Joselin, Jessie Sarah

• Graham, Jessie Sarah

Jessie Sarah Graham was born in 1906. She married Elmore Joselin, and they lived in Scarborough, Toronto, where their daughter, Beverley was born. Jessie Joselin died in 1998.

During the Second World War, Mrs. Joselin volunteered with the Salvation Army’s Red Shield Women’s Auxiliary affiliated with Birch Cliff School in Scarborough. She led a group that made children’s clothing (especially layettes) for British families whose homes had been destroyed by German bombs. The effort continued after the war and was extended to French families.

Mrs. Joselin’s father was an art teacher in Toronto. One of his students, Bettina (‘Bun’) Somers, from England, befriended Jessie. In addition to art, Somers also studied nursing. When it was time for Jessie to give birth to Beverley, Somers delivered her. Upon her return to England, Somers worked as a ‘tracer’ during the Second World War. The job of a tracer was to trace drawings prepared by draughtsmen to facilitate the production of blueprint copies.