Barbara Dickson is a sought-after professionally-trained public speaker, local historian, and author in both fiction and non-fiction. She has been entertaining and educating audiences for over twenty years. She lives in Scarborough, Ontario. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1992, Barbara re-discovered her love of writing and history when she retired from her career as an IT software analyst. Barb has spent many years researching local and Canadian history focusing her efforts on: • Canadian history in the nineteenth century; • Ireland’s Great Hunger; • The invaluable contribution made by Canadian men and women engaged in war work during the Second World War. Now an award-winning, best-selling, multi-published author and public speaker, Barb has been invited to appear before myriad organizations including remembrance celebrations, church groups, military gatherings, women’s organizations, business and local service clubs, and historical societies.
Barbara speaks on a variety of topics including:
Bomb Girls -- Canadian women who risked their lives to fill munitions for the Allied Forces during the Second World War;
Where the Irish Died -- Barbara shares the poignant story of Irish immigration to Canada and their invaluable contribution to building this great nation through examining Canadian Irish Memorials;
Heart Transplantation in Canada -- Barbara speaks from her heart about her daughter's in undergoing a heart transplant at nineteen years of age;
MS Doesn't Have to Be A Mess -- Diagnosed with MS thirty years ago, Barbara speaks to audiences about how to find purpose and fulfilment in every stage and circumstance of life;
An Immigrant's Journey to Canada -- Barbara shares the true-life harrowing account of a nineteenth-century immigrant as he loses everything to find life in Upper Canada;
Barbara presents a 45-minute lecture about living and working on the home front during the Second World War, focusing particularly on tens of thousands of women who risked their lives handling high explosives to fill munitions to help Allied Forces secure victory. Young women, as young as eighteen filled rounds of ammunition, some components the size of a pinky fingernail. High school students, especially those studying Grade 10 History and young women eager to learn about their forbears will enjoy this intimate glimpse into life lived so long ago.
