The spirit that became Mollie Webster arrived January 9, 1927, to parents Arthur and Evelyn Crampton of Kenton, England. While born in Liverpool, this treasured only child spent her early years in Kenton. An active young thing, she was already a Sea Cadet by the age of 12, just after Germany and Italy had signed a treaty of cooperation. Sea Cadets helped direct her future. She studied art and started a career as a costume designer for stage and film, but the war altered her plans. At age 17, Mollie qualified and trained as a member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service, the famous WRNS. In November 1944, she was assigned to the underground bunker of Combined Operations Headquarters in Portsmouth. She delivered messages in the labyrinth of tunnels where D-Day was planned and executed and where the campaigns to free Europe were developed and coordinated. She lived under the tight restrictions of that duty. Only once the English Channel had been cleared of mines were she and other WRNS given a breather on a ship in the harbour. She got to take the helm for a time and found it exhilarating. At the war’s conclusion, she trained as an Occupational Therapist, an emerging field in which she used her creativity to develop activities to help many wounded veterans recover and thrive. Mollie retired from the WRNS in 1949 with the rank of Petty Officer. Mollie met William (Bill) Webster, a military pilot who then transitioned to commercial flying. They married April 2, 1951 in Harrow, England. The two had three daughters. In 1979, Mollie and Bill moved to Medicine Hat, where she became a Canadian and the Director of Occupational Therapy at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital. Thoroughly engaged with her community, Mollie was an active supporter of St. Barnabas Anglican Church, the Medicine Hat Art Club, Medicine Hat Historical Society, Medicine Hat Writers Club, and Medicine Hat SPCA. Loyal to her military roots, Mollie supported the Canadian Legion and was a vibrant member of The Royal United Services Institute. Even in retirement and alone after Bill’s death, she remained a catalyst to activity. An avid golfer, world traveler, and artist, she also initiated the IZZY project rallying friends to knit dolls for Canadian soldiers to give children in combat areas. At River Ridge Senior Village, she worked with managers to offer weekly art classes and exhibits. When Covid hit, she encouraged gardening and knitting squares, 880 of them, that she sewed into 22 afghans for residents in the long-term and memory care areas. When she worried that the next generations would not know the sacrifices made for them in WW II, she created a short story about the Dunkirk evacuation. Set in her beloved Devon, “CHARLIE” tells the story of a brave, small boat rescuer and his granddaughter, Penny, perhaps an echo of Mollie’s young self. If Mollie loved the water, she also enjoyed flying. In the last year, she had a chance to take a private plane flight over Medicine Hat and another over Elkwater. She said, “When the plane took off, all concerns fell away, cancer, old age, aches, loss. I was again…just me.”
The September 2022, death of Queen Elizabeth II profoundly affected Mollie. Only nine months apart in age, they experienced the war on somewhat parallel paths. In fact, for her volunteer work with the St. John’s Ambulance in England, Mollie was invited to tea with Her Majesty. In addition, later she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for dedicated service to her peers, her community, and Canada.
Mollie Webster died in Medicine Hat, January 5, 2023, four days before her 96th birthday. She was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Evelyn Crampton and husband, William (Bill) Webster. She is survived by her daughters, Keris (Ben) Batley of England, Jackie Kirk (Richard Traxel) of Medicine Hat, Michelle Hendy of Australia; grand-children, Jonathan, James, Christopher, and Victoria Batley; Stuart Kirk and Jenna Traxel; Rebecca, Emma, and Amy Hendy, as well as by five great-grandchildren. A PRIVATE SERVICE will be held for family and close friends. Family and friends are welcome to participate via livestream by logging on to www.saamis.com and joining the live webcast on Mollie’s memorial page on Sunday, January 15, 2023 at 1:55 pm. A virtual guest book is available on the livestream page for those participating remotely. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to remember Mollie Webster may consider a gift to the Margery E. Yuill Cancer Centre at the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, Medicine Hat & District Health Foundation, 666 - 5th Street SW, Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 4H6. Condolences may be sent to condolences@saamis.com subject heading Mollie Webster.