Silver Cross Mother.
Born at Chatham, England on 27 September 1861, she came to Canada in 1911 where she was the mother/stepmother of eleven sons. During the First World War, seven of her sons enlisted in the Canadian or British armies and two were killed in action. In 1936, she became the first recipient of the National Memorial (Silver) Cross and, as Canada’s Silver Cross Mother, she was invited to the dedication of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. On being presented to King Edward, she said, “I have just been looking at the trenches and I just can’t figure out why our boys had to go through that.” The King replied, “Please God, Mrs. Wood. It shall never happen again.” She died at Winnipeg on 11 October 1939, just as the Second World War was beginning, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Brookside Cemetery. In 1999, a headstone was donated to mark her final resting place.
“Mrs. Charlotte S. Wood,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 September 1935, page 12.
“Mrs. Wood is dead,” Winnipeg Free Press, 12 October 1939, page 2.
“1936 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother – Charlotte Susan Wood,” Veterans Affairs Canada.
This page was prepared by Ian Stewart and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 29 August 2017
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