Accession Number

2014.014.013.002a

Description

An illuminated vellum scroll presented by the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem declaring Mary Croft a "Lady of Grace".

Narrative

This illuminated scroll names Mary Jean Croft (nee Dunsmuir, aka Mrs. Henry Croft, 1862-1928), a Lady of Grace in the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. The honor is related to her charitable work for the Order (including personal gifts of money). It was presented to Mary in an enameled metal tube containing receipts and associated letters from Evelyn Cecil (1^st Baron Rockley), the Order’s Secretary General, and an explanatory letter from Hon. F.S. Barnard, Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, dated May 30, 1917. 

An unrelated newspaper clipping is among the papers – the clipping is from the August 9, 1944 issue of the London Times showing the Roll of Honor listing Mary Croft’s nephew’s son, Canadian Infantry Captain J.T. Bryden as being killed in action. Because Mary Croft died in 1928, it is likely that her nephew, John William Bryden (1869-1953), the father of Captain J.T. Bryden, placed this clipping into the tube for safekeeping and remembrance. 

Mary Jean Dunsmuir was active in other charitable work in Victoria, including the Imperial Order Daughters of The Empire (I.O.D.E). She was also a founding member of the Alexandra Club, Victoria’s first club for women. This scroll and its associated documentation illustrate the philanthropic roll played by a Dunsmuir family member in Victoria Society, and the sentimental feelings for her within the Bryden family, from whom this object was collected.

The following information is from the website of Government House (Ottawa):

"Established in 1888 by Queen Victoria, the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem is a working order of charitably minded men and women whose philanthropy is expressed principally through its two foundations, the St. John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem and St. John Ambulance. The Order traces its origins to the Knights Hospitaller, of the Crusades, who served the Abbey of St. Mary’s small hospital for sick pilgrims in Jerusalem in the 12th century. The Order was brought into the Canadian Honours System in 1990. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the Order’s Sovereign and the Governor General is its Prior in Canada.

Grades in the Order are:

• Bailiff Grand Cross or Dame;
• Knight or Dame (previously Lady of Grace);
• Commander;
• Officer; and
• Serving Member.

The insignia for all grades of the Order consists of a Maltese cross, embellished alternately in each of its principal angles with a lion and a unicorn. The four arms of the cross symbolize the virtues of Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude."

History of Use

This object was acquired from the family of the late Gerald Robert Bryden (1913-1992) of Royston, BC, who had inherited it from his father, John William Bryden (1869-1953) of Royston, BC. John William Bryden’s parents were John Cowper Bryden (1848-1915) and Elizabeth Hamilton Bryden (1848-1901, nee Dunsmuir), the first daughter of Robert and Joan Dunsmuir.

Date

October 6 1916

Dimensions

38 x 41.5 cm

Material

leather, vellum

Country of Origin

United Kingdom