Gladys Emily (Leishman) Campbell CBE LLD (1890 - 1964)

Born 27 Dec 1890 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Wife of Wallace Ronald Campbell CBE — married 7 Sep 1910 in York, Ontario, Canada

Descendants

Died 11 Nov 1964 at age 73 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada

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Biography

Gladys and family lived in 'Edgewood', a mansion on the edge of Willistead Park that had been built by Albert Kahn of Detroit, the architect who built Willistead Manor. The house had originally been built for Col. Brewster and his wife who was sister in law to E.C. Walker who lived in Willistead Manor.

During the war, Gladys and her husband Wallace came up with the idea of offering safe haven to the children of British Ford employees from the London area. Over 100 British children, the “Bundles from Britain” soon arrived in Windsor to last out the war. The Campbell's personally hosted nearly two dozen children by converting the top floor of their mansion on Richmond Street into a dormitory.
The youngest evacuee was David Leon. David writes: I was one on the English evacuees who stayed with their family at 'Edgewood', 1857 Richmond Street from 6th July 1940 until the end of January 1945 - together with 14 other evacuees. The love and care we received from Wallace and Gladys and their two daughters, Shirley and Glad was truly outstanding.^[1]

Gladys' obituary describes her as "one of Canada's most distinguished women workers in the field of Red Cross, War Work, Victorian Order of Nurses, YM-YWCA, and a score of hospital, church and national welfare groups."^[2] She was awarded Commander of the British Empire for her work during the war.

Gladys died in 1964.

Sources

• Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, York, 1910, pg. 1065 of 3174.

• 1921 Census of Canada, Ontario, Essex North, Sub-District 65 - Walkerville (Town), pg. 25 of 38.

• Safe Haven, Walkerville Times.

• "People of Ford Canada, Wallace R Campbell", by Sandy Norarianni, The LINC, May/June 1993.

• Obituary, Brandon Sun, November 13, 1964.

• Ancestry.com - Fuller-Works Family Tree.

Footnotes

1. ↑ Email, March 13, 2016, from David Leon. For more on David's experience, read his account of his stay in Canada at Bundles from Britain.
2. ↑ Obituary, Brandon Sun, November 13, 1964.