got out of Hungary with nothing. They'd be walking down the street, having walked out of their front door and said 'goodbye' to their loved ones. Some of them never came back.
There wasn't a lot of freedom.
A. (the authorities) didn't want to lose these people.
B. they didn't want them to be exploited in any way
C. there was no real problem because these people were just exhaused and afraid. There was a total language barrier."
Dorothy Johnston (71) worked as Sister-in-Charge of the camps. She recalls that most of the refugees suffered from pschological trauma.
"There were women had lost a husband or a child. Some had been killed while fighting street to street, others had been run over by tanks. Boys of 12 and 13 fought by throwing Molotov cocktails into tank turrets."
"What I remember most are the sounds at night, of screaming from terrifying nightmares and the sobbing of women and older children who could remember horrifying scenes. My main task at night was the dispensing of phenobarbitone. The doctor gave me a lot of latitude. Sometimes a hot drink and just sitting wih them was enough...."
Dorothy recalls that the Hungarians were
"the most gentle and musical people, with a great sense of humour", but the workload was heavy and sometimes stressful. She was required to work 7 days a week and was always on call at night. Duties ranged from standard nursing to rounding up women who were hiding in their rooms to avoid the compulsory English lessons.
There were clinics twice daily to deal with minor illnesses and medication previously prescribed. Obtaining medical histories was hard, with some people hiding illnesses in case the Canadian authorities should refuse immigration (it seems that the refugees were already earmarked for Canada). Everyone had to be vaccinated against smallpox, typhoid and cholera.
Walter Dowdall (80), Joint Secretary of the Council of Churches with Rev Carson, recalls that life was quieter at the Ballymacormick camp.
"They were shocked. They didn't talk. They tried to blot out their experiences."
The town's Mayor, Fred Tughan, set up a fund for the refugees which drew large donations. Premises on the town's Main Street were acquired to store food, clothes and all sorts of comforts.
The churches were a great support for many refugees, who developed a reputation for their quiet but devoted style of worship. Rev Carson arranged a visit from the Pastor of London's Hungarian Reformed Church. Rev Carson obtained Hungarian Bibles to distribute to the refugees. David Carson was impressed by the reaction of one Hungarian lady;
"She took a look at it, she opened it, then closed it and held it to her chest. A big smile came over her face."
Perhaps the culmination of the effort was the double wedding arranged in the town for the sisters, Katalin and Ilona Bereczky. Everything for the double wedding - from the flowers to the dresses anmd bridegrooms' suits had been donated by the people of Bangor. Hundreds of Hungarians attended.
Indeed, the wedding proved to be a more challenging affair than might be thought. Rev Carson erred with the documentation - the Hungarians had no permanent residence, in the town or anywhere else. The wedding party set out early in the morning for a civil ceremony in Monaghan across the border in the Irish Republic, where legal requirements were less strict. Immediately after the ceremony, the party needed to return immediately to Bangor for the religious ceremony in the afternoon.
The stay of the Hungarians was nonetheless brief. In May 1957 they began to move out to Canada. Soon none were left. Yet their parting messages were full of thanks and praise. The Crofton Hall women wrote:
"We are happy to remember the nice receptions when we arrived in Northern Ireland. We will never forget the love and friendship we got from you."
The Ballymacormick men wrote:
"We will never forget the time we spent among you and we feel we are going to leave our second home behind when we leave Northern Ireland."
David Carson complains that while Vancouver is commemorating the 50th anniversary of these events, Bangor is holding nothing. The answer seems clear to me. Our town gave the refugees only a temporary shelter; Canada gave them a new home.
Last year I wrote of the Hungarian Uprising itself and its 50th anniversary - see for example
here.
