Under Two Flags
A Memoir
by
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My mother didn’t allow her children to chew gum. Before WWII there were little vending machines around town. Instead of a slot to put the coin in, there was a pullout drawer that had a place to put in the coin. You pushed in the drawer, the coin went into the bowels of the machine and the candy came out of the chute. I was indulging in the forbidden; I put my penny in the drawer, pushed it in, and at that precise moment the siren went off. I almost jumped out of my skin! I thought I had caused it. I thought it was divine judgment for disobeying my mother. I enjoyed the gum anyway, probably the last I got before the vending machines disappeared. They also issued gas masks to everyone. We were told to go to a church hall where we were fitted with a gas mask. I remember feeling as though I was suffocating. They had ones that sort of looked like Mickey Mouse for the young children, and a contraption that a whole baby would fit in. When the fitting was finished the gas mask was put in a cardboard box with a long string so we could put it over our head to rest on the right shoulder. We were required to have it with us at all times. We didn’t think the cardboard box would hold up too well, so we made a gas mask box cover out of fabric to protect it. On Sunday mornings my brothers listened to Radio Luxembourg, a station that played the latest popular tunes, and had commercials, a real novelty to BBC listeners. There was a commercial for Ovaltine – a chocolate-malt beverage powder you added to milk. They had an Ovaltinies Club and gave out coded clues during the Sunday morning shows. I desperately wanted to be an Ovaltinie, but knew my mother would not be able to afford it. Somehow or other we had been given an empty Ovaltine tin. The top was deeply embossed with the word Ovaltine. Nora had used it to mix some stove blacking, so I scrubbed and scrubbed until it was shining like new. One was supposed to send a paper seal from the Ovaltine tin to join the Ovaltinies. So I sent the scrubbed up lid and wrote a note saying I did not have the paper seal, but would this do? A thousand blessings on the person who opened my letter and decided it would do very nicely. I was very proud of my Ovaltinie badge and wore it to school each day and I listened to Radio Luxembourg for the secret messages to decode.
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About the Book
Under Two Flags describes the highlights of Ellen Miller Coile’s eight decades. This traces her story from her birth in 1930 in England as the youngest in a family of six children. She was evacuated during the entire length of World War II to Ipswich, Wales and Marlow. As a teenager she pursued work opportunities available to a working class girl from London suburbs, including secretary at Peat Marwick and Mitchell, until marrying Russell Cleven Coile, an American, in 1951. Embarking on a sixty year love affair with Russell, she followed him around the world to France, Japan, Italy, and Brazil, then settled in northern California thirty years ago. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco. Under Two Flags chronicles not just her achievements in volunteer service to numerous organizations but how she expressed her values of social justice and combating discrimination. Her key priorities include family and friendships, extending beyond her three successful children.
About the Author
Ellen Miller Coile was born in Sunderland, England, on February 13th, 1930 and was raised in the suburbs of London. During World War II she was evacuated first to Wales and then to Buckinghamshire with her entire class at Beal Grammar School for Girls. After her schooling she apprenticed to a florist and then worked at the accounting firm of Peat, Marwick, and Mitchell, predecessor to KPMG, as an assistant to Mr. Peat. Ellen married Russell Cleven Coile in 1951, and moved to the United States. Following his career around the globe, she moved 23 times in 28 years. However, she always found or created volunteer opportunities wherever she lived, in schools, Quaker Relief organizations, the Democratic Party, and community groups. She excelled at all kinds of craft projects, including needlepoint, knitting, cross-stitch embroidery, crocheting, braiding large rugs, and sewing curtains, upholstery, and clothing. Ellen raised tens of thousands of dollars for everything from AIDS Service organizations to the Arts, by selling handmade items at different public events including her popular “Colonel Coile’s Chutney” and homemade organic catnip toys. She was Toastmaster of the Year for 1993. Ellen received a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco in 1986. She was a lifelong gardener, and studied Japanese Ikebana flower arranging in Tokyo, earning three degrees. Ellen was a world traveler, having lived in England, Italy, Japan, and Brazil, and traveled to most of Europe and to China, but her biggest hobby was collecting people. Her friends ranged from four-star Marine Generals to Navy Seaman Apprentices; from PhDs to high-school dropouts. She was quick to strike up a conversation with strangers and her overwhelming generosity quickly built strong friendships with a very diverse group of people who were fortunate to call her their friend. She was a tireless correspondent with her friends around the world. Ellen enjoyed international folk dancing and was a member of a troop that performed in the Festival of Britain. She danced with her husband Russell in Scottish Country Dance groups in Washington, D.C. and Monterey, California and studied dance at St. Andrew’s University in Scotland. She was also noted for her entertaining, from her British “Tea in the Garden” parties every June, with over 120 guests, to her dinner parties such as Burns Night, celebrating her Scottish heritage. In 2006 she published a cookbook, Just a Few Friends: Entertaining Twelve or More People and Making It Look Easy. Her lengthy memoir, Under Two Flags: A Memoir, was in final edit when she died. Ellen was predeceased by her husband of 60 years, Russell Cleven Coile. She is survived by daughter Jennifer Coile and son-in-law John Robrock of Hollister, California; son Jonathan Coile of Annapolis, Maryland; son Andrew Coile of San Jose, California; step-son Chris Coile and daughter-in-law Susan Coile of Sanibel, Florida; daughter-in-law Lori Coile and friend Gary Pearson of Alameda, California; granddaughter Courtney Coile and her husband Henry Roman of Sudbury, Massachusetts; grandson Zachary Coile and his wife Diane Sullivan of Washington, DC; granddaughter Sienna Jane Coile Robrock of San Francisco, California; and four great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her niece Dianne Greening of Wrabness, England and her son Jamie and daughter Kaleigh; nephew Nessly Cleven Craig and his wife Susan Weeks Craig of Elk Ridge, Maryland, and their son Dr. David Craig of Palo Alto. She was predeceased by her parents Wilhelmina and Henry Miller, and her five siblings, as well as two step-sons, Russell Cleven Coile, Jr. and Benjamin Paul Coile. Ellen died after a brief illness on Sunday, November 10th, 2013 at age 83. There was a Quaker Memorial Service in Pacific Grove, CA on Saturday, November 23rd at 2pm. She was interred at Arlington National Cemetery with her husband Russell on February 24th, 2014.