1990 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother – Elsie Pearce

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National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother Elsie Pearce.
(Photo: courtesy of Gaye Trumley)

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(Photo: courtesy of Gaye Trumley)

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.

List of National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mothers

(Information courtesy of the Royal Canadian Legion, Canadian War Museum and families of the National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mothers)