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mikegunnill · 1 year

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The Chatham, Kent mother and her story of war time sacrifice.

Which wasn’t true!

Laying a wreath on the 7th of November 1928, at the new Winnipeg Cenotaph in Memorial Boulevard, Charlotte Susan Wood 1861-1939 from Chatham, Kent first made public, a claim that she had lost 5 sons / stepsons, during The Great War.

The card on the wreath read; “In loving memory of my Dear Sons Killed in the Great War 1914-1918; Joseph, Louis, Fred, Harry and Percy, from their mother, Mrs C.S.Wood.”

In 1931 Charlotte Wood returned to Europe, visiting the war graves of the Western Front as part of a British Legion memorial visit to France and Belgium. She claimed to have made a visit to Chatham at this time and was later scheduled for audience with Queen Mary, but this was forced be to postponed, due to illness.

On the 6th May in 1935, Mrs Wood was awarded the George V Silver Jubilee Medal. On the 16th July 1936 she sailed from Montreal, Canada for The Vimy Pilgrimage. This comprised of 8,000 Canadian ex-servicemen and next of kin, travelling to Vimy, France for the official memorial unveiling ceremony by King Edward 8th. While by the Vimy Memorial, Mrs Woods was photographed for the Canadian newspapers, saluting, wearing her usual awards and war medals. Among these are, the full-sized Mons Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal, another British War Medal, Victory Medal, the Memorial Silver Cross Medal and a selection of miniature war medals. These according to relations, she wore nearly all the time until her death in 1939.

picture: King Edward and Charlotte Wood.

Before arriving in England, the Winnipeg Free Press in 1936 reported that King had held her hand at the Vimy Memorial after the official opening on the 26th July, as Mrs Wood spoke of her 12 sons fighting during World War One and that, 5 sons had been killed.

The Canadian newspaper reported the full conversation between Mrs Wood and the King.

King: “Madam, you had sons in this war?”

Wood: “It is a great honour sir, to have you speak to me.”

King: Now holding her hand.

King: “What do you think of our beautiful memorial?”

Wood: “It is lovely, but I went to the trenches. I did not know until now. Wasn’t it dreadful our boys had to live like that?”

King: “Please God. It should never happen again.”

Research in recent years, by Wood relations has proved without doubt, that the basic story as portrayed by Mrs Wood to the Canadian people was, wrong. Two of her stepsons died in the war and not the five she claimed.

One of the early people to challenge Mrs Wood’s statements, was her own stepson. Arthur Abraham Wood 1885-1949 who was born at 22 Chatham Hill, Chatham. He never emigrated to Canada like most of the family, but Arthur Wood as a Royal Marine met up with his father in Canada during the 1923-1924 Empire Cruise. A photograph, taken in 1924; during the visit, shows his father, Frederick Wood driving, and Arthur without his hat in the rear of the open top car. Two other Wood family members are in the photograph:(left to right) John J. Wood, Frederick Wood father, Arthur A. Wood and James A.Wood.

In 2010, based on letters written by Arthur Wood, the Great War Forum started to also question the Mrs Wood story. John Rusing, the grandson of Joseph James Wood joined the campaign, when he found his grandfather had not died in the war as previously thought. He had been one of those listed as dead by Mrs Wood.

John Rusing says;

“I believe Charlotte Wood got caught up in the sadness surrounding the World War One deaths and stretched the truth when discussing her family’s involvement, for whatever reason.”

Mr Rusing continues: “On the positive side, it must be remembered that seven of her sons, returned to England to enlist and fight in the war.

With help from different researchers, Bygone Kent and Wood family members, this is an agreed, complete and up to date list of Frederick Louis Woods children. The first five sons were by, his wife Elizabeth Willis Wood. The remainder by second wife, Charlotte Susan Wood.

1. RICHARD THOMAS WOOD number:7599, never served in World War One. Born on the 13th April, 1880 in St Thomas, Exeter, Devon but he moved to Chatham, aged one. Enlisted in the Royal Horse and Artillery Regiment from 1900 to 1905 when he was discharged as medically unfit. Died January 21, 1925 in Strood, Kent.

2. LEWIS ROBERT WOOD, never served in World War One. Born on the 19th of November, 1881 in St Thomas, Exeter, Devon. Lived in Chatham all his life, died 23rd of July, 1904 in Southwark, London.

3. JOSEPH JAMES WOOD number:19435, never served in World War One. Born on the 21st February, 1883 in Chatham, Kent. Enlisted in the Royal Navy from 1897 to 1903 when he was discharged via a shore purchase. Died on the 29th of January, 1947 in Royal Oak, Oakland, Michigan, United States of America.

