Writing during the First World War, for example, a woman named Ruth Wolfe Fuller, whose husband was drafted into the United States army two months after their marriage, subtitled her brief reminiscences, "The Experiences of a War Bride." Even earlier, in September of 1914, a short play entitled "War Brides" was written by Marion Craig Wentworth and was staged for the first time in January of 1915 (Wentworth 6).
By accepting the definitions of a war bride as provided by Ruth Fuller and the OED, it can be judged that these war brides generally belonged to one of two categories: the newlywed wife left in the homeland by the soldier, as Ruth Fuller defines herself (Fuller 6), or a bride of foreign origin married after a necessarily hasty engagement to a serviceman of the occupying, usually friendly, country (Shukert & Scibetta 2).
Eowyn's first figuring as a war bride is as the beloved wife left alone in the soldier's land of origin.
A war bride from Sussex describes her surprising experience with a fast-moving Canadian: "I met my [future] husband at a local hotel where I'd been invited to a party.
Eowyn continues to figure as a war bride as she is betrothed and toasted in a gathering of soldiers.