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"Happy Fathers Day Albert Henry Wood"

Written by Gail Anne Wood 
Gail Wood (Granddaughter)
Mom

Albert Henry Wood was born in London, England in 1890 and had only one sister, born blind four years later, named Flossie. His mother died in 1902 and fearing for his and his sisters safety against a cruel and drunken father they escaped as stowaways on a passenger ship in London harbour. While he tried to find something for his sister to eat she went missing, the boat sailed to Canada and he never saw her again.

Now in Toronto alone with no resources at the age of 13 he nearly died. VON nurses kept him alive and a kind gentleman finally gave him a job pushing a broom. He pushed that broom for 62 years, at the Parliament buildings, got married, became the father of my father, made it through the depression and once retired set out to find what happened to Flossie.

Yearly trips to London finally paid off when he found Flossie a happily married grandmother of ten. Imagine the reunion. She had been removed from the boat before it sailed, sent to an orphanage and adopted by a wonderful family.

AHW put the word "gentle" into "gentleman" and when I was small his favorite admonition to me was "Be nice, don't be nasty". I worry about his story being lost in years to come. I hope someone remembers once in awhile to say 

" Happy Fathers Day Albert Henry Wood"

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