Mrs. Rose Alice Louise Bernst from Thunder Bay, Ontario, was selected 1985 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1985, 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 29, 1941, her son, Private Clarence Robert Bernst, died from injuries sustained while serving with the Lake Superior Regiment (Motor).

On November 24, 1944, a second son, Able Seaman Ronald William Bernst, was killed at sea while on duty with the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve.

Mrs. Bernst was born in London England on April 17, 1898. She immigrated to Canada as a child where she eventually met and married Edward Emil Bernst in Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay). She and Edward moved to Nokomis, Saskatchewan in 1916 and had eight children together: seven boys and one girl. They eventually returned to Fort William in 1935 when the drought and the depression forced them to abandon their farm.

Mrs. Bernst has the distinction of having every male member of her immediate family serve in the Canadian forces. Her husband Edward served with the Forestry Corps in Scotland from 1942-45. Her son Clarence served with the Lake Superior Motor regiment. Charles served with the Lake Superior Motor regiment; Albert served with the British Columbia Dragoons; Harry with the Princess Patricia Light Infantry; Allan with the Thunder Bay Service Corps in Korea from 1954-57; and Earl served with the Royal Canadian Navy sailing on a Corvette in the North Atlantic from 1942-45.

Mrs. Mabel Bateman of Richmond Hill, Ontario, was the 1986 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1986, 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 25, 1944, her son, Private Russell Ernest Bateman, was killed while on duty with the Toronto Scottish Regiment.

Mrs. Secondina Di Persio from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, was the 1987 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1987, at the age of 90, 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 16, 1942, her son, Flight Sergeant Querino Di Persio, was killed while on duty with the Royal Canadian Air force in Egypt.

Mrs. Di Persio, born in Pratola Peligna, Italy, arrived in Canada in 1916 and became one of the first businesswomen in Sydney Mines when she opened a grocery store offering not only food for sale, but also acted as banker, translator, and letter writer for those Italian immigrants in need of help. Her store lasted for 50 years.

Three of her sons, Pat, Hank and Merino all served in Second World War.

Mrs. Di Persio died February 8, 1989 at the age of 91.

Mrs. Hazel Auralee Driscoll of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was the 1988 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1988, 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 11, 1942, her son, Able Seaman Kenneth Driscoll, was killed while on duty with the Canadian Merchant Navy.

Hazel Auralee Driscoll, née McKenzie, was born in Halifax on April 14, 1901. She married Damos George Driscoll from East Uniacke, Nova Scotia. Together, they raised four children–Russell, Kenneth, Kathleen and John and lived for a while in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Her son John also served in the Canadian Army during the Second World War and was highly decorated.

Mrs. Driscoll died on July 30, 1996 in Halifax.

Mrs. Rachel Morin of Rimouski, Quebec, was the 1989 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1989, at age 92, 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 6, 1952, her son, Private Camille Joseph Morin, was killed while serving with Royal 22^e Regiment during the Korean War.

Mrs. Elsie May Stewart Pearce from Trenton, Ontario, was the 1990 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1990, 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 12, 1942, a son, Flying Officer Stewart William Pearce, was killed while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force when his spitfire went down while he was piloting it over the English Channel.

On July 27, 1944, a second son, Flight Sergeant Jack Gordon Pearce, was killed in a Lancaster over France while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Mrs. Pearce was born in Toronto on April 20, 1898 and raised in the Rosedale area. She met William James Pearce of Scilly Isles off Wales, England and they married on October 17, 1916. Mrs. and Mr. Pearce had three children--Stewart, Jack and Ruth.

To help pay the mortgage, the Pearces rented rooms in their home to female pensioners. Mrs. Pearce would make and leave sandwiches for the homeless on her back step and donate worn shoes to the poor. She was a wonderful cook known for her pies and tarts and healthy meals of meat, potatoes and vegetables. When Bill worked night shifts for the Toronto Transit Corporation, she would send him to work with meatloaf sandwiches. Mrs. Pearce wasted nothing and enjoyed drinking cups of Red Rose tea from a pretty teapot. She admired the Royal family; especially the Queen Mother.

Elsie passed away at 95 years of age on Oct 22, 1993. She is buried in Toronto beside her beloved husband William James Pearce.

Mrs. Alice Taylor from Ottawa, Ontario, was the 1991 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1991, 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 17, 1944, her only son, Trooper Richard Taylor, was killed while serving with the Fort Garry Horse marching from Normandy to Falaise.

Mrs. Taylor, née Grimes, worked in the War Records office during the Second World War and was a dedicated community volunteer. She took up bowling when she was 86 years and was said to never have missed the merry-go-round at the Ottawa Exhibition. She died on October 12, 1999, just two weeks before her 102^nd birthday. She had endured the loss of her son for 55 years and the death of her husband, a First World War Veteran, for 22 years.

Mrs. Ida Orser of Hartland, New Brunswick, was the 1992 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1992, 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 28, 1945, her son, Sergeant Ivan Malcolm Orser, was killed in action in Calcar, Germany while serving with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.

Ida Elizabeth Orser, née Loupin married George Bliss Orser. They had five children, Ivan Malcolm, Gerald George, Eldon Reginald, Geraldine Kathryn and Elizabeth Anna Marie.

Mrs. Orser joined the Ladies Auxiliary in January 1936, one year after the Auxiliary Charter. She was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, Life Membership and Certificate of Merit in recognition of her faithful Service.

Mrs. Isabella Hutchings from St. John’s, Newfoundland, was the 1993 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1993, 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 Oct 10, 1945, her son, Able Seaman Samuel Grenfell Hutchings, was killed while on duty when he was swept off the deck of the HMS Sainfoin while returning home following the war.

Mrs. Isabella Hutchings, née Flynn, was born in Forteau, Newfoundland in 1895. She moved to Birchy Head, Bonne Bay Newfoundland upon her marriage to Samuel Hutchings, a resident of there. They were parents to seven children Samuel, Jean, Leslie, Hattie, Mae, Shirley and Netha.

Early in their married life, Mrs. Hutchings and her husband worked in logging camps near Deer Lake. They eventually moved to Cornerbrook where they raised their children while working at the mill. Mr. Hutchings served as cook, while Mrs. Hutchings was responsible for the baking--making up to 75 pies a day often on a wood stove. She continued to bake and share up to ten pies at a time well into her 90s. Mrs. Hutchings, who was widowed in 1967, lived until 1996.

Mrs. Wilhelmina Marine (Minnie) Baerr of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, was the 1994 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1994, at age 101, 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 2, 1943, her son, Trooper August Baerr, was killed while on duty with the Calgary Regiment.

Mrs. Baerr was born in 1892 in Westphalen, Germany and immigrated to Canada in 1906 at age 14. She later married John Baerr, an immigrant from Warsaw, Poland and homesteaded just south of Gorlitz, Saskatchewan. Their son, August, worked as a mechanic at the Lakehead and in Winnipeg prior to enlisting in 1942.

The Baerrs retired to Yorkton, Saskatchewan just before the beginning of the Second World War. Mrs. Baerr died in 1996.