Bernard John Woodruff and Olivia Maryann Deeprose are my Grandparents.  Olivia died 4 years before I was born.  Grandpa died in 1991, at the age of 99 years, 9 months and 4 days. 

note:  these pictures are thumbnails, click on each picture to enlarge

Bernie (Grandpa) Woodruff was born August 14, 1891 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Marriage: 15 May 1918 to Olivia MaryAnn Deeprose
Grandpa died 18 May 1991; age 99 years 9 months and 4 days.
Olivia died 23 May 1949 from breast cancer.
This Picture dates about 1893. Grandpa would be 2-3 years old.

From L to R: Bernie, John and Kate Woodruff, and friends under the canopy. They were not named in the original picture.

Bernie is standing beside his "famous" bicycle.  It had wooden rims, a straight bar and an earlier coaster brake that would seize up.  Pop refurbished this old bicycle as a preteen for his first wheels.

This is grandpa sitting on a bench outside the elevator on one of the floors at the Glebe Center, Ottawa, Ontario. He is sitting in front of a picture his father took when Bernie was about 16 years of age. Dad was telling me the story of Grandpa, his bicycle and bell telephone. During the summer months, about 1912, Grandpa installed telephones for a summer job. Grandpa owned a bicycle so he was given the responsibility of installing the telephones in homes that were not located on the street car lines. He carried the telephones on the back of his bicycle in a carrier. These were the large rectangular boxed telephones. Given this is the era of the cell phones I think it is remarkable he was able to balance the bike with one of these awkward heavy boxes.

Olivia is standing on the step of the Ottawa to Manawaki train in Kazabazua in 1912, which is near Danford Lake where the family cottage was build.

This picture of Bernie would have been taken about 1912. Grandpa would have been 21 years old.

Company Sergeant Major (CSM) Bernard John Woodruff

This picture was taken in 1914.

December 2, 2004 Pop and I took the bus down to the Canadian Archives Building in downtown Ottawa. During this visit we looked at Grandpa’s World War 1 file. These papers provided us with the following information:

Britain declared war on August 4, 1914. Bernie enlisted August 14, 1914 with the Governor Generals Foot Guard. He reenlisted with the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary Force) at Valcartier, Quebec September 20, 1914 as a volunteer. His rank was a private. Bernie was transferred to the 2^nd Battalion, his regimental number is 7923.

August 12, 1914 his pay stub begins. Prior to the outbreak of the war Grandpa was a student at McGill University. The unit Bernie enlisted with sailed to Britain on the S. S. Cassandra on October 4, 1914. The ship arrived in England October 19, 1914. The Canadian contingent trained on Salisbury Plains and then transferred to France. He was wounded during the 2nd battle of Ypres, 9 am April 23, 1915. The following account is recorded on Medical Case Sheet 157477. His rank is now L Cpl.

Taplow Bucks: Bullet wound in the left shoulder and back. "While on sniping duty near St Julian on April 23^rd patient was hit by bullet on left shoulder passing posterior to the humerus and coming out on the back, received first aid dressing about 2 hours later, then under cover of darkness walked to No 2 Battalion dressing station, wound not dressed here, took ambulance and went onto St. Jean, wounds dressed, took motor ambulance 5 Vlamertinghe, wounds dressed and received anti-tetanus inoculation, went by motor to Poleringhe, entraining here for Hazebrouck wounds not dressed here, went by train to Boulonge No 8 stationary hospital remained about 8 days wounds dressed every day, left Wed for Cliveden via Southampton."

"To Canadian Convalescent Hosp Bromley Kent June 12, 1915. Wound healed. Some stiffness, improving." (Medical Case Sheet 157837 Sundridge Park) "Canadian Convalescent Hospital Monks Horton, Hythe, Kent July 3, 1915 to November 21, 1915. He was discharged to C.A.M.C. Monks Horton Personnal."

Bernie sailed to Canada on S. S. Scandinavian June 9, 1916 to Kingston, Ontario. Prior to this he was promoted to Corporal November 28, 1915 and then became acting Sargent July 14, 1916. By the end of the war he was Company Sargent Major with duties of instructing enlisted men in musketry. He was discharged (Struck off Strength) March 31, 1919. The First World War peace treaty was signed November 11, 1918 at 11am.

