Version 6.02

22 September 2023

David March © 2023

STORY OF THE QUILT

The Canadian Red Cross Quilt Research Group was contacted by a woman whose friend had the quilt. The friend/owner had acquired the quilt whilst she was an art student in Farnham, Surrey, UK This was probably in the last quarter of the 20th century (say 50 years ago). It was found by another student who trawled flea markets/charity shops in London for interesting textiles to sell on.

The current condition of the quilt suggests that the quilt had been used (and washed) extensively. It may therefore have come from a house clearance in the London area - pure speculation!

Is this a Red Cross quilt? At the moment there is nothing definitely established but the presence of stitching around a rectangle of approximately 1” by 1¼” in the upper right-hand corner of the quilt suggest that there may have been a standard Canadian Red Cross label here.

It certainly seems to have been made in Canada (all those maple leaves!) and definitely came to the UK.

The only origin/location information comes from the central block:

“John Fisher School, 40 Erskine Avenue, Toronto, Ont., Canada”

Preliminary investigations into a few putative families named on the quilt suggest it could have been made around the time of WWII. The current research is pursuing this line of thought by looking for people whose names are on the quilt, appear in the Voter Lists for Toronto and who lived within a 30 minute walking distance of the John Fisher School.

Research continues.