Mrs. Jessie Isobel Olga McCleery from Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1944 - 1946 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1944 - 1946, 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. She was the first Second World War bereaved mother to be selected.

On December 17, 1942, her son, Flying Officer Raymond Norman McCleery, was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Martha Labarge from Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1947 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1947, 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 September 30, 1942, her son, Flight Sergeant Leo John Labarge , was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On March 12, 1943, a second son, Pilot Officer Bernard Henry Labarge, was killed on a bombing mission over Germany while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Labarge had two sons overseas serving in the RCAF. In a sad twist of fate, she received news of both sons death in the same week in March 1943.

A native of Montréal, Québec, Martha Theresa Labarge (née O’Rourke) married Charles Henry Labarge, a native of Hungerford Township near Tweed, Ontario, on September 2, 1912. Following their move to Ottawa, they had five boys and one girl, four of whom served during the Second World War in one capacity or another.

Mrs. Labarge was heavily involved in community affairs during her days in Ottawa. She was well known for her prowess in fundraising and adopted a number of charities. She was President of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ottawa General Hospital, President of the Catholic Church Extension Society, a director of the Ottawa Neighborhood Services, and director of St. Mary’s Home for the Aged. She was an active member of the Canadian Red Cross and the Ottawa Community Chest (the forerunner of the United Way) as well as the Ladies’ Auxiliary of St. Vincent Hospital and of Immaculata High School.

Mrs. Catherine Helen MacDonald of Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1948 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1948, 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 30, 1941, her son, Sergeant Neil Richardson MacDonald, was lost at sea while serving with the Corps of Military Staff Clerks.

On October 20, 1941, a second son, Sergeant Ian Alistair MacDonald, was killed in action while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Marie Aline D’Aoust of Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1949 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1949, 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 August 14, 1944, her son, Lieutenant Gerard Raoul D’Aoust, was killed during the fighting between Caen and Falaise while serving with the Le Régiment de Maisonneuve.

Mrs. Susan Beasley of Ottawa, Ontario, was the first National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother to be chosen by The Royal Canadian Legion in 1950. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1950, 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 12, 1944, her son, Aircraftman 1^st Class William Harold Beasley, was killed while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

On December 24, 1944, her second son, Flying Officer Joseph Ronald Beasley, was killed also while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Her husband, John Beasley, was a soldier during the First World War and heroically survived despite the loss of one of his legs.

Mrs. Alice Rochon of Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1951 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1951, 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 25, 1945, her son, Major Robert Lionel Rochon, was killed while serving with Le Regiment de la Chaudière, RCIC.

Mrs. Rochon was the mother of nine children, four served in the Second World War. The youngest was a sergeant with the Royal 22^nd Regiment in the Korean War.

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.