Mrs. Hannah McCann of Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1952 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1952, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all Canadian women who have lost a loved one in military service to Canada.

On March 24, 1944, her son, Pilot Officer Leonard Myles McCann, was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Mary Casey of Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1953 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1953, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On July 14, 1942, her son, Warrant Officer Class II Raymond Francis Casey, was killed while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On March 31, 1945, a second son, Flying Officer John Joseph Casey, was killed while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Margaret Heeney of Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1954 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1954, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On December 29, 1941, her son, Corporal Cecil George Heeney, was killed in the line of duty while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On August 9, 1943, her second son, Flying Officer Robert Tilton Heeney, was killed in the line of duty while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Regina Leboldus of Vibank, Saskatchewan, was selected 1955 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1955, and accompanied by her daughter, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On February 13, 1943, her son, Flying Officer Peter John Leboldus, was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On November 24, 1943, a second son, Flight Sergeant John Anthony Leboldus, was killed on duty while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On February 20, 1944, a third son, Sergeant Martin Benedict Leboldus, was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The memory of Mrs. Leboldus’ sons was honoured in northwestern Saskatchewan with the naming of Leboldus Channel, adjoining lake, and islands in the lake for John, Peter and Martin, respectively.

Mrs. Gertrude Edna Reynolds of Chatham, Ontario, was the 1956 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1956 she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On January 16, 1943, her son, Flying Officer Hugh Gordon Reynolds, was killed in a flying accident while on duty serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On January 31, 1943, a second son, Warrant Officer Class II Arthur Mac Reynolds, was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On April 15, 1944, a third son, Pilot Officer Douglas Glen Reynolds, was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Zylpha MacFarlane (formerly Griffiths) of Truro, Nova Scotia, was the 1957 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1957, accompanied by her daughter, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On April 9, 1917, her first husband, Private John Henry Griffiths, was killed at Vimy Ridge during the First World War.

On May 26, 1943, her son, Flight Sergeant David William MacFarlane, was killed while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On July 8, 1944, a second son, Sergeant Robert James Griffiths, was killed while serving with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders.

The widow of John Henry Griffiths, Mrs. MacFarlane remarried and was a mother of 17 children—five of whom were step children. In addition to sons, David, Joseph and Robert, two of her other children, son, Herbert MacFarlane and daughter, Mrs. Douglas Alice Boutillier also served during the Second World War.

Mrs. MacFarlane attended the First Baptist Church in Truro, Nova Scotia and was an active community member and volunteer. She was superintendent of Sunday School, Truro Heights for eight years, past mistress of Loyal True Blue Lodge, Truro and worked with the youth movement of the International order of Good Templars. Mrs. MacFarlane was also a member of the Women’s Missionary Society, Ladies Auxiliary of the Royal Canadian Legion and Nova Scotia Temperance Federation.

She enjoyed crocheting and felt she had been blessed with many fine children, including 30 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

Mrs. Helen Forestell of Coniston, Ontario, was the 1958 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1958, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On April 5, 1943, her son, Warrant Officer Class II Daniel Arthur Forestell, was killed while on duty serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On March 20, 1944, a second son, Warrant Officer Class II Thomas Bernard Forestell, was killed during a navigation exercise in Canada while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On August 8, 1944, a third son, Flying Officer Robert Samuel Forestell, was killed in action also while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Anderson of Craigmyle, Alberta, was the 1959 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1959, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On October 17, 1942, her son, Flight Sergeant James (Jimmie) Sangster Anderson, was fatally injured in a crash landing over Germany while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On January 20, 1943, a second son, Flying Officer William (Billy) Boyd Anderson, was on a secret mission, as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force "Demon Squadron", when his plane sent out a SOS 40 miles off the coast of England. The plane was never found.

On March 31, 1944, her third son, Flight Sergeant Lloyd George Anderson, was killed during an air raid over Nuremberg, Germany while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Anderson was born in Denmark and immigrated to Canada in 1913, living with her aunt and cousin on a farm near Craigmyle. She married William Boyd Anderson, originally from Aberdeen, Scotland, and together they raised three sons—James, William and Lloyd. Twin sons, Billy and Jimmie enlisted for service on their twentieth birthday while attending the Calgary Stampede. Lloyd enlisted in 1942 at age 25.

Mrs. Anderson loved to knit and was a curling enthusiast, attending as many curling bonspiels as possible. She and her husband were avid scrabble players.

Her sons’ memory was honoured with the naming of Anderson Creek in Alberta for James, Boyd Creek for William Boyd and Lloyd Creek, Alberta for Lloyd. The Anderson of Craigmyle School was also named and opened locally in memory of the three boys but has since been demolished.

Mrs. Julienne Cantin of McCreary, Manitoba, was the 1960 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1960, at age 80, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada. Mrs. Cantin, who had also received the Legion of Honour from the Government of France, stood with the Governor General of Canada and received her three Silver Crosses, leading the nation in silent tribute. She remarked, “I’m not doing this for myself, but for the children who deserve it. We never asked them to go.”

On November 4, 1940, her son, Private Wilfred Cantin, was killed during a training exercise while training with the Fort Garry Horse.

On October 9, 1942, another son, Flying Officer Clement Francis Cantin, was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On November 26, 1943, a third son, Flying Officer Maurice Raoul Cantin, was killed while also serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Noel and Clement Nivon landed in France on D-Day, and Noel was wounded twice while serving with the Fort Garry Horse.

Julienne and Amedee Cantin (originally from Brittany, France) married in 1910 and began farming near McCreary, Manitoba. Together they raised ten children—nine sons and one daughter. During the Second World War, all ten children, as well as a daughter-in-law, enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces. Sons Lionel, Clement, Maurice, Joseph and Albert joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Wilfred, Amidee, Clement (Nivon) and Noel enlisted with the Fort Garry Horse of the Canadian Armored Corps. Daughter, Marie, served overseas as a nurse with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. When Wilfred died in 1940, daughter-in-law, Evelyne joined the Canadian Women’s Army Corps and served overseas.

The Cantin’s extraordinary contribution to the Second World War possibly represents the largest single contribution by any Canadian family. Neither Mrs. nor Mr. Cantin encouraged nor discouraged their children from enlisting; they were patriotic and believed in the cause.

Mrs. Sylvia Kimmel of Mission, British Columbia, was the 1961 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1961, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On June 8, 1944, her son, Rifleman Gordon Leroy Kimmel, was killed while serving with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles.

Just ten days later, June 18, 1944, a second son, Corporal Richard Kenneth Kimmel, was killed while on duty, serving with the Regina Rifle Regiment on June 18, 1944.

On December 5, 1944, a third son, Corporal Clifford Howard Kimmel, was killed in the line of duty while serving with the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment.

She lost three of her sons to the line of duty during Second World War. Five of her eleven children were in the Armed Forces. Her three deceased sons joined up within a month of each other in 1940 and all were killed within a six month period in 1944.

The weather was very cold when Mrs. Kimmel arrived in Ottawa in November 1961 in preparation of her duties as National Memorial (Silver) Cross mother. When she and her husband went to the department store, Eaton’s, to purchase a warmer coat, the store manager, upon discovering that she was the Silver Cross Mother and did not have a proper coat for the weather, allowed Mrs. Kimmel to choose one to her liking--a warm, black mink coat, on behalf of the store.