woman of distinction
July 2, 2020
An online petition asking the government of BC to purchase a property at 9747 Cameron Road and incorporate it into the neighbouring Ellison Park has currently more than 10,000 signatures. While it is the future of the 34-acres of land that are stimulating significant public discussion, the history of one of the women who used to call it home is just as fascinating.
In 1946, the property in question, which included a 1912 historic house, was sold to Mayor and Mrs. Hodgson by the Dalziel family, who were moving to West Vancouver. Although she was often styled E.L. Hodgson, after her husband Eldred, a celebrated captain who served in both World Wars and as a fruit inspector in the Okanagan, Rosalind Hodgson’s name should be known for her own remarkable achievements.
During World War Two, Rosalind, an immigrant from England living in Vernon, enlisted with the Mechanical Transport Corps, and was immediately accepted after excelling in anti-gas, map reading, commissariat, first aid, driving, and mechanical repair training.
An undated portrait of Rosalind Hodgson
She was accepted to a job as a vehicle driver, one that meant hard work, long hours, and no pay. Indeed, unless they were driving transport lorries or ambulances, female drivers were required to be self-sufficient. They were expected to operate vehicles in England or any other part of the Empire in need, including on active fronts. But this did not dissuade Rosalind; she paid her own way overseas, saying that she wouldn’t even mind being sent to Kenya or the Far East.
Rosalind drove army vehicles all over the United Kingdom, and was attached to the Air Ministry in this capacity for some time. Her husband Eldred, meanwhile, was stationed in Manitoba as Adjutant of the Artillery Training Camp at Shilo. In 1943, the couple were granted leave together, and spent it pheasant shooting in the Okanagan—or, Eldred did; Rosalind, on the other hand, said that she didn’t much care for shooting and killing things “on this side of the Atlantic.”
After the war, the couple sold their property on Kalamalka Lake and moved to the 9747 Cameron Road property on Okanagan Lake, where they would remain until the 1960s. They later moved back to Cumberland, England. Rosalind passed away in 1973, and Eldred two years later, in 1975.
Gwyn Evans