Attestation papers for Bernard John Woodruff dated September 22, 1914. His regimental number is 7923. Bernie enlisted at the same time as Charles Edward Deeprose, his future brother-in-law.

Before leaving this part of Grandpa’s life I have one story Dad told me about an incident which occurred after Bernie and Olivia’s marriage. One day Auntie Edna and Auntie Fran had some fun filling Bernie’s parade whistle with confetti. The next time Bernie blew his whistle on the parade ground, there was no sound. He shook the whistle to loosen the ball within. When he blew on the whistle a plume of confetti blew out of the whistle. This provided a ripple of laughter among the ranks. 

CSM Bernard John Woodruff in full uniform. This picture would have been taken about 1917-1919.

Olivia Mary Ann Deeprose was born 16 December 1892 in Sawyerville, Quebec, Canada. Olivia and Bernie were married May 15, 1918 at Fairmont Church, Montreal, Quebec. They were married by Rev. Charles Deeprose (her father) who was assisted by Rev Relance and Rev L. England. They moved to Ottawa after the wedding.

From L to R back row: Melita, Kate (Beale sisters)
Front row: Bernie and Olivia Woodruff, Hilda (McCann) and Adam Raby Suspect this picture was taken about 1918-1920
 

Olivia and daughter Katherine, age about 18 months to 2 years.
Aunt Kaye was born 01 July, 1920 in Ottawa, Ontario. She married Kenneth H Ewing 21 September 1946, Billings Bridge, Ontario. Uncle Ken was born 20 February 1921, Toronto, Ontario

Kaye and John Woodruff, about 1926; look at all those curly locks!
Bernard John Woodruff was born 13 February 1924, Ottawa, Ontario. He married Frances Audrey Bohart 05 May 1951, Ottawa, Ontario.
Audrey (as she was known) was born 04 February 1928, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Mom passed away 20 August 2003, Ottawa, Ontario from breast cancer.

John (my dad) remembers being outside (1235 Heron Road) and a sand box was in a group of lilac bushes. He saw this great big white thing there. He rushed into the house saying "there was a pig in the lilac bushes". The pig turned out to be this big puff ball. Grandpa (Bernie) took it over to the experimental farm where he was informed it was indeed a big one.

Ruth was born 10 February 1926, Ottawa, Ontario. She married William MacLean.
Frank was born 14 March 1929, Ottawa, Ontario. He married Barbara Christie in Toronto, Ontario. His second wife is Annette Harvengt. They were married 04 July 1981, Victoria, British Columbia. Frank and Annette live in Belgium.
From L to R:  Kate McCann, Mrs. McCann, John, Mother, Kay
In front:  Ruth, Frank, Dad and Uncle Willie McCann
 

The Woodruff and Raby families

L to R: Adam Raby, John, Granny, Uncle Willie, Ruth, Kaye, Olivia.

Front row: Seated Maisie and Isabel, boy Raby, and Hilda Raby. Hilda Raby was a McCann and daughter of Willie and Melita McCann.

Before the war Grandpa worked as a summer student for the Geodetic Survey of Canada.  After the war he joined the Canadian Geodetic Survey Division in 1919. Bernie was involved in Horizontal surveys of the landscape of Canada. "A horizontal framework of interconnected control surveys, with monuments (physical markers in the ground) spaced from 20 km up to a maximum of 100 km apart extends over the entire Canadian landmass. These control stations were often located on high mountains or hilltops in order to see between the stations, called "line-of sight", for measurements using triangulation, traverse and trilateration survey methods." (Quoted from Geodetic Survey Division Horizontal Control Networks) The next series of pictures will show some of the sites Bernie surveyed during his career with the Canadian Geodetic Survey Division.

Bernie is taking readings at Stemdy Brook, Newfoundland in 1939.

This is a sample of one of the markers that Bernie would carry up the mountains along with other necessary equipment such as rock drills, cement, water, tripod, instruments, tent, lights, food, and etcetera. There would be 5 markers put into the ground at the site where the readings occurred. The middle one indicated where the instrument plumb line would fall. The other 4 would be set with a pointer pointing to the center marker. http://www.geod.nrcan.gc.ca/index_e.php see this web site for more information on surveys.

This page was updated March 25, 2006.