4. WILLIAM WALTER WOOD number:8133, never served in World War One. Born on the 27th of October, 1884 in Chatham, Kent. Enlisted in the Royal North Lancaster Regiment in 1904 and was discharged 8 days later as “not likely to make an effective soldier.” Immigrated to Canada in 1906, Died in Canada, *possible date*- Alberta 1929.

5. ARTHUR ABRAHAM WOOD number:14851, served in World War One and survived. Born on the 1st November, 1885 in Seymour Road in Chatham, Kent. Enlisted in the Royal Marines Light Infantry from 1904 to 1927 when he was honourably discharged. Died on the 10th of January, 1949 in Plumstead, Kent.

6. JAMES ALFRED WOOD number:6344, served in World War One and survived. Born on the 29th of July, 1887 in Chatham, Kent. Served in the Coldstream Guards during World War One and was discharged after a serious leg injury. Died on the 20th of April, 1948 in Winnipeg, Canada. Buried close to his mother in the Military Section. Left unmarked for many years, his grave was marked in 2017 by the Canadian Last Post Fund.

7. * FREDERICK FRANCIS WOOD number:13071, served in World War One and killed in action. Born on the 7th February, 1891 in Chatham, Kent. After been first turned down for service, Frederick Wood, as Frederick Haywood enlisted successfully at Woolwich, and was killed on the 24th August, 1914. He is buried, as Corporal Frederick Francis Haywood, in the Saint Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons, Belgium. In official army documents, he is referred to as an, “alias of Frederick Francis Wood.”

8. JOHN JACOB WOOD number:436163, served in World War One and survived. Born on the 29th of July, 1892 in Strood, Kent. Enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1914 to 1917 and was discharged after a serious head injury which resulted in a 50% hearing loss. Died on the 24th of May, 1969 in Edmonton, Alberta.

9. BENJAMIN BERT WOOD, never served in World War One. Born in Strood, Kent on the 2nd of August, 1894. A medical condition prevented him from serving in the War. Most of his life, farmed with his father, Frederick. Died on the 3rd of December, 1977 in Gunn, Alberta, Canada. Buried at Rich Valley Baptist Cemetery in Gunn, Alberta.

10. HERBERT HARRY WOOD numbers:436232 & 624177, served in World War One and survived. Born on the 23rd of September, 1896 in Greenwich, Kent. Enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915 to 1917 and was discharged as 30th November 1917 medically unfit due to poor eyesight. He died on the 1st of April, 1918 in Edmonton, Alberta, while serving as a fireman, falling from a moving fire engine.

11. * PETER PERCY WOOD number:887640, served in World War One and killed in action. Born on the 21st of May, 1899 in Belvedere near Bexley Heath, Kent. Enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1915 to 1917 when he was killed in action in the area known as *The Triangle*. This was a set of heavily fortified German held trenches, where snipers caused heavy losses. It was a strategic position, northwest of the village of La Coulotte, France, near the cross-roads where the Lens-Arras and the Lievin-Avion roads met. Percy was seen to be killed while successfully taking the German trenches, but his body was never recovered. Wood died on the 5th of May, 1917 in France. He therefore has, ‘no known grave’, but his name is recorded on the Vimy Ridge Memorial, panel.

picture: Percy Wood, died 1917.

12. CHARLES CHRISTOPHER WOOD number:624201, served in World War One and survived. Born on the 11th of April, 1901 in Erith, Kent. Enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force from 1916 to 1917 and was discharged as a consequence of being a minor. His mother, Charlotte Wood may have reported him. Died on the 11th of September 11, 1988 in Royal Oak, Michigan, United States of America, and buried in Roseland Park Cemetery, Berkley, Michigan.

13. ELLEN BEATRICE WOOD 1889-1983 Mrs Charlotte Wood had a daughter by Frederick Wood. She emigrated with the Wood family in 1911 and married, Lewis Robert Carle, having a daughter, Yoeland Kathleen Carle 1919-1980. As Ellen Wood she returned to England, married John McCarthy 1884-1937 in January 1930 and she died in Strood, Kent 24th August 1983.

Mrs Charlotte Susan Wood from Chatham in Kent, became an early Canadian *celebrity* for her pioneering work and support for the soldiers of World War One. She did however hide the truth from many who respected her, never thinking that the modern form of research via the Internet would one day, expose her story.

Charlotte Susan Wood 1861 - 1939.

*The First Silver Cross Mother of Canada. *

* This was originally to be used by Bygone Kent magazine. Due to space problems it was never published.*

#Charlotte Wood #Chatham #Strood #Canada #Bygone Kent #John Rusing #Arthur Wood #WW1 #King Edward #Vimy #Mike Gunnill

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